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Our theme today, about preparing children for preschool and beyond, could easily be called

I don't know about you, but in our house, the threes were much more terrible than the twos! More vocabulary = more ideas, more ways to express herself, etc.

It wasn't that our then 3-year-old could actually read, but she thought she could ! She morphed into the Bedtime Stories Casting Director. When she wasn't reciting her books herself, she was correcting us when we skipped missed a [word, sentence, page] or didn't use the right character voice.

Today's Writing @ Reading Prompts reflect the joys of the dramatic life ...

• Is there a book your child loves (or loved) to read to you? What is it, and what do you love about their reading style?
• Tell us about a time when a book first came to life for you.
• Let's turn one of your toddler /3-year-old's/preschooler's books into a mini-movie. What is the book, what stars would you cast in the various roles, and why?
• Have you ever had a situation / event in your adult life that reminded you of a book, story, or character from a children's book? [Either one you read as a child, or one you've shared with your kids]

Can't decide on just one topic? Yeah! We hoped that would happen. Remember, you are welcome to write a post for any or all of them! Each post = 1 entry for our fabulous book prize packages.

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Oh, how time flies ...

our babies grow up too fast, days just zoom by, and weeks are here and gone before we know it. In addition to getting taller, our kids are learning and practicing literacy skills the best way they know how: talking!

And oh, the things they say!

Lucky for us, Debbie Alvarez (The Styling Librarian) is here to help us create and savor some magical moments.

She has created a page on her blog just for today's theme, and is also writing posts throughout the week. Today, as  host, she's letting us in on her secrets of early literacy preparation. She's also linking to these great bloggers ...

• Tif Sweeney at Tif Talks Books has a post about going beyond books;;
• +Jen Robinson writes about making connections between books and everyday life on Jen Robinson's Book Page; and 
• +Jodie Rodriguez continues her focus on the library with a post about making the most of library time at Growing Book by Book.

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Welcome one and all ...

We hope you've enjoyed reading the posts this morning and saved some energy for Writing @ Reading!  Today's Share a Story 2013 theme is The Terrific Twos, and our writing prompts center on literacy-related ideas and activities for toddlers. So without further ado ...

• What (or who) are your favorite characters to "play" when you share stories with your child(ren)?
• Please share three, non-book literacy activities that you use (or have used) to engage toddlers. 
• Have there been any books that you originally borrowed at the library and then ended up buying because your toddler loved reading it so much? 

Can't decide on just one topic? That's okay ... you're welcome to write a post for any or all of them!

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Welcome to the May celebration dedicated to emerging and developing readers! This month we are hosting the I Can Read Feast for New Readers here at Share a Story - Shape a Future.

For the next three days we will be talking about easy reader and short chapter books. In the days to come, stop back by to find book reviews for easy reader, short and illustrated chapter books, as well as tips and ideas for nurturing the developing bookworms.

The blogosphere is starting to come alive with ideas and activities for summer reading ... that time of year when kids see "no school," and we think "but they need to keep their skills up." Even though easy readers and illustrated chapter books are designed to help new readers build their skills, there is no reason they can't be fun!

So to kick us off, I'm going to go back to a personal fave!

Andy Shane and the Queen of Egypt
by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
illustrated by Abby Carter
Candlewick Press, 2008
reading level: 3.5

Summary: Each student in Ms. Janice's class will do a project related to an African country for the Culture Fair. When Ms. Janice didn't hear Andy say "Egypt," Delores Starbuckle does her best to answer for him (and change his choice). In the process she announces to the class that she is the Queen of Egypt, and is left having to persuade Andy that they can work together. Andy needs time to think about it. This early reader chapter book offers a humorous story about friendship, passion, and school projects!


Anyone familiar with Andy Shane's relationship with Delores knows that these are fun, fun books. Although the reading level is for a third grader, my then first grader L-O-V-E-D this book. It is a just-right selection for families with mixed age audiences: whether mom and dad are doing all the reading or the third grader is reading alous with younger siblings!

Do you have a favorite summer read for new and developing readers? We'd love to add it to our list! Just add your link in the InLinkz collection or in our comments! We'll pull them all into the main post when the event closes.

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One of the mini-themes today is the idea that being a reader transcends "formats." Kids will never get inky fingers reading the newspaper any more, but we hope that they always have the joy of holding and exploring a book.

That said, we also recognize the value and unique opportunities that eBooks and Apps can give our kids. They might just get us over the hump and send reading rates soaring ... at least we can hope so.

Well, that is the idea that Josh Ory and his team (self-described limestone miners!) used as the foundation in creating Reading Racehorse and launching their first eBook app in December 2011.

Even though we are a 'for profit' company, our goal is to teach the world to read. So, in my opinion, it would be selfish of us to not do this. Our concern is for the kids.

What is "this" you ask? Well, it is big. I mean B.I.G. BIG.

For the next 48 hours, Reading Racehorse is giving away Frank the Friendly Pirate, an eBook App available in the iTunes store. [for iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch]  From the iTunes store description:

The defining function of the app is when a word in the story is touched, the pronunciation of that word is heard through the speaker on the device. There are other apps that continuously read stories in their entirety, but we have taken this a crucial step further.

Our app allows the child to read the words they already know. Then when they come to a word that gives them difficulty, he or she can touch that particular word to hear what it is. The reason this works is the natural tendency to take the easiest path. They will simply read the words they already know and only use the touch function on the ones they don't. Eventually the child will be able to read the entire story without touching any words.

No special code, no secret password, just a free download. We are very grateful to Reading Racehorse for this most generous donation and all that it means for connecting kids with books. While you're in the iTunes store, we would love it if you'd thank Josh, too!

Reading Racehorse will be releasing additional titles in 2012, so stay tuned.

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