May 2012

 

VISIT & SHARE!!
 

CELEBRATE! 

Summer is for play, too.

And for spending
quality time

 . . . with best friends!

School's out for summer! Well, almost. And that makes May the perfect month to Get Caught Reading! We're also celebrating Children's Book Week and Teachers Week this month---a perfect combination in our eyes.

Thank you to more than 1,200 teachers across the nation who bring Book Trust into their classrooms. We couldn't get books into the hands of kids in need without you.

With only one month to go, we've purchased 351,867 books for students. Our goal is within reach!

Excerpted from Margalit Fox, New York Times

Roundly praised, intermittently censored and occasionally eaten, Mr. Sendak's books were essential ingredients of childhood for the generation born after 1960 or thereabouts, and in turn for their children. He was known in particular for more than a dozen picture books he wrote and illustrated himself, most famously Where the Wild Things Are, which was simultaneously genre-breaking and career-making when it was published by Harper & Row in 1963.
 

Children who have limited access to books experience a slide in their literacy skills over the summer. James Kim of the University of California states in his research, "Voluntary summer reading intervention may represent scalable and cost-effective policy for improving reading achievement among lower performing students."

This kindergartner got caught reading!

 

Numerous studies indicate that an achievement gap in reading develops and widens during summer vacation, and this gap is disproportionately more evident among children from low-income families. Middle-income students often make reading gains, whereas low-income students lose ground. Access to books and voluntary reading plays a critical role in promoting reading achievement outside of school, especially during the summer months.

 

Book Trust helps to close this achievement gap by providing access, equity, and choice to students who otherwise would not have the opportunity to choose and own books.

 

As we head into the summer break, please consider a gift to support Book Trust students so they can receive their final books this month---setting them on the right path for literacy success. Donate today. 

 

Book Trust Delivers Books to Kindergartners at West Seattle Elementary
 

Wendy London, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Seattle Public Schools, reads along with a kindergartner

Seattle Public Schools showcased critical services being offered by Book Trust at West Seattle Elementary on Friday, April 27th -- and we were there! Guests learned about the Book Trust program, passed out new books to kids, read along with them, and saw for themselves what an impact Book Trust makes in the lives of children who would not otherwise be able to choose and own books of their very own. They were moved.

For the students, it feels like Christmas in the classroom every month of the year.

A Commitment to Hawaii Keiki

A big Mahalo to McInerny Foundation who has generously provided support for students on the Hawaiian island of Molokai for the second year in a row. Over 300 students have had the opportunity to choose and own books every month this school year due to this generosity. Molokai is the fifth largest Hawaiian island and is located just west of the island of Maui. Over 78% of students qualify for Book Trust, making this one of our highest need areas in Hawaii.
 
Established in 1937, McInerny Foundation is committed to supporting education and social services throughout Hawaii. We're proud to be a beneficiary of their generosity and a partner in pursuing mutual goals for students in Hawaii. By the end of this school year, McInerny Foundation will have funded the purchase of over 8,000 books, books which will now be a permanent fixture in the home libraries of students across  Molokai.