National Readathon Day Takes Off Tomorrow

Happy friday, fellow readers! This upcoming weekend is an exciting one for the book world, so I hope your week has prepared you to curl up on the couch (especially for those of you who are expecting a snowstorm this weekend!) with a cup of hot cocoa and a good book. And while I wish that type of relaxation for you all the time, there is an additional reason this particular weekend is so special...

Tomorrow is the first annual National Readathon Day!

Initially created by the recently merged Penguin Random House, National Readathon Day is about more than just reading a book, though. It's also about fundraising for literacy, GalleyCat points out:

Proceeds will support the National Book Foundation’s education programs, including an after-school reading program called BookUp. Fundraisers will win prizes from The National Book Foundation. 

More than 200 bookstores and libraries across the country will be participating in the event. To find out where to participate in your local area, check out this map. 

Fifteen bestselling authors including: Khaled Hosseini, Jacqueline Woodson, Delia Ephron, Harlan Coben and Simon Doonan have supported the cause in this #timetoread video.

See original post HERE 

The National Book Foundation website tells us more about the celebration:

Consider this: 53% of 9-year-olds read for pleasure daily, and by the time they turn 17, that number drops to 19%. Without your help, book worms may soon become an endangered species.  

That's why Penguin Random House and the National Book Foundation are launching National Readathon Day. We're asking book lovers across America to pledge to read for four hours starting at noon (in respective time zones) on January 24, 2015. 

Make your commitment here on FirstGiving and fundraise to support the National Book Foundation's efforts to create, promote, and sustain a lifelong love of reading in America. Proceeds will support our education programs, like BookUp, our after-school reading program which has given away over 25,000 books to middle schoolers since 2007. 

To show our appreciation, we're delighted to offer some exciting rewards at a variety of fundraising milestones. 

Individual fundraising premiums for National Readathon Day are awarded at the following levels:  

$100 - an I Love Reading tote bag  

$250 - a copy of a 2014 National Book Award winning book   

$1000 - a tote bag plus all four 2014 National Book Award winning books. 

$2500 - 2 tickets to the invite-only 2015 National Book Awards ceremony, dinner, and after-party  

$7500 - 2 tickets to the invite-only 2015 National Book Awards ceremony, dinner, and after-party plus hotel and airfare (from anywhere in the continental United States) 

Additionally, the top fundraising team will have the opportunity for an exclusive reading (in-person or online) with Phil Klay, author of Redeployment, the 2014 National Book Award Winner for Fiction. 

Thank you for joining us for National Readathon Day and in celebration of how important reading is to American culture.

The mission of the National Book Foundation is to expand the audience for literature in America. Its programs include BookUp, 5 Under 35, the Innovations in Reading Prize, and the National Book Awards. 

If you need more information about the National Book Foundation or National Readathon Day, email bsamuel@nationalbook.org. And for press inquiries, email syoung@nationalbook.org.

See original post HERE

As of a week ago, there were already more than 120 teams that had "raised more than $20,000 as part of the event" (GalleyCat).  As of today there are 153 teams, raising more than $40,000 according to the FirstGiving website. There is still time to get involved and get excited, so hop to, folks!

Sad Days for Books and Cupcakes

Today, I saw an announcement that the famed CRUMBS cupcake shop in NYC has closed its doors. It happened without warning and now all the other numerous cupcake shops will surely be fighting for those abandoned customers.

While I did enjoy their carrot cake cupcake quite a lot, I'm honestly more upset by another company/organization going under from financial strain: World Book Night.

GalleyCat tells us more:

World Book Night is shutting down after three years of distributing free books across the country. The volunteer-run organization is shuttering due to lack of funding. 

“The expenses of running World Book Night U.S., even given the significant financial and time commitment from publishers, writers, givers, booksellers, librarians, printers, distributors, and shippers, are too high to sustain without additional funding,” explained the organization on its Facebook page. 

“This has been a remarkable, passionate undertaking, and it has been a success by all measures, except for one: Outside funding,” stated Carl Lennertz, Executive Director of World Book Night U.S. “For three years, the publishing industry and book community have very generously footed the bill and contributed enormous time and effort, and our gratitude is immeasurable, especially for the givers. For us here at World Book Night, this experience has been life-changing, as we hope it has been for the givers and recipients of the books.” 

World Book Night UK, a separate organization that also hands out free books in April, will not be affected by this change. “We want to assure our followers and supporters that the suspension of operations in the US will not affect World Book Night in the UK,” the organization explained on its blog. “We have exciting plans for World Book Night 2015 and beyond, which will be shaped and informed by the evaluation we have carried out this year.” 

See the original post HERE

It's so sad when a great program like this comes to an end, simply due to lack of donations, not lack of interest. There are so many people out there just swimming in cash, and if only they would lend a hand, things like this, that supports literacy and benefits so many people, could keep going. Sigh. If I were one of them, I'd be throwing money toward reading-related causes left and right.

But I'm not, so all I can say is, we'll miss you World Book Night. Thank you for three years of such immense book love.

Reading Is More Than Just Fun

We all know that not everyone likes to read, especially kids. We also all know how important to start reading to or with kids from an early age. But it's more than just the fact that "Reading to young children promotes language acquisition and is linked with literacy development and, later on, with achievement in reading comprehension and overall success in school" (Childstats.gov). Reading can also help children learn compassion, foster creativity, and build self-esteem. And according to a recent study at Emory University, it can even affect the way a person's brain functions.

Yet, with all the research and all the studies that continually point to reading as imperative, 80 percent of households don't purchase a single book in a year (Read Faster, Reading Stats, 2013), 33 percent of fourth graders don't meet a basic reading level (RIF.org) and only 42 percent of college students won't read another book after they graduate (Read Faster, Reading Stats, 2013). I don't know about you, but these stats bum me the heck out.

But there are some things you can do to ensure that your youngest family members reap all the book benefits and don't fall into those percentages. Kurt Wootton, the co-author of Reason to Read, shares some ideas with the Huffington Post:

1. Build. Many kids do love to sit and listen to stories, but all kids get restless and need to do things. Maria Montessori wrote, "The hands are the instrument of the human intelligence." Many books provide inspiration for building things in the real world. In the book Roxaboxen, a girl named Marian transforms a hill across from her house into a city using only natural objects and the help of her friends. Sticks and rocks are all that's needed to start building our own city with our kids. Books like If I Built a House and The Big Orange Splot allow us to dream of our own special house that matches our personalities. With pencil and paper, cardboard, or a set of blocks, kids can go about dreaming up their own homes. 

2. Record. Many of us face the challenge of having parts of our family live in different places. We live in Mexico and Sandra's grandparents live in the United States. My mother records herself reading and singing along to various books and sends them to me. I create an iTunes playlist of my mother's readings and stack the corresponding books on the coffee table for Sandra. Sandra always insists on completing ALL the books we have recorded at one sitting. She loves getting these little gifts from her grandmother and best of all they can arrive to Mexico instantly over email. 

3. Search. Goodnight Moon is a timeless book for a reason: kids love to look for things. Many children's books are filled with objects, people, and animals in rich landscapes (see for instance books illustrated by Graeme Base and Jimmy Liao). We often stop the story and I ask Sandra, "How many birds are in this picture?" or "Can you find the monster?" Such concrete tasks help her build a relationship to the book, and, on her own time, she opens the books and looks for the objects herself -- an early stage in her journey towards becoming an independent reader. 

4. Perform. I often lead workshops for teachers on the topic of how they can have their students perform the books they teach in the classroom. One of my favorite books to do this with is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. With Sandra I'll do the same thing. We swing through imaginary trees with the Wild Things. We dance the wild rumpus. She climbs on my back as we make the parade. Books and songs that lend themselves to physical movement include: Roll Over: A Counting Song, Baby Cakes, and The Tickle Monster. 

5. Improvise. This is actually an idea that came from my daughter. One day she had all of her toy musical instruments laid out on the coffee table. She handed me a book and asked me to read it. She then ran over to the other side of the table and picked up the drum sticks. As I read, she accompanied my reading with various instruments thereby creating a soundtrack for the story. 

6. Organize. Cleaning up may not be the most imaginative interaction with stories, but it certainly is an important one. At the end of the day, when all the reading, playing, and making is done, we tuck the books away in a series of plastic boxes to sleep.

And don't forget, if a young person you know doesn't seem to like reading, it could be the symptom of an actual literacy issue, such as dyslexia, rather than an actual lack of desire. It could also mean, however, that he or she just hasn't found the right book to spark interest yet. So get some testing done and keep trying. Reading is not only awesome but it's important!

:)

Sitting Down On Literature: UK Literacy Campaign to Launch Summer 2014

The UK's National Literary Trust has recently started working on their summer 2014 campaign to take place in London, "Books About Town." It's a program that not only celebrates the city itself but its literary and artistic heroes. But more than that, it's pretty darn cool. 

Passersby in the city will get to experience the magic of reading in the form of public benches. Yes, you read that right. Benches. The NLT website tells us more:

‘Books about Town’ will feature a series of BookBenches, individually designed by top international and local artists to celebrate stories linked to London, and to promote reading for enjoyment. The benches, shaped as open books, will be unveiled in various locations across the capital from next July 2014 and visitors will have the chance to discover them by following literary trails around London.    

Supported by Visit England, Books about Town will build on the legacy of the Olympic mascots in London in 2012 and become a major tourist attraction for the city in 2014.  The project will help raise valuable funds for the National Literacy Trust to tackle low literacy levels in deprived communities across the UK.   

The charity is inviting local and national businesses to be a part of this exciting new venture and sponsor a BookBench. Businesses can either choose a title from a Books about Town list of books linked to London from J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or select their own title to be brought to life on a BookBench. A range of businesses have already signed up to sponsor a bench, including Global Business firm KPMG and publisher Walker Books, who will have their very own We’re Going on a Bear Hunt themed BookBench. 

Author Michael Rosen says: 

“I love the idea of sitting on giant books. With the Bear Hunt big BookBench, I suppose you can say that you can't go through it, but you can go over it, you can go under it or better still you can sit on it!” 

KPMG is sponsoring a Peter Pan themed BookBench. Partner Mona Bitar says:
“KPMG is delighted to be supporting the National Literacy Trust’s Books about Town project. The BookBenches programme is a great way to bring literacy to life across London and to raise awareness around the fantastic work of the National Literacy Trust, who are one of KPMG’s national charity partners. We are looking forward to seeing the initial designs for our bench very soon.” 

Wild in Art are collaborating on the project as the UK’s leading producer of public art sculpture trails. Sally-Ann Wilkinson, Wild in Art’s Director says:   

“Our events are designed to bring the enjoyment of public art to thousands of people whilst offering new ways to explore a host city or town.  We are delighted to be working with the National Literacy Trust on this dynamic project bringing many of our favourite books to life through the visual arts.” 

Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust says:  

“We are delighted to be launching Books about Town to spread the love of reading across the capital. This is such an exciting opportunity for businesses to be a part of this unique literary attraction set to hit the streets of London next summer.” 

See the original post HERE

A very fun, unique project if you ask me! And from the looks of it, anyone can help sponsor a bench. The NLT encourages interested parties to contact Lorna Taylor at lorna.taylor@literacytrust.org.uk or visit www.booksabouttown.co.uk for more info.

Would You Like That Super Sized, Dear Reader?

Once again, the Brits are trying something unique with their cuisine. But this time, instead of Scotch Eggs and Toad in the Hole (come on, you can't deny the "strangeness"), they are combining American fast food with....literature.

According to GalleyCat, the Telegraph reported last week that "McDonald’s plans to hand out a staggering 9 million copies of Mudpuddle Farm books by Michael Morpurgo in Happy Meal boxes around the UK" (GalleyCat).

The Telegraph discusses further:

In 2011, sales of children’s books averaged 1.16 million per week – 6.4 million in a four week period – which means that McDonald’s will be handing out considerably more children’s books than are usually sold in the UK in the same period.

A finger puppet, relating to the series of books, will also be included alongside the Happy Meal.

McDonald's said a similar book giveaway in Sweden had proved very popular.

This is the latest attempt by McDonald's to improve its reputation, following the decision to sell only organic milk, print calories on its menu boards, and refurbish all of its outlets.

[...]

Literacy campaigners said it did not matter if McDonald's decision was prompted by a desire to improve its image. Eight out of ten all families with young children visit the fast-food company at least once over the course of the year, so there was a strong chance they would end up with a book.

Jonathan Douglas, director of The National Literacy Trust, said: “Our recent research showed that one in three children in this country don’t own a book, which is extremely concerning as there is a clear link between book ownership and children's future success in life. We are very supportive of McDonald’s decision to give families access to popular books, as its size and scale will be a huge leap towards encouraging more families to read together.”

The McDonald’s Happy Meal book promotion will include six titles from the Mudpuddle Farm range: Mossop’s Last Chance; Albertine, Goose Queen; Pigs Might Fly!; Jigger’s Day Off; Martians at Mudpuddle Farm; Mum’s the Word.

Read the entire article HERE

I'm torn about my feelings toward this. While my immediate reaction to the news was "Awesome! Go literacy!" my secondary reaction was more subdued. How much of this campaign is to truly encourage reading and how much is to manipulate parents into purchasing Happy Meals for their kids with the hopes that he or she will want to read a book that Ronald McDonald "picked out"?

It's hard to say. I'm sure it's a little bit of both. And while McDonald's has taken healthier initiatives of late regarding their "side dishes" and beverages accompanying Happy Meals, I'm still not a proponent of fast food in general. Certainly not for growing children who need to be taught healthy eating habits from day one. Come to think of it, these children should also be being taught to appreciate books from day one. Hmmm. The mind boggles.

Can't Buy Love? Sure We Can!

I've always been of the mind that people who don't love to read, just haven't found the right book yet. It's been a mission of mine throughout my life to help people find the kind of book they enjoy, the kind of fiction or nonfiction that they can relate to and engage with. (Speaking of, check out this GalleyCat article on the Facebook group "I hate reading.")

But sometimes it's not about the right book. Sometimes it's about having a book at all.

Not every family can afford books. Not every child has a library card. Without that access, a love of reading can never grow.

Better World Books recognizes this all too well and is doing something about it (has been for years, it seems!)...and you can too.

The Huffington Post tells us more:

You've heard of TOMS Shoes, right? Every pair you buy, TOMS donates a pair to a kid in need. TOMS was built around the notion that a "one-for-one" business model could actually turn a profit and change the world -- and it has.

But we're not talking shoes here, we're talking books.

You've now got a good reason to order those summer romance novels for your Labor Day trip to the beach: while you're in a lounge chair sifting through Emily Giffin's latest page-turner, a child somewhere also has a textbook or storybook in his or her hands, thanks to your purchase.

Better World Books announced today that it, too, is going one-for-one, or "book-for-book," in a surprising (and welcome) move that will bolster its "triple bottom line" concept of prioritizing people, planet, and profits to maximize positive social and environmental impact while generating sales.

This is by no means a copycat strategy. These folks have been donating books for almost a decade. What started in 2002 as a way to fight graduation blues -- and make a little money -- ended up winning founders Xavier Helgesen and Kreese Fuchs a "Best Social Venture" prize in a Notre Dame University Business Plan competition ... and became a blueprint for the way Better World Books operates to this day.

