This year’s week to unplug – April 29 to May 5 – is the perfect opportunity to put down the remote and pick up a book.

Kids are naturally creative. But if you have a child and are worried they’ll not make it a day, here are some ideas:

• Have kids act out their favorite books – or movies – to an audience of parents
• Grab some old sheets and build reading forts
• Set them up with materials to write and illustrate their own books
• Get outside!
• Take advantage of free resources for kids in your community – story time at the library?

These authors and illustrators agree that this week is important. Watch their inspirational message about why they think your kid should unplug and read.

Still not sure they’ll make it a full week? Here are some more ideas to get your kid moving.

Photo Source: speedye 

Do you know where your favorite book is?

If not, you’re in luck. It’s spring cleaning time, and this year let’s try to make it fun by revamping our bookshelves.

Nowadays many people turn to Pinterest for some DIY inspiration. So we’ve put together a board of bookshelves that inspire us.  Happy pinning.

Photo Source: Enokson 

With hundreds of kids surrounding her, Librarian Kay Gooch carts a bookcase full of favorite books onto the stage. The kids in front of her recognize the books. They have many of the same at home. They love these books – from “Fox in Socks” to “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”

Kay then pulls out an almost empty bookcase, just two or three tattered covers. Old and unwanted books. She goes on to explain that for the kids their age living in low-income neighborhoods just across town, these are their bookshelves. 

They get it immediately.

This powerful visualization is the kickoff to what’s become an annual fundraiser for Austin-based Reading Is Fundamental programs – with Kay’s students helping raise more than $135,000 in just seven years.

Kay credits a community of readers with the program’s success – whether it’s the family members and friends who pledge a nickel or dime for every page a student reads, or it’s the community sponsors whose incentives add excitement to the experience.

Like many of us, Kay remembers Reading Is Fundamental from her childhood. Her mother volunteered for more than 20 years. So when Kay’s school joined a RIF Read-A-Thon years ago, Kay gladly took the lead.  Her impact on children in underserved communities in Austin has been profound.

The staff at BookSpring, which runs the RIF program benefited by the Read-A-Thon, says Kay’s passion and enthusiasm have been the hallmark of the program’s success. For her incredible contributions, Kay is one of RIF’s 2013 Volunteers of the Year. Thank you, Kay.

Kay and two other award recipients — Sara Massey of New Orleans and Linda Placzek of Omaha, Neb. — will receive their awards May 9, 2013, at RIF’s WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Gala Celebration. 

Bryan and Ella Foster are the proud parents of Bianca, who is 3, and Roland, just 7-months-old. They are also both serving in the military. Bryan has been deployed four times and Ella twice. Last year, Bryan missed Roland’s birth.

Like any family dealing with separation, the time away can be very difficult. To help shorten the distance, Bryan read three books on DVD for his kids to watch while he was deployed. They never got tired of watching those DVDs. And now, Bianca asks him to read stories every day.

Their story is shared by many others who joined RIF and United Through Reading – which runs the DVD program for military families – on the USS George H.W. Bush for a special celebration held on May 16 sponsored by Macy’s.

Almost 200 children and their parents, who serve as members of the ship’s crew, were treated to a special read-aloud of The Kiss Box by Doro Bush Koch – the ship’s sponsor, daughter of former President Bush and co-chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Capt. Brian Luther, the ship’s Commanding Officer, also read The Little Engine That Could.

The families made their own Kiss Boxes and children took home four books of their own. And, thanks to our friends at Scholastic, Clifford the Big Red Dog also made a special appearance.

Doro Bush Koch summed it up best when she told the Navy News Service how honored she was to participate in the event:

“As a daughter of a decorated Navy pilot and former commander in chief, I have the deepest respect for our men and women who serve. And I’m grateful to the children who are willing to share a parent – sometimes even two – so their mom and dad can perform this most noble cause for our country.”