Children's Book Week, May 11-17

Posted by Carmela Martino

In case you haven't heard, Children's Book Week begins tomorrow, May 11. Here's a bit of history from the official Children's Book Week website:

"Since 1919, Children's Book Week has been celebrated nationally in schools, libraries, bookstores, clubs, private homes--any place where there are children and books. Educators, librarians, booksellers, and families have celebrated children's books and the love of reading with storytelling, parties, author and illustrator appearances, and other book related events."

The Children's Book Week website includes specific suggestions for celebrating reading. I encourage you to give some of them a try.

In honor of Children's Book Week, our next series of posts here at TeachingAuthors will be about the importance of reading and how it influences, inspires, and informs us as writers and teachers. Our posts (which will span two weeks, not just one!) will also include several associated Writing Workouts. We hope you'll join us.

And for any book lovers who need an excuse to read: MotherReader has announced that the Fourth Annual 48-Hour Book Challenge will be held June 5-7, 2009. As the blog explains, this contest allows you to "read and blog guilt-free for as long as you can stand it!" And there will be prizes, too! So head on over to MotherReader for guidelines and to sign up.

Finally, to all the moms out there: