Felix and Jordan were looking for a book that could help their son get ready for his role as a big brother. But none of the families looked like their interracial family. It took some time, but they eventually found their book (All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee). And the entrepreneurial couple realized there was a need among countless other parents they could help solve. Thus, Zoobean was born – a site that makes it easier to find remarkable books for kids.

The husband-wife team sat down recently to answer a few questions from RIF.

Q&A

B: Tell us about your family. What books are currently going over best with your little ones?

J: My husband, Felix, and I met when we were teachers in Washington, D.C., where we now live, after having moved around the country quite a bit.  We have two children, 3 and 1, who keep us very busy!   We still love reading All the World to the kids at bedtime; our son likes to let us know, “That’s me, and that’s my sister,” which is really cool because he actually sees himself in the book we’re reading.

Other than that, he is a huge fan of most Ezra Jack Keats books, anything that has to do with tractors or construction – Otis is a big favorite. He also enjoys The Three Ninja Pigs.  The kid wants to be a ninja astronaut when he grows up!  Our daughter still loves board books, especially Everywhere Babies. She’s fascinated by babies.

B: Have you always been a reader? What’s your favorite book to read with your kids?

I grew up in a family of readers.  Some of my earliest memories of my mom and dad are of them sitting on their bed, both reading, and inviting me up to sit with them and read through my books alongside them.  We try really hard to cultivate that same love of reading and stories with our children.

My favorite books to read with the kids are All the World, the Knuffle Bunny series – which give me an opportunity to be silly – and almost any wordless book.  We’re really into Zoom by Istvan Banyai, and also love the newer Bluebird by Bob Staake.   Wordless books give you the opportunity to create stories and offer your young child the opportunity to “read” the book to you independently.

B: Here at RIF, we have been highlighting our Multicultural Literacy Book Collection for many reasons. On Zoobean, you’ve been showcasing multicultural books too. Can you tell us a little more about what you’ve found in this process?

J: That’s great to hear. It’s so important that kids are able to see themselves in the media and images around them.  At Zoobean, we want to ensure that all kids are able to see themselves in the stories they read.  In our case, as an interracial couple and family, we wanted to be able to find books that had mixed kids in them.

When I searched on other, all-encompassing sites, the result was recommendations on hair care products and other irrelevant information.  At Zoobean, we make finding the right book easy by extensively cataloging our books, including the main character’s background, along with other tags that really matter to parents.  While the data tells us that the stories out there simply don’t reflect the population, we do think there are more books than folks know about, and we hope Zoobean makes it easy to discover them.

B: As former teachers, do you think Zoobean would be more appealing for parents than teachers?

J: As a Language Arts teacher, I spent countless hours in bookstores and libraries trying to find books that would challenge and engage my students.  In my case, the librarians became my best friends and helped me make excellent selections.  But not all parents and loved ones want to spend so much time going through this process.

What Zoobean offers is a way to scale that experience you have at an amazing bookstore, where you say, “I want a book that has a brother and sister in it.  I’d like the family to be mixed, too,” and boom! Someone recommends All the World to you.  Or, “I am looking for a book that has a not-so-pink girl main character and emphasizes emotional development like embracing individuality.  Oh, and my daughter just loves animals,” and boom! Someone recommends Me…Jane.  Zoobean helps to scale that experience of finding a great, recommended book in a way that is simple and relevant for families.

B: When and why did you decide to donate to a non-profit with your “Love Collection”?

J: Our core values of love, inclusion and remarkability led us to this decision.  The books that we sell in our shop, the Love Collection, help support youth literacy causes.  We believe that finding the right books for kids can help them imagine and achieve anything, and it’s important to us to support this love for reading in all communities.

B: Thank you so much for your time. What parting advice would you have for parents who are trying to find books to help their kids?

J: I typically recommend a common-sense approach to picking books.  It’s a mantra in tech: focus on the user.  The same applies here.  Parents, listen to your kids! Then, find books that will resonate with what they love and are experiencing.

Into cars?  Find books about cars.  Having trouble sharing with friends?  Look for books that include lessons about sharing.  And of course, we are also fans of finding books that expand a child’s perspective and help him/her see the world and a variety of points of view through books. From there…it’s up to us, the parents, educators, and loved ones, to make the reading fun and engaging for kids.

