Mackenzie Blue

HarperCollins publishes the first Mackenzie Blue novel May 5.

Tina Wells hopes the book will be only one of many ways that tween girls will engage with the title character—a 12-year-old student and aspiring pop star.









♥ & Respect Books ~ read often & help others to do the same =9.

Curious Baby Curious George

Introducing Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s new Curious Baby Curious George.

The new book series, which is for infants and is based on the look of the classic Curious George picture books but with some tweaks in color and design to make it appeal to parents of new babies.

♥ & Respect Books ~ read often & help others to do the same =9.

Reading... Just Do It!!!

Aaahhh, sleeping in, staying up late, the sounds of the ice cream man's melodious tunes.

Sandcastles, splashing... long, lazy days lounging poolside. No school!!!

Eating ice cream cones @ a rapid pace as the sticky, sweet goodness drips between your fingers.

Iced Tea, lemonade, popsicles in every flavor imaginable.

Fishing w/ grandpa, hiking w/ dad, baking w/ grandma, movies w/ mom...

Sleepovers, camping w/ cousins, catching fireflies w/aunts, baseball w/ uncles.

Bike rides, amusement parks & walks in the park. Reading. Huh? Reading?

Unfortunately, reading skills gained during the previous school year are all too easily lost during the long, lackadaisical days of summer.

Research shows that elementary school-age children can lose an upward of three months' worth of reading progress during summer break. Not good.

There are some studies that support the connection between students' socioeconomic status & their reading ability. Hmmm... I don't buy into this theory.

Bottom line, I believe one of the primary reasons there is a decline in summer reading is quite simply because kids don't have an accessible path to reading materials.

Access to the written word is a crucial facet in amplifying the reading development of children.

So, what do we do?

1. Get as much reading material into kids' hands

2. Support Libraries

3. Ask your school to incorporate programs to motivate reading during the summer (encourage awards/prizes for students when they return to school in the fall)

4. Give out bookmarks @ the end of the school year

5. Create a fun reading activity journal/poster/sheet to keep track of books

6. Ask your library/school to invite authors to visit

7. Get a library card *

8. Ask family/friends to start a reading camp

9. Ask your school to open their library doors during summer school hours


* Please keep in mind a library is not "free daycare".







♥ & Respect Books ~ read often & help others to do the same =9.

Literacy Tips for Early Readers

1. Point out print in the child’s environment: on cereal boxes, food labels, toys, restaurants and traffic signs.
Sing songs, say short poems or nursery rhymes and play rhyming words games with your child.

2. Tell stories to your child.

3. Read aloud to your child. Point to the words on the page as you read.

4. Read a short passage several times to your child until your child can read it with you. Then encourage your child to read the passage to you.

5. Encourage older children to read with younger children.

6. Encourage your child to read (or pretend to read) to you.

7. Make this reading enjoyable. Don’t worry if your child does not read all of the words correctly; instead, applaud your child’s efforts to read.

8. Go to the library together.

9. Have books, magazines and newspapers around the house. Let your child see you reading.

10. Encourage your child to write things such as grocery lists, to-do lists, postcards or short messages to family members or friends. Don’t worry about conventional spelling at this point; instead, encourage your child’s first efforts at authorship.

11. When watching television, have the captioning feature enabled so that the children view the words while hearing them performed aloud.










♥ & Respect Books ~ read often & help others to do the same =9.

KINGDOM KEEPERS II: Disney at Dawn ~ Ridley Pearson

2nd Kingdom Keepers

Now Available!

It's supposed to be a happy day at the Magic Kingdom—the return of the teenaged holographic hosts. But things go very wrong when a sudden lightning storm disrupts the celebration, and Amanda's mysterious sister, Jez, disappears. The only clue is the sighting of a wild monkey in the Magic Kingdom during the storm. The mystery deepens as Finn is contacted by Wayne, an old man he hasn't heard from in months. Wayne tells Finn that there's trouble at the Animal Kingdom: the evil Overtakers have gained control of one of the computer servers that will be used to operate Daylight Holographic Imaging there. That means that if any of the holographic hosts fall asleep, they will go into comas—permanently. Filled with action and brimming with the same meticulous detail as The Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark, this second book in the series—Disney at Dawn—is the result of hands-on research behind the scenes at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. Young and older readers alike will get a glimpse into a second Disney kingdom. The wild rides have only just begun; and the clock is ticking. How long can the teens keep themselves awake in their quest to find their friend—and what happens if they fail?










♥ & Respect Books ~ read often & help others to do the same =9.

KINGDOM KEEPERS: Disney After Dark ~ Ridley Pearson

1st Kingdom Keepers book

In this fantastical thriller, five young teens tapped as models for theme park "guides" find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls.Using a cutting-edge technology called DHI—which stands for both Disney Host Interactive and Daylight Hologram Imaging—Finn Whitman, an Orlando teen, and four other kids are transformed into hologram projections that guide guests through the park.The new technology turns out, however, to have unexpected effects that are both thrilling and scary. Soon Finn finds himself transported in his DHI form into the Magic Kingdom at night. Is it real? Is he dreaming?Finn's confusion only increases when he encounters Wayne, an elderly Imagineer who tells him that the park is in grave danger. Led by the scheming witch Maleficent, a mysterious group of characters called the Overtakers is plotting to destroy Disney's beloved realm, and maybe more.This gripping high-tech tale will thrill every kid who has ever dreamed of sneaking into Walt Disney World after hours, and wondered what happens at night, when the park is closed.

Check out some Photos!

BUY THE BOOK

IndieBound

Amazon

Barnes & Noble










♥ & Respect Books ~ read often & help others to do the same =9.

Read With Kids Challenge

April 1 - June 30, 2009

U.S. Airways is partnering with Reading Is Fundamental for the Read With The Kids Challenge.

The Press Release for this challenge reads:


The 2008 Read with Kids Challenge achieved overwhelming success in its first year with more than 16,000 participants logging 3.8 million minutes of reading. This year, the challenge is climbing to new heights with a goal of collectively logging 5 million minutes spent reading with children from April 1-June 30. Participants can register and log their minutes online at www.RIF.org/readwithkids.

All participants will be entered to win a grand prize drawing of a Walt Disney World®; Resort vacation package from US Airways Vacations, US Airways gift cards, and other great prizes.

Also in the Press Release:

US Airways—the official airline of RIF—is also encouraging customers, employees, and readers nationwide to support children's literacy by making a donation to RIF. Donors can receive a special edition of Off You Go, Maisy!–a children's book by best-selling author Lucy Cousins-and be eligible to receive up to 5,000 US Airways Dividend Miles.

Interested in participating? Visit the registration and sign up page to join in.

RIF is near & dear to my ♥. I am a huge supporter of the "Reading is Fundamental" program.

P.S. I ♥ Maisy, too!!!

♥ & Respect Books ~ read often & help others to do the same =9.