Children's Literacy and Reading News Roundup: Mid-April

The mid-April edition of the Children’s Literacy and Reading News Roundup, brought to you by Jen Robinson’s Book Page, The Family Bookshelf, and Rasco from RIF, is now available at The Family Bookshelf. Host Terry Doherty says: "We are delighted to celebrate reading ideas and highlight literacy-related events on the horizon. We also have some news about literacy and reading programs and research, and a couple of suggestions for growing bookworms. Thanks for tuning in!"

One of the posts that Terry highlighted is one that I loved, too. I've mentioned before how much I love the Nerdy Book Club, a group blog founded by Donalyn Miller, Colby Sharp, and Cindy Minnich. The Nerdy Book Club features a host of dedicated, book-obsessed contributors. I especially enjoyed a post this week by Sara Ralph on the Top Ten Ways to Raise A Nerdy Book Club Member. Really, if you care about children's books and literacy, and you only have time to read one blog, the Nerdy Book Club would be an excellent choice.

I also especially liked the picture that Terry included (a suggestion from Carol) of a tub made of books. Do click through to see! Terry has bunches of other interesting literacy-related events and tips, too.

And here are a couple of additional tidbits from me:

• Today marks the launch of the third annual Guys Lit Wire Book Fair for Ballou Sr. High School in Washington, DC. The goal of this project is to improve the selection of books available to Ballou's underserved students. Colleen Mondor has all of the details about this great, great cause at Chasing Ray. Participation is very easy. Just cllick through to the school's wish list at Powell's books, and send along a few books. This is a quick and easy way to make a difference.
• Jenny Schwartzberg sent me a link today to a story from the Jakarta Globe about an Indonesian mom who started her own foundation, "Taman Bacaan Anak Lebah (Bee Children Reading Garden) in 2009. The foundation offers underprivileged children in eastern Indonesia reading material to help instill the habit and joy of reading at an early age... In addition to books, TBAL also supplies the schools with stationery, bookshelves and teaching materials." Very nice!

That's all I have for you today. Carol Rasco will be back at the end of the month with the next children's literacy and reading news roundup. And, of course, we’ll be sharing literacy links on Twitter in the meantime @RascofromRIF, @readingtub, and @JensBookPage. Thanks for reading, and for caring about children's literacy!