Children's Literacy Round-Up: May 29

Children's literacy and reading related news is a bit light this week, probably because of the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S. However, here are a few articles for your enjoyment:

• First Lady Laura Bush was awarded the Sandra Day O'Connor award last week for her efforts to improve literacy, as reported by The Arizona Republic. "A former librarian and teacher, Bush has helped more than 600 disadvantaged schools in the U.S. stock their library shelves since her husband's inauguration. An additional 42 Gulf Coast schools have rebuilt library collections destroyed in Hurricane Katrina as a result of her work."
• The Tuscaloosa Public Library is off to a strong start for their Summer Reading Program. An article in the Tuscaloosa News has all of the details.
• The Welland Tribune (Ontario) has a nice artcle about the recent Welland/Pelham Family Literacy Event. "This year, the event, organized by the Ontario Early Years Centre, needed two locations to accommodate all the activities it included. It was held Saturday at the Niagara Centre YMCA and Niagara Children's Safety Village."
• This is slightly off-topic, but according to an AP article in The Arizona Star, "China has launched a crackdown on scary children's stories including the popular Japanese "Death Note" comic book series... "Death Note," (is) a Japanese series of comic books about a notebook that can kill people whose names are written in it. The story "misleads innocent children and distorts their mind and spirit," said Wang Song, an official of the National Anti-piracy and Anti-pornography Working Committee, quoted by the China Daily."

Happy reading to all!