The Official Newsletter of the Association of American Publishers' Get Caught Reading Campaign, Volume 4, #1

A Welcome Message from Pat Schroeder

Dear Get Caught Reading Supporter,

It is with great honor and gratitude that I have the opportunity to celebrate with you, as a community of book lovers – booksellers, librarians, educators, and parents – the 10th anniversary of Get Caught Reading this May. As I take leave from the Association of American Publishers, I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me to hear how so many of you from across the 50 states are “on the same page” for the literacy cause. Get Caught Reading has been such a literacy mainstay, with nations from Europe, Antigua, Romania, Japan, Mexico, United Kingdom, and beyond coming on board to deliver the Get Caught Reading message. It is because of you and your efforts spreading the love of the written word that we are here together celebrating the 10th birthday of such an important public awareness initiative. We are truly thankful for your support.

In addition to campaign updates and anecdotes from other GCR advocates, you will find within the pages of this newsletter information on the new partnership with the National Basketball Association and Reach Out & Read. You’ll also catch a glimpse of special one-of-a-kind artwork courtesy of Ian Falconer, author and illustrator of darling Olivia the Pig, who is caught reading by her mom! We are grateful for some of the nation’s most celebrated public figures, celebrities, and beloved characters who have championed our campaign and shared with us their visions of getting caught reading.

Did you know many of your favorite celebrities echo the same passion for books as you? We recommend you visit www.BooksAreGreatGifts.com to watch a fun video from Jon Stewart, Maya Angelou, Frank McCourt, Amy Sedaris, Jim Cramer, Bill O’Reilly and many others discussing why books are good food for the brain and why books make great gifts year-round. Feel free to share the message on your Facebook, Twitter, blog, or website!

We hope this newsletter is a page turner of ideas to help you keep up the great GCR initiatives in your town, bookstore, library, or school. We thank you for all the fabulous and enthusiastic stories that come pouring in and always welcome more!

We all know the importance books have on educating the future of America. As former President Bill Clinton noted, “The public needs books for entertainment and release, and they need them for perspective. Facts are not enough.” The future is in your hands. When you give a friend of any age a book, you give them the world. May we all brighten our own futures th as well as future generations with a good read. Happy 10 Birthday to Get Caught Reading!

Fondly,

Pat Schroeder, President & CEO Association of American Publishers

A Look at Some of Our Celebrity Supporters over the Last 10 years…

Ray Allen Tiki Barber Fmr. First Lady Laura Bush Drew Carey Santa Claus

Clifford Donald Duck Dora the Explorer Whoopi Goldberg Jeff Gordon

Derek Jeter Alicia Keys Rosie O’Donnell Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Dolly Parton

Diane Sawyer Sammy Sosa Spiderman Veggie Tales Robin Williams

What’s New with Get Caught Reading?

To mark the 10th Birthday of Get Caught Reading in May 2009, the Association of American Publishers is teaming up with the National Basketball Association and Reach Out and Read to carry the campaign—which celebrates the pleasures of leisure-time reading—to a new level. This year, the groups plan to distribute thousands of posters featuring NBA and WNBA stars “caught reading” their favorite books at select NBA events and through Reach Out and Read pediatric centers in 50 states.

Working through the NBA/WNBA community outreach programs NBA Cares and WNBA Cares, the posters will also be displayed and distributed at NBA Cares/WNBA Cares Reading & Learning Centers, which provide children an opportunity to access educational and technological resources, at NBA team “Read to Achieve” events and activities taking place throughout the season, and at community events during WNBA Cares Week in May.

The posters will also be distributed through Reach Out and Read pediatric hospitals and community clinics throughout the country. Reach Out and Read works closely with doctors to stress the importance of reading during well-child visits. After visiting with one of the tens of thousands of ROR partnering physicians, each child will receive a book from ROR along with a glossy Get Caught Reading poster from AAP. More than 5.7 million books are distributed each year to more than 3.5 million children through Reach Out and Read.

