Hurrah for Al Roker- Literacy Hero!

Al Roker,of NBC's Today Show has started a on-air book club for young readers that will continue through the summer. Young people's books rarely receive media coverage; educational issues in general have fallen of the nation's media screen. We applaud NBC and Roker and hope the book club continues past summer. Watch Roker's kid's club when it airs ---watch it with the kids in your life. And take notice of Roker's selections. It will be interesting to see if all the books suggestions are Scholastic publications for it appears that Scholastic is sponsoring the book club segment. We hope that the book club exceeds the commercial interests of Scholastic publications and promotes kids reading many great books this summer not just the great books from Scholastic.

Newsweek Magazine also features kid's book clubs in an article of interest: Key quote:
“The more cool reading is, the better,” says Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted. "Reading starts to fall off in middle school and in high school. If you can find a means to keep those kids reading, to rope them back in, to make reading part of their social world, then a book club has really done something fabulous.”

Actually reading starts to fall off by age 8-9. Parents stop reading aloud to kids when they perceive that their kids have become independent readers---about the ages 8-9.
Hhhhmmmm, could there be a connection?

Read more:
Al Roker Book Club: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/18179145/

Newsweek book club article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18602858/site/newsweek/

Help your kids start their own book club this summer! Need help? Go to:
http://www.pbs.org/parents/readinglanguage/articles/bookclubs/main.html

http://www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace/BookClubs.cfm

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=67