Jumpstart is a national organization which promotes childhood education. They are combining forces with Penguin and the Pearson Foundation all next week and finishing with a record reading day on October 4. The effort helps to reach millions of preschool children "to encourage them to read."
Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad is this year's
Read For the Record book. Millions of copies of the book will be made available. Click on the link above and you can find out more information as well as download activities and a parent brochure. And to find out more about the
Pearson Foundation and access to free books, click on the links above.
Happy Reading!
When parents and teachers work together to create fun and inviting reading opportunities for children, the children will reap the rewards. Here are two interesting articles concerning young readers. In the first, a group of California educators has teamed up with parents to study the issue of family literacy--how to build it. The teachers have expanded their meetings to include parents from across the area. They hope to use the parent's input to make the literacy plan more comprehensive. Bravo to all of them!
The second article I read this week concerning parents actively supporting their child's literary goals concerns a young six-year-old from Staten Island.
Isabella Policarpo read over 400 books to earn a trip to Yankee Stadium. She'll be part of a group of eager readers who will go on the field and see their names on the big screen. Isabella's parents helped her check out most of the books from the New York Public library. While they read many of them to her, amazing Isabella did most of the reading herself. Now she reads to her six-month-old sister--just as she was read to by her parents. A little time and effort toward making reading a daily habit in a child's life can go a long way in fostering a strong reader.
Team up with a child(ren) in your life and together you can reach the greatest of literary goals!
I promised I'd tell you some of what I've been reading. Just recently, I've been exploring Darcy Pattison's NOVEL METAMORPHOSIS, Uncommon Ways to Revise. I had the opportunity to attend a retreat last weekend presented by Darcy. It was a great jumpstart for my novel in progress. Darcy had tons of tips, insider info on the writing business, and lots of encouragement. Just what I needed! Darcy has an amazing website and blog. If you are children's author or want to know more about children's books, I'd advise you to stop by. She has a wealth of info there.
I also studied two books Darcy suggested, SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS and THE FIRST FIVE PAGES. Both are writer how-to gems.
As for what children's literature have I been reading--well, I just finished James Treadwell's ADVENT. This is the first book in a trilogy of the Arthurian legend, and it is masterfully written. But it's a YA book for sure. Quite an interesting modern take on the ancient legend.
A favorite picture book I read this summer was
PETE THE CAT AND HIS FOUR GROOVY BUTTONS. Simple, sweet, and funny. What more could you ask for in a picture book.
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By: Cynthia Reeg,
on 9/19/2012
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OK, I admit. I've taken a loooong summer break from my blog.
But that doesn't mean I haven't been reading and writing--just doing a lot of babysitting with my adorable grandson. :)
In the meantime, I've had one of my favorite short stories, "Picnic Guests," published in
LADYBUG magazine--in their July/August issue. You should be able to find a copy at your local library, hopefully. Of course, my grandson Sam loves it because it features a dog, Buddy. Sam's first word this summer was "dog." Or more precisely "daw-daw." Yes, he said "dog" before even "Mommy" or "Daddy." But I'm not surprised. His daddy, my son Dan, said his first word quite early at nine months, and it was not "Mommy" or "Daddy" either. It was "Inky," our dog's name.
I'm also teaching Sam sign language, and his first sign was "dog" as well. And already we read books and learn new vocabulary each day at Grammy's. This is such an important tool for children, to be exposed to books and reading at the very youngest age. Sam already has a great attention span with his books--especially books with animals and vehicles in them. He loves anything with wheels.
Well, you get the idea of what I've been doing--besides writing this summer. And I must say, Sam has reminded me that I write for the most amazing readers in the world--KIDS! Hope you had a chance to do some reading this summer. Next post I'll talk about some great books I've been reading.
Let me know any favorite stories you've found this summer.
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