WNBA and NBA stars featured during Get Caught Reading’s 10th Birthday year include: Jerryd Bayless (Portland Trail Blazers), Greg Oden (Portland Trail Blazers), Joe Alexander (Milwaukee Bucks), Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls), Candice Wiggins (Minnesota Lynx), Lindsay Whalen (Connecticut Sun), Taj McWilliams-Franklin (Detroit Shock), and Roy Hibbert (Indiana Pacers).

In addition to NBA and WNBA stars, Get Caught Reading’s public awareness campaign has featured many pop culture figures with a special resonance for young people including LL Cool J, Alicia Keys, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Dora The Explorer, and Horton of Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who!. Celebrity sports figures include tennis star Nicole Vaidisova and New York Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon. For a full listing of posters currently available free of charge visit www.getcaughtreading.org. The NBA/WNBA posters will be available this year.

“AAP is truly fortunate in having two amazing partners—the NBA and Reach Out and Read—to mark Get Caught Reading’s tenth anniversary,” AAP President and CEO Pat Schroeder said. “Every study being released about children and reading points to the same conclusion: a love of reading is the single most reliable predictor of academic success and too many of our kids are not being motivated or given opportunities to cultivate this love. The Get Caught Reading campaign tries to help with motivation by example, and Reach Out and Read and NBA Cares are doing heroic work to provide opportunities, but we all need to do more.”

About NBA Cares About Reach Out and Read NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility initiative Reach Out and Read (ROR) is a national that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing nonprofit organization that promotes early important social issues in the United States and around literacy by giving new books to children and the world. Through this umbrella program, the NBA, its advice to parents about the importance of teams and players have donated more than $97 million to reading aloud in pediatric exam rooms across charity, provided more than 800,000 hours of hands-on the nation. ROR makes literacy promotion a service to communities around the world, and created standard part of pediatric care so that children more than 350 places where kids and families can live, grow up with books and a love of reading. ROR learn or play. NBA Cares works with internationally trains doctors and nurses to advise parents recognized youth-serving programs that support about the importance of reading aloud and to education, youth and family development, and health- give books to children at pediatric checkups related causes, including: KaBOOM!, Special Olympics, from 6 months to 5 years of age. A special Boys and Girls Clubs of America, UNICEF, the Make-A- focus is placed on children growing up in Wish Foundation, and the Global Business Coalition on poverty. ROR is celebrating its 20th HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. Anniversary in 2009.

What’s New with Get Caught Reading?

New NBA and WNBA Posters

Joe Alexander, Milwaukee Bucks Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers Jerryd Bayless, Portland Trail Blazers Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers

Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Detroit Shock Candice Wiggins, Minnesota Lynx Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls Lindsay Whalen, Connecticut Sun

New in Get Caught Reading! New in Get Caught Listening!

Ian Falconer’s Olivia the Pig Judy Blume

Visit www.GetCaughtReading.com today to download and order your own celebrity wallpapers and posters.

Be sure to send all your friends, teachers, students, and customers a personalized Get Caught Reading e-card while you’re there!

Download Judy Blume’s PSA at http://www.getcaughtreading.org/listening

GCR in Your Community

SPOTTED! Look who is getting caught reading Stories Come Alive on Tape across the country… In between pool time and drippy ice cream cones, students at St. John’s Academy in Hillsdale, New Jersey spent last summer bringing books to life on tape. Students were allowed to borrow a book on the topic of equality as well as a tape recorder from the St. John’s Library Media Center before school dismissed for the summer. While on break, they were given a mission to record the book on tape individually or in teams and submit it to the library the first week back to school. The recordings were reviewed, then added to the library’s audio book shelves and made available for checkout. Some students were extra creative with the project, singing on tape or adding music to along with the story while other students made decorative covers for their Mrs. Shelley Zabroske, kindergarten teacher at St. Joseph School tapes. Each student was rewarded with certificates in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania reading Blueberries for Sal. and bookmarks for their efforts.

Student at Lowell Elementary in Lowell, Arkansas reading The Runaway Pumpkin.

St. John’s students are all smiles with the books they recorded on tape and their prize certificates.

Students from Brockway Area Jr./Sr. High School in Brockway, Did you know… Pennsylvania get caught reading upside down on the monkey bars. The percentage of prekindergarten children ages 3–5 read to frequently by a family member (i.e., three or more times in the week preceding the survey) increased from 78 percent in 1993 to 86 percent in 2005. - U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). The Condition of Education 2006 (NCES 2006– 071), Indicator 33.

Student caught reading at Tualatin High School in Tualatin, Oregon.

Get Caught Reading on a Trading Card Every fall at Maureen M. Welch Elementary School in Churchville, Pennsylvania, sixth grade students choose their first special library book of the year to read. They spill out into the school courtyard and have a great time taking photos of each other getting “caught” reading. Students learn how to upload and rename their digital photos on the computer, and when they are finished with a book, they create a webpage to record information about the book and their personal recommendation. The sixth graders then must write up a 50- word description and complete a bibliographic citation.

School librarian, Beth Auwarter, likes to use the website Big Huge Labs (www.bighugelabs.com) to create trading cards out of the photos the students take. Students get to print out two full-color trading cards, one for display on the library wall and one for their refrigerator door at home!

Make Your Own Screensaver Slideshow Look who’s been caught reading…on the computer! Judi Wollenziehn, library media specialist at Bishop Miege High School in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, sponsors a teen book club called the “Page Pirates.” To highlight their passion for reading, club members were digitally photographed holding their favorite book. The pictures were imported into Adobe Photoshop and enhanced with colorful backgrounds and text. The text was created from the American Library Association’s READ CD software program. A montage of club members’ photographs was assembled as a slideshow screensaver and loaded onto the school media center’s 32 computers. Keli Healy, President of the Page Pirates, said, “Getting caught reading is the best thing to be caught doing, especially if you’re in another world and think you’ve been caught by pirates!”

Don’t Leave Me Hanging

Every morning at Highland Hills Middle School in Georgetown, Indiana, Carla Thomas opens her class with a

commercial. The sixth grade reading teacher/reading specialist attempts to “sell” students on a book in just three

minutes. She reads aloud the juiciest and most suspenseful parts until a student timekeeper yells, “Stop talking!”

It is always timed just so students are left with a cliffhanger. “Almost every day, they ask me to read more,” said

Thomas. The book is not put out for checkout until the next day. According to the teacher, every single day this

year and last, students will race to her classroom to check the book out before the first bell even rings.

Thomas also reorganized her classroom bookshelves to look less like a library and more like a bookstore. After

all, she is selling the love of reading! Each shelf has shoeboxes supplied by the students, filled with books

organized by theme or idea. Boxes include: Action/Adventure, Thriller/Suspense, Bullying, School Drama, Family

Drama, Dealing with Difficult Situations, Dragons and Fantasy, etc. Thomas has found that books get check out

much more often with the user-friendly layout. She explains, “The students are just learning to be readers and

develop[ing] their reading preferences at this age. I think this is easier for them to do with guidance rather than

assuming they’ll know authors’ last names.”

Carla Thomas found students checked out more books after she reorganized her classroom shelves by genre.

A Journey to the Center of the Earth Getting students to read isn’t a problem at Old Donation Center, a public elementary school for the gifted in Virginia Beach, Virginia, but to make it exciting, the school’s library media specialists create a new theme ever year for the Accelerated Reader program. This year, the theme is “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” An elaborate display with the various layers of Earth was hung up on the wall outside the library where each student was designated a hiker figure with their names written on them. As they read more books, which must have Accelerated Reader tests, the students accumulate points, allowing their hiker to travel along areas such as the spider’s nest, the waterfall and carnivorous plant sections as well as the dangerous lava pool. Students journal about their adventures and receive small tokens along the way such as compasses, glow sticks, magnifying glasses, and crystals. The students love to hear the Old Donation Center faculty read their journal entries during the morning announcements. Look for Library Media Specialist Diane Smithson’s article on their themed program in the May 2009 issue of School Library Media Activities Monthly.