Creating a sense of wonder and love for reading at a young age is such a gift.  I’m grateful to my parents for doing that for me, and I hope we’re able to inspire others to do that for their children as well.

Check out Zoobean to discover remarkable books for the kids in your life and to learn more about the incredible family behind it. You can also connect with them on Twitter (@zoobeanforkids), Facebook (facebook.com/zoobean) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/zoobeanforkids).

Photo Source: BEN EASTER photography

It’s a slippery slope. “Summer Slide” is what we use to describe learning loss for children over the summer – a loss disproportionately affecting underserved children. Researchers put it at two months (if not more) of learning loss. And the effect is cumulative, causing a significant achievement gap between low and middle-income children down the line.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s a solution and RIF is hard at work finding the lowest cost, most scalable solution for the children we serve.

Under the grant we received through the Department of Education’s Innovative Approaches to Literacy program, RIF is giving 20,000 children in 145 schools and 33 school districts tools to help stem – and maybe even reverse – some of the learning loss that they face each summer. And it all starts with books.

Before they leave, students involved in the program will pick out five of their very own books to call their own. They’ll come back and pick up three more. Throughout the summer, their parents will have tools to resources at school and activities to keep the books fresh and engaging for kids.

The project should yield both qualitative and quantitative research, so we’ll have an in-depth analysis in the fall about the effect on the kids’ learning gains.

In addition, we’re giving each of the classrooms in the 145 schools – and every library or media center in the school – their very own Multicultural Book Collection, along with activities for teachers, parents, and RIF coordinators to keep kids learning throughout these critical summer months.

But you don’t have to wait for the results. We know from research already done that simply reading with the children in your life – and making sure they have books at their fingertips – is a key way to help children retain learning.

Want ideas on how to keep the reading going at home? Here are some simple tips:

• Visit. Head to the library and sign your kid up for a library card if they don’t already have one. In addition to a wide selection of books to borrow, many libraries have free, child-friendly summer reading programs. Going to a baseball game? Read a book about baseball before you head off to that double-header.
• Lead. Kids look up to you, so lead by example. Read the newspaper at breakfast, pick up a magazine at the doctor’s office, and stuff a paperback in your beach bag. If kids see the adults around them reading often, they will understand that all types of reading can be an important part of their summer days. Storybooks aren’t the only thing that kids can read. Be prepared and keep all kinds of reading material on hand that might spark the interest of a young reader.
• Talk. Talking with your kids about what you have read also lets them know that reading is an important part of your life. Tell them why you liked a book, what you learned from it, or how it helped you—soon they might start doing the same. Going camping? Have your kids tell stories to their friends.
• Relax. Reading is supposed to be fun. So relax. Don’t set daily minute requirements or determine the number of pages they should read. Instead, make sure they pick up books that appeal to them and help find ways for them to choose to read on their own.

For more summer fun, use our summer reading activity sheet.

Photo Source: read4thefunofit 

Dr. Bailey’s program serves primarily Spanish-speaking children, and one little girl stands out in his memory.

“Last year, this first-grade girl received her RIF books and you could tell reading in English was a challenge for her. Well, she spent all summer with her RIF books. This fall, she sought me out at her RIF distribution. She said, ‘Can I read this one to you?’ And she read like she never had any problems. The transformation was remarkable. She was so proud of her progress.”

Were it not for Dr. Bailey – and the kindness of strangers – that may have been her last book.

With the loss of a federal grant that supplied books to Dr. Bailey’s program each year, it looked like that distribution was the school’s last. But Dr. Bailey wasn’t going without a fight.

“I called the local media and talked to them about what we’d been doing for the last almost two decades, about how children who didn’t have books at home were being given books through RIF,” he explained. “We got a great write-up in the local paper. It wasn’t long until I heard from a couple in town who clearly understand the value of books in a child’s life. They asked how much it would take to keep the program running. And they wrote a check.”

Dr. Bailey, who is a Professor of Education at Pacific University, then worked with the university to set up a fund for the program. Some of his colleagues also donated, with one fellow faculty member setting up a monthly donation.

“The community of Forest Grove Oregon really rallied behind us,” said Dr. Bailey. “It’s always been about supporting children’s literacy. To place a book in a child’s hands, it can change their lives.”

