from PRWeb, with thanks, via SF Chronicle

50% Matching Grant Program Now Available For Schools, Libraries, and Educators

June 26, 2012

Literacy for a Lifetime is a 50% matching grant program partnering Usborne Books and More with businesses, foundations, and individuals who support education at organizations and schools of their choice.

Annapolis, MD (PRWEB)

As the leading publisher of children's non fiction books, Usborne Books & More carries over 1800 Usborne and Kane Miller titles, including fiction, story books, activity books and more.

The Literacy for a Lifetime program matches any corporate or individual donation or grant that purchases books from Usborne Books with an additional 50% in free books. A Literacy for a Lifetime matching grant program is an excellent way to expand a library collection, build a leveled book room, or provide supplemental classroom materials.

The Literacy for a Lifetime matching grant program program is available for donations and grants as low as $200 and can be used as often as needed with no maximum on the amount that can be donated or matched. The organization receiving the books has full control over their selection, from an array of over 1800 titles.

Usborne Books & More Independent Consultant, Ken Kennedy, said, "The Literacy for a Lifetime program is a great way for schools of all sizes to promote and encourage reading. For example, when a school receives as little as $200 in donations to purchase Usborne Books, Usborne will donate an additional $100 in books to the school".

Usborne & Kane/Miller Books are internationally acclaimed as the finest entertaining and educational children's books in the marketplace today. Usborne & Kane/Miller offer over 1,800 fiction and non-fiction titles that inspire, engage and entertain your students through reading. As a host school, you can choose from a wide range of subjects covering science, history, hobbies, nature, the arts and more. There's no better gift for your school or organization than an Usborne "Reading Is A Gift" book fair event that promotes reading and pays you back in free books and/or cash. For more information, please visit http://www.readanddream.com

The Literacy for a Lifetime program can also be used with the following:
State and Federal grants such as:
Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies
Literacy through School Libraries
Migrant Education
Even Start
Special Education Preschool Grants
Small, Rural School Achievement Program
Education for Homeless Children and Youth
Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers
Reading First
Early Reading First
Striving Readers
Corporate donations or grants
Foundation grants
PTA/PTSA/PTO grants
Individual donations

For complete information about this program, visit the website below or contact by e-mail.

If you want to learn more about the Literacy for a Lifetime program visit http://www.readanddream.com

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebfreebooks/schoolsandlibraries/prweb9

Viet Nam News, excerpt

May, 28 2012

Reading books a habit that lasts a lifetime

Retired military technician Pham The Cuong runs a free private library in his house in HCM City and hosts the Nguyen Huy Tuong Booklovers' Club. He says his biggest happiness is passing his passion on to children. Cuong talks to Ngoc Hai about his love of books.

Inner Sanctum: In the ten years you've been retired you have collected up to 6,000 valuable books. How did you collect such a large amount of books to serve readers?

If you want to read a lot of books, first and foremost you need to have books. I have loved reading since I was young and had collected nearly 1,000 books by the age of 15. In 1982, upon moving to HCM City by a military train, I brought along many valuable books; unfortunately, many of them were lost during that trip.

Inner Sanctum: How did you get the money to buy books at such a young age?

I earned money by sewing conical hats in my hometown in Nam Dinh, a place famous for producing them. I used to be very quick at sewing the hems of the hats. By sewing from five to six conical hats per day, I could earn enough money for books.

Inner Sanctum: Do you think that collecting and reading books is the hobby of wealthy people, as it is not only costly, but also time-consuming?

I am not wealthy, but rich in passion. Without passion, people cannot succeed in anything. Without passion, I cannot keep books as my hobby. I have to take up a part-time job of doing estimations for building projects. However, getting home after work, I immediately return to books. Never have I gone to sleep before 12:30am or woken up after 5:30am; I'm like a living clock. Many of my friends wonder how I could read so much like that, but I just think of it as my habit since childhood.

Inner Sanctum: Why are people lazier now to read books than before?

Because today there are so many other forms of entertainment like internet games, which interest not only children but adults too. Games are even installed in mobile phones so that people can play anywhere anytime. I used to be keen on playing games once, but then found out that it was a waste of time. Of course there are games to sharpen one's concentration or wit, but hardly do they offer new intelligence. To those who long for intellectual development, books are dedicated teachers, and to a bookworm like me, a book is like a faithful lover. It is certain that I will never leave books.