Rockin’ Around the Clock Books rock at St. Andrews Middle School in Columbia, South Carolina! Every March 2, students and teachers come together to celebrate the famed Dr. Seuss’s birthday as well as the National Education Association’s Read Across America Day with an all day “Rocking Read-a-thon.” Participants can bring their favorite books or magazines from home or borrow them from the media center, but the one rule is they must read them silently while rocking in rocking chairs in 15-minute intervals. The goal is to keep each of the 12 chairs rocking the entire school day. Teachers and staff are invited to the Read-a-thon whenever they wish, where they can even enter a “Dr. Seuss Quotable Quotes” contest to win a prize.

The Parade Marches On Approximately 418 four-year old children were “caught” reading on Halloween Day at the Armandina Farias Early Childhood Center in Houston, Texas.

In support of early literacy, principal Ali Oliver and school librarian Scott Wille, hosted a storybook character parade with students and families to promote “bookjoy.” The children created costumes based on their favorite storybook character and engaged in storytelling and early literacy activities. Any child who “got caught reading” joined the school campus parade of storybook characters. Students happily shared their favorite books with their teachers and peers. In partnership with HoustonPBS Channel 8 and the station’s Director of Education and Outreach, Ann Beall Crider, the children received complimentary books Photo credit: Scott M. Wille and Halloween treats to support home libraries and reading achievement.

All Together Now… Marion High School in upstate New York is continuing their successful Community Read program that began three years ago, funded in part by a New York Rural Education grant. All of the students, along with invited community members and parents, read the same book during the same month-long time period. The goal is to create a literary environment wherein all students, staff, and community members can have dialogue surrounding one book and concurrent themes.

Along with reading, students participate in book discussion groups, art projects, and other presentations and projects in their English Language Art class. The book chosen this year is After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away by Joyce Carol Oates. Previous years’ Community Reads were Tuesdays with Morrie and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

During the month-long celebration, the school’s photography students take snapshots of their fellow students “caught” reading while the technology students use the Get Caught Reading logo to create posters for the school hallway. The month ends with a culminating activity day, designed similarly to a professional conference day with a variety of speakers, roundtable discussions led by National Honor Society members, and a panel discussion. It is a voluntary day for interested students and continues to grow in involvement with 60% participation last year.

Reading for a Cause When stay-at-home mom and blogger Kelly Anderson and her family moved from Hudson, Ohio, she left behind a beloved independent bookstore, The Learned Owl. “It was the place I always ended up at when I had a few minutes to fill…I always luxuriated in my visits there. So many possibilities, so many neat discoveries,” said Anderson. She added, “Walking through the Learned Owl, you felt as though you could absorb some wisdom from its ancient walls, that time had stood still there, save for the new releases on the front table. It was a place of little nooks you could tuck yourself into while you perused the shop’s offerings.” Along with offering three floors of books for all ages and interests, locally owned store The Learned Owl has been a big supporter of the Get Caught Reading campaign, even initiating their own photo contest.

Anderson, was so inspired by the Get Caught Reading campaign there that she took to her blog, Where There’s a Will. Mother to a young boy named Will who has Down syndrome, Anderson started her own Get Caught Reading campaign last holiday season to both promote independent bookstores and to “show people that an extra chromosome is not a barrier to reading.” She asked her readers to submit their favorite photo of their special reader(s) with Down syndrome “getting caught reading.” First prize was an American Booksellers Association gift card valued at $25, redeemable at hundreds of independent bookstores nationwide. Anderson also gave away one copy each of Night Cars, Wild about Books, Imagine a Night, and Scaredy Squirrel, some of Will’s favorite titles. For the winning photos, please visit Where There’s a Will at http://willswebplace.blogspot.com.

Will reading Walter Wick’s Can You See What I See? Trucks and Cars. “This little book gives me the chance to review searching skills and colors at a very beginner level with Will,” said Kelly Anderson.

Don’t Forget to Send a Postcard The staff at Palos West Elementary School in Palos Park, Illinois made sure to send their students home for summer break with Get Caught Reading postcards. Students were encouraged to read at least one book and then send one of the summer-themed postcards provided by the school or an email with their book review to let the staff know they were “caught reading” over break. Those who did received a letter from an administrator as well as small tokens and prizes donated from local businesses. Upon returning to school in the fall, each child and their book review were featured on a bulletin board in the main lobby. Staff member Kathie Smith noted that one of the main goals of their Get Caught Reading program was to encourage reading for pleasure by allowing students to choose books for themselves. With all the required reading students have in school, the program helped uncover some of the students’ interests and allowed the staff to get to know them in a little different way by seeing the types of books they selected and how they were reflected in their postcard comments.

To further celebrate the campaign, the Palos West hallways were also decorated with Get Caught Reading celebrity posters and photos of teachers “getting caught reading” in various locations around the school. Participating students were praised in the school newsletter and recognized at the quarterly Palos Pride assembly. The staff received over 70 responses and hopes to continue the effort by highlighting the importance of reading throughout the year. Smith said, “Literacy has always been a priority at Palos West, and through the exciting focus of Get Caught Reading, we were able to offer even more encouragement to readers of all ages.”

Yo-Ho-Ho! And a Barrel of Books! For the last 25 years, reading has been the focus of a week-long event held annually at Frank Knight Elementary School in Seneca Falls, New York. Since 1983, kindergarten through second grade teachers have taken turns as co-chairs of Reading Week and organized a theme based on an author or illustrator. Reading Week explodes into a series of events including author/illustrator visits, a principal’s challenge which requires reading at home, Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) time in school, dress-up days, writing pieces, and art decorations. The school also holds a student competition to design the t-shirt (2nd grade), button (1st grade), and coloring poster (kindergarten) for the entire building.

Last May, the principal challenged all 300 students to read for 15 minutes at home or with an Honor Society volunteer from the high school at least 5 times. Each time a student read for 15 minutes, they brought in their take-home “coupons” signed by a parent and in exchange received a star sticker for their reading chart. Because the students met the goal of 1,500 signed coupons, the young pirates got to make their superintendent, principal, and several teachers each walk the plank and get dunked in a tank at the week’s culminating event. Reading specialist Lois Hunt said, “The roar and excitement from the children was deafening and exhilarating. They were so proud of themselves for meeting the challenge… From the principal, to the custodian, from the music teacher and art teacher, to the parents, we have an amazing team that makes the focus on reading an event the students will never forget!”

Did you know…

Of the financial assistance to libraries provided by state library agencies in fiscal year 2005, some 56 percent ($409 million) was targeted to individual public libraries.

-U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). State Library Agencies: Fiscal Year 2005 (NCES 2007-300).

Revamp Your Library on a Shoestring Budget Does your library need a new look? Have you noticed that in retail stores they are always rearranging merchandise so that customers can see what other products are sold? Why not consider doing the same in the library? From the moment she first walked into the Study Middle School library in Springfield, Missouri, teacher and librarian Teresa Young began to map out her vision of what the library could become with “Project Renew.”

“Project Renew” transformed the Study Middle School library into a warmer, more inviting place using only limited funds and resources that were easily available. Before dismissing for summer break, Young surveyed the students on the areas of the library they felt needed the most attention, and over the summer months, she took the opportunity to breathe life back to the library while the rest of the school underwent other major renovations.

“When I first came into the Study library, there were books on book trucks, shelving units that cut out areas, and no place for students to sit and read,” she said.

An ongoing project carrying an outdoor theme, Young got started by weeding out the old books copyrighted in 1950 or older and donating them to the public library. This allowed her to rearrange shelves, move books off the trucks, and make the new books much more visible. She removed extra tables and book trucks to open up for more seating space. Young also wrote grants from various local organizations and solicited for community volunteers and donated items such as an SMS library fiction section: (top) before (bottom) after. indoor/outdoor turf rug, bean bag chairs, and other area rugs. She noted that when donors were told exactly what the library needed, they were happy to give. The donors are honored on the library’s wall, reminding students and staff that others cared for and contributed to their learning environment.