Interested in supporting Reading Is Fundamental through monthly donations? Visit www.rif.org/monthly.

Photo Source: Michal Thompson/Forest Grove Leader

Roses are red. Violets are blue. It’s National Poetry Month. You can celebrate too!

Get your little beatniks captivated by poetry this month. Start by reading some poems, perhaps some Shel Silverstein, and then ask them what their favorite poem is and why.

Take the celebration even further and have your kids write their very own poem about their day or someone they love and read it aloud to friends, family or classmates.

Here are some questions to get your poet thinking:

• Why does poetry sound different when it’s read out loud?
• What makes it different from storybooks?
• Do all poems have to rhyme?
• What’s the difference between a sonnet, limerick, acrostic or a haiku?

Want more background about the month and ideas for kids? Visit our friends at Poets.org.

Photo Source: newwavegurly 

Earth Day is a wonderful opportunity to pass along important values and set an example for little ones in your life.

So how do you teach kids about Mother Earth and what they can do to help her?  Start with a book.

We’ve got your nature lovers covered with a selection from our topical Multicultural Book Collection. “We’re Roaming in the Rainforest,” “10 Things I Can Do to Help My World” and “National Geographic: Little Kids First Big Book of Animals” are all great green books with exciting activity ideas to keep kids interested and involved.

Need more Earth Day ideas? Check out our Pinterest Earth Day Activities board to get some “pinspiration.”

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 

RIF recently launched an art competition, with the support of Nestlé, called FULL STEAM AHEAD WITH BOOKS, which encouraged students to express how books have fueled their passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics – or STEAM subjects.

Kids from grades K through 5 at RIF programs across the U.S. sent us their artwork, hundreds of entries were submitted.

Check out our Flickr gallery to see the great submissions from our four honorees.

Books are more than words on a page. For kids, they can be keys not only to a world of possibilities but they can bring them closer to their own world.

Sara Massey knows this. One of her most memorable moments was reading to two little girls – maybe 6- or 7 years old. Storytime was a luxury for them and they likely didn’t have books at home until RIF entered their lives.

As she began to read to them, one snuggled up close to her and Sara remarked, “Wow, you really like to cuddle, don’t you?” The girls looked back at her and asked, “What’s ‘cuddle?’”

For Sara, that moment represented the importance of reading and books – the power of books in people’s lives.

Inspired by this interaction, Sara created reading events that bringing parents, children, and teachers together—often for the first time.

She told RIF that in each school where these programs were held, the schools continued them every year since because it was so enriching.  

As the President of Communities in Schools in Greater New Orleans, Sara was there in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. She took on the incredible challenge of replacing the books lost to the devastation.

With the help of RIF, Sara provided thousands of high-quality, brand new books to the children she serves. Sara goes to work every day knowing she has a chance to add value in a child’s life.

What an awesome outlook on life, Sara. Congratulations on being chosen as one of RIF’s 2013 Volunteers of the Year.

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

Photo Source: Tulane Public Relations 

Rainbows. Shamrocks. Green Eggs and Ham.

Ahh, memories of St. Patrick’s Day as a child. My mom used to make me green eggs (scrambled) and ham for breakfast. We’d read the classic Dr. Seuss tale together.

In the backyard, I’d look for lucky four-leaf clovers and search the sky for rainbows, in hopes of chasing down a pot of gold.

Our neighbor would even create a treasure hunt for the kids, usually involving chocolate coins as a reward for deciphering poetic clues.

From writing limericks to learning Irish songs (Molly Malone, anybody? ), our St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were packed with activities – and almost all of them involved reading.

Anybody have plans for a reading-filled holiday this weekend?

Need more ideas? Try some ideas from our free spring activity guide.

Photo Source: Dana Deaton

Bugs, flowers and puddles.

They’re definitely signs of spring, but they’re also a great way to get a child more engaged in reading.

Use our free activity guide for ideas on how to make spring a time of growth for your reluctant reader.

Have other ideas? Post them in the comments section to share with others.

And don’t forget to download our March activity calendars for ages birth to 5 years (in English and Spanish) as well as 6 to 15 years (in English and Spanish) for more seasonal fun.