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It is with mixed emotions that we open the last day of Share a Story ~ Shape a Future. The enthusiasm and energy is both infectious and exhausting.

Literacy is a skill we develop, and to have that skill is a gift. Someone (probably many people) who treasured that gift invested their passion and time in helping you attain that gift. Now it is up to you to share that gift ... Congratulations, YOU are a literacy curator!

Today's hosts - Sarah Mulhern and Elizabeth O. Dulemba - are asking us to think about the gift we have and asking

 ... how did you fall in love with reading?
 ... who gave you the gift of literacy?
 ... have you shared it with anyone? who?

These two literacy dynamos have gone all out to celebrate the gift of literacy, pulling out all the stops. Not only will some amazing authors, illustrators, and curators be joining them, but they're using Web 2.0 tools to do it. There are podcasts, videos, essays ... There could be no better way to end our week. Here are their lineups, and as we have done all week, we will update with the direct links here after we confirm they've gone live.

@ The Reading Zone Sarah Mulhern is interviewing some people about the gift of literacy. Her guests include

• Sarah Darer Littman, 
• Kathi Appelt, 
• Melissa Walker, and
• Pamela Voelkel (aka JP Voelkel).

@ Dulemba.com Elizabeth Dulemba will be talking about how she fell in love with reading and share quotes from

• Jane Yolen,
• Ellen Wittlinger,
• Deborah Wiles,
• Uma Drishnaswamz,
• Gregory K. Pincus,
• Sarah Lamstein,
• Marcia Jones,
• Phillis Gershator,
• Sally Keehn; and
• Karen Romano Young.

Quite the encore, no?

Thank you so much for all you do to help readers-to-be and engage the next generation of literacy curators. We are thankful for your energy, your enthusiasm, and your support this week and all year long.

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If it's March then it must be time to share your love of reading. Read Across America and World Book Day have put us in an oh-so-perfect frame of mind for Share a Story ~ Shape a Future 2011.

Over the last month, our hosts have been crazy-busy identifying, inviting, and coordinating posts with their guests, not to mention thinking about their own posts. This is an unbelievably enthusiastic crew, and each person we've contacted has said "yes" without any hesitation.  At last count, there were more than 35 people participating!

All week long our literacy curators are sharing personal stories, photographs, writers journals, and lots of great ideas. Did you notice the change to the term literacy curators did you notice that in this post? Brenda Power of Choice Literacy used that term in a recent Big Fresh and it just seems so appropriate in describing the Share a Story ensemble. )

Okay, here's what you've been waiting for a few more tidbits about next week.

• Author and TV personality Katie Davis (of Katie Davis' Brain Burps) has an exclusive interview with Terry Doherty, founder of The Reading Tub. Look for her podcast early in the week.
• Mrs. P. of MrsP.com has written an original story, will give us a demonstration of how her website is a portal to reading, AND is launching a new program. [Still a secret!]
• Award-winning authors Tanita S. Davis and Mitali Perkins, and Hannah Ehrlich of Lee & Low Books join Terry Doherty in a roundtable discussion about multiculturalism in books for children and teens.
• Elizabeth Dulemba, Sarah Mulhern (The Reading Zone), Donalyn Miller (The Book Whisperer), Franki Sibberson and Mary Lee Hahn (A Year of Reading), and their author and illustrator friends  will be talking about how they fell in love with reading, who gave them the gift of reading, becoming a write, and ... well, we can't tell you everything now, can we? Here are some of their friends: Sarah Darer Littman, Kathi Appelt, JP Voelkel, Paul W. Hankins, Terri Lesesne, Mitali Perkins,  Megan McCafferty,  Jess Leader, Jonathan Auxier, Courtney Sheinmel, Barbara Dee.

I know I said it the other day, but it is worth repeating: Although our focus is on young readers-to-be and readers-in-need, there are millions of adults who don't know how to read. If working with adults is something that interests you, we encourage you to visit Zoe's well-annotated list of literacy charities from around the world at Playing by the Book or our Reading & Literacy Wiki.

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Two weeks from today, we'll begin Unwrapping the Gift of Literacy as we open Share a Story ~ Shape a Future, our blog tour for literacy.

A couple weeks ago, we announced our daily themes, where we'll talk about kids owning books; "the" moment when our kids realize they're actually reading; keeping a love of reading alive (despite homework); and the new face of literacy ... among others!

It has been so exciting to watch the ripple grow, with lots of new "faces" this year. For lack of a better phrase, we've "rounded out" some areas, and we're tickled to have more teens, guys, and opportunities to talk about literacy across cultures.

• Riley Carney will be visiting with Carol Rasco at Rasco from RIF. (Monday)
• Chris Singer (BookDads) has lined up nearly two dozen (!) dad bloggers (who also happen to be readers, writers, educators) to talk about the gift of reading. (Tuesday)
• Mary Ann Scheur (Great Kids Books) will be reviewing iPad books and talk about them in the context of promoting literacy when Danielle Smith hosts Literacy 2.0 at There's a Book. (Wednesday)
• At a Year of Reading, Mary Lee Hahn and Franki Sibberson will be talking about ways to balance literacy fun and school. Mitali Perkins, Barbara Dee, Katie Davis, Courtney Sheinmel, and others will be sharing Writer's Notebook ideas/photos at The Reading Zone. (Thursday)
• In her post today, Sarah Mulhern (The Reading Zone) said that "A great group of authors have volunteered to share their stories about the gift of reading- both giving the gift and receiving it. It’s going to be a fantastic day!" (Friday)
• Also on Friday, author / illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba will be sharing authors' stories about when they fell in love with reading.