Young picked up leftover cans of paint from the “free” shelf at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store, splashed the walls with different, teen-pleasing colors and added lattice boards donated from a community member’s garage. She also added a fresh layer of paint to some lawn chairs purchased from the local thrift store, waking up the formerly dull teen area.

“Sometimes just a simple idea makes a powerful impact like ‘Project Renew’….The energy poured into making the change is very obvious to anyone who walks into the library,” said Young. She added, “Students come in and use the reading areas, and [they] take care of the new books. Students have told me, ‘I love the new look of the library’ and ‘thank you for listening to us.’”

SMS library biography section: (left) before (right) after.

Adopt-A-School

About Adopt-A-School Celebrating its third year, the Association of American Publishers’ Adopt-A-School program, with the help of the New York City Department of Education and in partnership with the Children's Book Council, has grown to include 17 publishers and 28 schools ranging from grades K-12 in all five New York City boroughs. Each year the Adopt-A- School program matches AAP member book publishers with New York City public schools to schedule author visits during the week of November 10-14 (formerly Children’s Book Week) in hopes of encouraging the love of books and reading among students. Participating schools were selected for being REACH grant recipients, awarded to their libraries on behalf of the NYC Fund for Public Schools. If you are at a New York City public school and are interested in being considered for the Adopt-A-School program, please contact Katie Ly at [email protected]. Unfortunately at this time, we are unable to accommodate schools outside New York City.

Troy CLE Inspires Immigrant Teens Alvin Hall Shows P.S. 24Q the Money

On November 10, 2008 author Troy CLE shared his Marvelous World series with the 10th graders at

Brooklyn International High School as part of the Alvin Hall’s children’s book, Show Me the Money: How to Association of American Publishers’ Adopt-a-School Make CENTS of Economics, was the November Book-of-the- Program. After speaking about his inspiration for the Month Read Aloud for K-5 students at P.S. 24 in Queens, adventure story and his writing process, CLE fielded NY. Through the Adopt-A-School program, forty of Hall’s questions about everything from the process of books were donated to the school in preparation for his visit selling a book to Hollywood to how Kant and on November 25, 2008. The book was a vehicle through Hume's philosophies were reflected in the which P.S. 24Q teachers taught the concepts of finance, characters. At the end, students lined up to receive literacy, and economics to the students, which is studied audiobooks, autographs, and a few signed posters. continuously throughout the year. P.S. 24Q students While some students were interested in the books, responded in writing, mathematical problem solving, and the it was CLE's story that resonated with others. As visual arts. Principal Lori Golan always encourages authors librarian Grace Dang reflected, "Troy connected to visit P.S. 24Q in hopes of motivating students to be lifelong with our students easily because they saw readers and writers. “[Alvin Hall] very quickly engaged the themselves in him and that gave them hope. Hope students by relating his life’s story to them and the process of is an extremely powerful feeling for immigrants writing his first children’s book. In addition, Mr. Hall spoke to and that is the reason why many of us left our children about what they learned from his book when he homes to face such uncertainty. Coming here as visited several classrooms. This was a memorable and immigrants, we hear constantly from touching day for both our students and Mr. Hall,” said Vice our parents and teachers that hard work will equate Principal Helen Jacob. to success. To hear Troy and feel his optimism and passion, despite the obstacles he faced, is more inspirational than any one of us can really articulate. Whatever cards they may have been dealt with, that day our kids left the library excited and hopeful of a better tomorrow."

Adopt-A-School

Left: Author Paul Griffin introduces himself to students at his “adopted” school, the Manhattan Village Academy, on November 24, 2008. Right: MVA students excited to have their copies of Ten Mile River autographed by Griffin.