Inner Sanctum: How are your private library and the Nguyen Huy Tuong Booklovers' Club operated?

My library is open two nights a week and on Sunday afternoons during the school-year. In summer, it is open four nights a week, mainly to serve the students. My wife and sometimes my children take turns working as the librarian. Readers don't have to deposit anything. At times I organise trips for children to go out, with free transportation, tour guide, food and drink.

In seeing their children take part in such educational activities, some families offer to pay, but I have never accepted, even up to one third of the amount spent. Trips to museums or parks, where children can learn about nature, history or food, requires the most money. My salary, though not much, is enough to cover those expenses.

The Nguyen Huy Tuong Booklovers' Club, the playground for every booklover, is open on the first Sunday of each month.

Inner Sanctum: Every year, young readers at your library win awards in local story-telling competitions. How do you train them in their reading habit?

Those awards are mainly the results of their intelligence and passion. I often hold talks and discussions on famous landscapes, the environment, seas and islands. The children also write about their favourite topics using images and sound to enliven their stories. They are very excited when renowned writers or border soldiers are invited to talk to them about the sea or islands. — VNS

It's Teacher Appreciation Week:

check for on-line book discounts for teachers

do something nice for your teacher

Tucson Book-Banning Read Out, SDSU, March 22, 11-2

Come read out loud from SDSU MFA grad Matt de la Pena's Mexican White-Boy and from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian--



Message from GOALS
Hello, Everyone! We have a slight change of venue for tomorrow's event. We'll be on the Hepner Hall Quad, near the flagpole! We'll have signs in the original location, and the new location is close to the old one.

The Graduate Organization of Advanced Literature Students (GOALS) and the Department of English and Comparative Literature are thrilled to announce:

The Tucson Book-Banning Read Out

March 22, 11 am - 2 pm on the Hepner Hall Quad!

To protest the recent book bannings in the Tucson Unified School District, we are organizing a reading of the books that have been confiscated. Please join us!

• read from one of the banned books at the event itself
  
• invite your students, classmates, colleagues, friends, and relatives to come
• or just come listen to passages from fantastic works like Anaya's Bless Me Ultima, Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, Cisneros' House on Mango Street, and many more.

We will have the banned books available at the Read-Out for you, or you can bring your own copies and decide ahead of time what you'd like to read. You can find the list of the banned books here: http://library.csun.edu/Guides/arizonabannedbooks

Come and exercise your right to read freely. We hope to see you there!

-GOALS
Founding Members: Lauren Benard, Molly Hatay, Lauren Lamoly, Kelli Magargal, and Megan Parry
Faculty Adviser: June Cummins

Click

from WJACTV.COM, excerpt

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

High school juniors write book for young tornado victims

By Melanie Gillespie

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. —

It has been almost a year since a tornado ripped through the town of Joplin, Missouri leaving a trail of destruction in its path.

One local school district did something for an elementary school whose students lost everything.

This was much more than any class project. A literature class of 11th graders decided to write, illustrate and print a children's book for kids at Irving Elementary in Joplin just in time for Christmas.

"And it was just something… Wow, these kids lost so much. We can give them something," junior Eden Mullins said.

"It started with a big idea, and then we realized how much work we were taking on," American Literature and Composition teacher Melissa Vello said.

Nearly 15 students and their teacher wrote Feather of a Friend in the matter of 15 days. They donated extra time to writing and revising it, and raising enough money to print at $4 a copy.

It taught students and instructors a lesson that you can't always learn from a textbook.

"I really saw how valuable the experience was for [all] of us, and we've all learned so much from it, and [I] think that's what education should be," Vello said.

"[It's] something I can actually look back on and say I'm really glad I did that, and it wasn't just for me," Mullins said.

"This is a real world thing. We helped these kids in need out, you get sort of an experience from that, you just can't get from anything else," another student said.

The kids from Irving Elementary got their copy the day before Christmas break. The students and teacher agree that this is something they would like to do in class every year.