How does it work? In addition to selling new titles, Better World Books supports book drives and collects used books and textbooks through a network of over 1,800 college campuses and partnerships with over 2,000 libraries nationwide. So far, the company has converted more than 53 million books into $10 million in funding for literacy and education -- and, in the process, has diverted more than 60 million books from landfills. Donated books go to a variety of literacy partners, including Feed the Children, Books for Africa, Room to Read, Worldfund, Invisible Children, and the National Center for Family Literacy.

Although Better World's sales help children in many countries around the world, their donations also make an impact at home in the U.S.

Emily Kirkpatrick, Vice President of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), says her organization first partnered with Better World in 2005 to help the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita -- and since has teamed to provide grants to programs such as "Every Child Ready to Read" in Dallas, Texas, which engages 5,600 families per year in literacy workshops.

That org received a $10,000 Libraries and Families Award from NCFL and Better World.

"The award refueled our mission and purpose, and is enabling us to provide important literacy information to more families in a new and exciting way," said Jasmine Africawala, Program Coordinator of the Every Child Ready to Read.

Between drop boxes, free shipping, funding for literacy, and more, Better World Books may just be on to something ... even in this digital age. Helgesen described his company to the New York Times in 2007 as "1,000 sidewalk sales rolled into one," yet today, Better World has evolved into a sustainable mechanism that benefits everyone in its supply chain -- from the donor to recipient to the communities it serves through partner programs, and, of course, you.

Because who doesn't like to feel good about buying a book?

See the original post HERE

T-Swift for Literacy

Those of you who know me in real life are likely aware of my love of Taylor Swift. And this morning, Publishers Marketplace is feeding into my obsession (if seeing her perform in Rockefeller Plaza earlier this week wasn't enough!) with an article from The Charlotte Observer that makes me love T-Swift even more:

Studying hard can bring sweet rewards, like screaming "We love you!" to Taylor Swift from seats that match the color of Clifford the Big Red Dog.

The Grammy Award-winning superstar stopped by the headquarters of Scholastic Inc. on Wednesday and chatted and performed at the publisher's downstairs auditorium, where about 200 grade-schoolers and middle-schoolers, most of them girls, had received a break from class to see Swift talk about reading and writing. The children had been selected by their schools because of improvement in their reading scores.

"I think that smart kids are the coolest kids," Swift, wearing a dark-blue cotton dress with red and white flowers and two-tone high heel shoes, said to much delight as she was interviewed on stage by "America's Got Talent" host Nick Cannon.

The 20-year-old singer-songwriter, who has been busy promoting her new CD, "Speak Now," shared songwriting tips (imagine you're writing a letter, she advised), childhood reading memories and repeated plugs for books as a path to a better life.

"(Without books) You can let little things pass you by, little details," she said. "Like, say you're driving down the road and there's just this really beautiful autumn tree and it has these gorgeous orange leaves. You might just let that pass you by if you have never read books that describe how beautiful they are, from somebody else's perspective."

Swift did more than talk. She sang a few lines from one of her favorite songs, Faith Hill's "This Kiss," and was joined by her band at the end to perform her new single, "Mine."

The children made their own music, spontaneously singing along when Swift's "You Belong With Me" was played on the house sound system before she arrived.

Swift, a native of Wyomissing, Pa., whose first record came out when she was 16, said she had always been a reader and was encouraged by her parents and teachers. She started writing poetry in second grade and by fourth grade had enough courage to enter a poem, "Monster in My Closet," in a national poetry contest. (She didn't win, she says, but she did place.) Studying "Romeo and Juliet" in ninth grade helped inspire her Top 10 single "Love Story."

She also said she loved "Sesame Street" books growing up and was inspired by the stories of Dr. Seuss because of their rhymes.

"A lot of people who gravitate toward music are really, really sort of drawn to poetry because the words all have a rhythm and it comes together just right," she said. "I love poetry, because if you get it right, if you put the right rhymes at the right ends of the sentences, you can almost make words bounce off a page."

Responding to student questions, Swift said she enjoyed authors who had a "a very conversational style to their writing" and was drawn most to books that dramatized history, perhaps about a "girl during the Revolutionary War." She said reading made her a better songwriter because it helps you with "understanding metaphors" and "how to paint a picture with a song."

Asked how to encourage children who don't like to read, she suggested not taking on too much, perhaps starting with a short story or even a newspaper.

"It doesn't have to be a big, thick, long book," she said. "You don't have to pick up something that looks scary."

On stage, Swift cited Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" as a favorite. Interviewed briefly at a post-show reception, Swift said she loved the novel, set in the South in the 1950s, because of how it was narrated from a child's point of view.

"The main character didn't exactly know what was going on, but the reader does," she said. "It's all portrayed in an interesting way, all the huge issues in the book, like civil right, come from a children's perspective. It's an interesting way to tell a story."

Swift is part of a new Scholastic promotional campaign, "You are What You Read," for which authors, celebrities and public figures from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to "Percy Jackson" novelist Rick Riordan choose favorite books. Swift's picks include E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web" and Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir on divorce and recovery, "Eat, Pray, Love," not a surprising choice for a songwriter known for her romantic laments and explorations.

Swift said during the reception that she was enjoying Gilbert's most recent book, "Committed," in which the author marries the Brazilian man she met in "Eat, Pray, Love."

"Listening to her talk at seminars, especially one that I YouTubed, where she was talking about trying to create her followup project, it made me cry," Swift said. "It was so inspirational."

See the entire article HERE

The "You are What You Read" campaign was initially launched as a social networking site and is part of a larger global literacy program "Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life."

I'm thrilled that so many celebrities are getting involved in this fantastic cause. They have an amazing--if at times unfair--amount of pull and influence, particularly when it comes to kids and young adults, and I love to see that power being used to encourage people to read.

"WRRRROCK ON" 2010

My friend Rebecca just brought my attention to a great upcoming NYC event for those interested in helping to fight illiteracy--"WRRRROCK ON" 2010.

Girls Write Now is a non-profit organization founded in 1998 by a group of young female writers. Their mission is to "provide guidance, support, and opportunities for New York City's underserved or at-risk high school girls, enabling them to develop their creative, independent voices, explore careers in professional writing, and learn how to make healthy choices in school, career, and life" (girlswritenow.org).

So far it's been a successful goal. They have "empowered nearly 6,000 women writers, including nearly 3,000 underserved or at-risk girls from New York City’s public high schools" (girlswritenow.org) and the college-acceptance rate within the organization is 100 percent.

With volunteers of all ages and backgrounds, girls are able to interact and be mentored by women "who stand as shining, real-life examples to our girls of exactly who you can be as a woman, as a writer, and as a professional" (girlswritenow.org). But as a non-profit, this one-of-a-kind organization needs our help.

Two Dollar Radio, with the support of several NYC small presses, will be holding a donation-only concert on May 25th in Brooklyn, NY to benefit the Girls Write Now cause:

Two Dollar Radio [...] announced "Wrrrock On," an evening to benefit Girls Write Now happening Tuesday, May 25th at Galapagos Art Space, located at 16 Main Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn, from 7-9PM. Admission is a suggested donation of $2-22 at the door, with 100% of those proceeds going directly to Girls Write Now. Japanther and Care Bears on Fire will perform, and [bestselling author] Joshua Mohr will emcee the event. "Wrrrrock On" is made possible by the support of Chin Music Press, Coffee House Press, Exterminating Angel Press, Featherproof Books, Seven Stories Press, Small Beer Press, Tin House and Unbridled Books.

Click HERE to see more info about the benefit and about the scheduled performers