Joy Masoff Explores All Things Gross with P.S. 84Q P.S. 84 in Queens, NY was “adopted” by Joy Masoff, an award-winning author and graphic designer. Her visit to P.S. 84Q focused on her titles Oh Yuck!, which explores the science of everything nasty, and Oh Yikes!, a book that investigates gross and mysterious historical topics. Grade 4 students at P.S. 84Q made model rats after reading about them in Oh Yuck!. Another of the grade 4 students’ favorite topics was snakes and lizards from the Oh Yuck! book. Expanding on Masoff’s visit, Grade 4 students got to visit New York’s Museum of Natural History to see the snakes and lizards exhibit while Grade 5 students made armor, shields, and swords after reading about knights and armor in Oh Yikes! Grade 5 also had the opportunity to visit the medieval art gallery at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

P.S. 84Q students greeted Masoff with much enthusiasm when she visited on December 16, 2008. Grade 4 students welcomed her by making edible “scabs” from a recipe in Oh Yuck!. Masoff led an exciting and interactive presentation for all Grade 4 and 5 students that allowed them to dress up and form a history timeline before concluding the day autographing copies of her book and handmade swords.

Did you know…

By the age of 2, children who are read to regularly display greater language comprehension, larger vocabularies, and higher cognitive skills than their peers.

-Raikes, H., Pan, B.A., Luze, G.J., Tamis- LeMonda, C.S., Brooks-Gunn, J., Constantine, J., Tarullo, L.B., Raikes, H.A., Rodriguez, E. (2006). “Mother-child book reading in low- income families: Correlates and outcomes Author Peter Howe reads part of his book, Waggit’s Tale, during the first three years of life.” Child to students at “adopted” school IS 51R in Staten Island, NY Development, 77(4). on November 20, 2008.

SSPPOOTTLLIIGGHHTT OONN……..

First Book: A Resource for Books First Book is a nonprofit providing brand new books to children in need. The books are free or drastically reduced in price and available three ways. The First Book National Book Bank aggregates large-scale donations from publishers and distributes free books to programs that serve at least 80% children from low-income families. The First Book Marketplace is an online store selling books and educational materials discounted up to 90% off retail prices to programs that serve at least 50% children from low-income families. The First Book Advisory Boards are made up of volunteer community leaders who provide book grants to local literacy programs.

Administrators from Title I schools, preschools, after-school programs, health centers, hospitals, shelters, soup kitchens, tutoring or mentoring programs and more can register at www.firstbook.org/register to access First Book’s programs. Online registration is free and only takes a few minutes. You will need your program’s Employer Identification Number (EIN). Need more information? Visit www.firstbook.org, email [email protected] or call 1-866-READ-NOW. Share the magic of reading with a child today.

National Geographic Kids Get Caught Reading For the last three years, National Geographic Kids magazine has been an extremely generous supporter of the Get Caught Reading campaign, dedicating pull-out pages in their May issue to promote GCR efforts and creating interactive reading games reaching 5.5 million readers ages 9-14.

In celebration of Get Caught Reading this year, NGK readers will have the opportunity to be rewarded for their love of books. They must send in a parent-signed postcard that proves they’ve been “caught” reading to be eligible to win a variety of books and prizes. In addition to the contests and programs already in store, National Geographic Kids will feature Get Caught Reading on their blog, “Dog Eared” at http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/dogeared. For more information on National Geographic Kids magazine, visit http://kids.nationalgeographic.com.

Get Caught Listening Recent studies have shown that one in every five American households listen to audio books. Get Caught Listening is a nationwide public service campaign intended to promote the joys of audio-book reading. The campaign was produced by the Association of American Publishers and launched in June 2008. A brand extension of the nationwide public service Get Caught Reading campaign, Get Caught Listening communicates the pleasures of audio book listening in all audio formats, and promotes the value of the medium as a beneficial learning tool supporting literacy and education.

The Get Caught Reading website is visited by thousands of book lovers – booksellers, educators, and librarians from all around the world, with requests for posters to accompany grassroots reading campaigns across the globe. Celebrity posters feature LL Cool J, Lisa Scottoline, Brad Meltzer, and Horton of Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who! Visit www.getcaughtreading.com/listening today to download Get Caught Listening PSAs, including the new Judy Blume PSA, and to find more information on how to use audio books in your classroom.

SSPPOOTTLLIIGGHHTT OONN……..

New Free Website Starring TV Actress Kathy Kinney Brings Story Time to Children Anytime, Anywhere www.MrsP.com, a new, free educational entertainment website for kids, which launched on November 10, 2008, is creating the magic of "story time" for children everywhere. The site stars actress Kathy Kinney, who played Mimi on "The Drew Carey Show," as Mrs. P, an adventurous, funny Irishwoman with a passion for books and reading. Direct from her Magic Library, Mrs. P sits beside a crackling fire and reads classic children's stories while giving kids a chance to read along with her through a special subtitle option. Children choose their book from the interactive talking library shelf and Mrs. P also entertains her young audience with tales of her own exciting, funny adventures. Mrs. P makes reading cool.

The co-creator of the site, Clay Graham, who was head writer of "The Drew Carey Show," said, "The smartest, funniest, coolest people I've known have had one thing in common - they've all been avid readers. That's what Mrs. P represents."

"I've been a passionate reader all my life," says co-creator Kathy Kinney. "I wanted to share my love of reading with children everywhere."

www.MrsP.com has no advertising and no subscription fees and is available to anyone with access to a broadband Internet connection. "We tried to create a reading resource that could be enjoyed by children and parents, teachers and libraries everywhere," said co-creator Dana Plautz. "I'm thrilled that so many people are responding."

The Magic Library hosts an assortment of interactive features, including a spelling game with a stuffed dog that comes to life, a magic dictionary and - one of the most popular features - a young writers contest in which kids will have their own stories read to the world by Mrs. P. Celebrity judges will include TV's late night host Craig Ferguson.

"We've worked really hard for almost two years to develop this site, and the praise and endorsements we've been getting from teachers, librarians and especially kids has been extremely satisfying," said Plautz.

Pat Schroeder, President and Chief Executive Office of the Association of American Publishers said, "Actress Kathy Kinney and her talented partners, Clay Graham and Dana Plautz, have created a wonderful new free resource for parents, teachers and librarians who encourage the pleasures of reading and being read to. Mrs. P's love of a good story is infectious and her wacky, magical, interactive library is a warm and inviting place that children will want to visit over and over again. I'm delighted to have an actress of Kathy's caliber lend her support to children's literacy and encourage everyone to take a look at this wonderful site.”

Did you know…

In the 2003-04 school year, English language learner (ELL) services were provided to 3.8 million students (11 percent of all students). California and Texas had the largest reported number of students receiving ELL services. In California, there were 1.6 million students (26 percent of all students) who received ELL services; and in Texas, there were 0.7 million students (16 percent of all students) who received ELL services.*

(*Note: Estimates are based on schools and agencies reporting. Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee did not report data on ELL students receiving services.)

- U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Staff, Schools, and School Districts: School Year 2003-04 (NCES 2006–307).

Mark Your Calendars!

April 30, 2009: El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day)

May 2009: Get Caught Reading/¡Aja! Leyendo Month Latino Books Month

May 5, 2009: National Teacher Day

May 11-17, 2009: Children’s Book Week

September 15-October 15, 2009: Hispanic Heritage Month

November 15-21, 2009: National Education Association’s American Education Week

March 2, 2010 National Education Association’s Read Across America Day

Thank you for all your letters and tips! If you’d like to share your ideas with other Get Caught Reading Supporters, please email a brief summary and a digital

photo, if possible, to Katie Ly at [email protected] .UH

About GCR Get Caught Reading is a nationwide campaign to remind people of all ages how much fun it is to read. May is Get Caught Reading month, but the campaign is promoted throughout the year. Get Caught Reading is supported by the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Launched in 1999, "Get Caught Reading" is the brainchild of former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, President and Chief Executive Officer of AAP, the industry association representing book publishers. She saw the opportunity to spread the word about the joys of reading through an industry-supported literacy campaign.

Because of research indicating that early language experience actually stimulates a child's brain to grow and that reading to children gives them a huge advantage when they start school, we hope to encourage people of all ages to enjoy books and magazines and to share that pleasure with the young children in their lives.

About the AAP AAP is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. The association’s more than 300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non- profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the association’s highest priorities.