How to Grow a Reader

I always wanted my kids to be readers.  Actually, let me rephrase:  I was determined that if I did nothing else in my career as a mother, my kids would be readers.  My own “book lover” credentials are pretty solid – editor dad, literary agent mom, elementary school career spent holed up in a closet writing (bad) poetry.  Throw in the fact that I put books in the same category as food and water, and that pretty much sums it up.

I can’t say there was a real philosophical underpinning to my determination to transfer my love of books to my sons.  I just knew they

August and Edwin in their nightly routine

HAD to be readers, because that love of reading would connect us always.  And I knew it was good for them without having googled a bunch of educational research.

I’m sure there are many paths to the same result.  This is what I did, and how it worked.  - Anna Barber, Scribble Press co-founder and CEO

1. Be a reader.  I regularly, consistently, frequently read in front of my kids.  I read memoirs on my iPad, the New Yorker, The New York Times, paperback business books, hardcover fiction from the library.  They have always connected “Mom reading” with “Mom relaxing.”
2. Read out loud. I do this sporadically.  I mean, I work and have a crazy life, and sometimes can’t stomach even 20 minutes of Mary Poppins or whatever it is.  Or I’ve been talking all day and just don’t want to hear my own voice anymore.  I know parents who have read all of Harry Potter out loud.  Good for them – I can’t imagine.  We read the first book, plus a few others – enough to make it a regular thing.
3. Have lots of books around.  Books are home decor, they are a fingerprint, a personal history.  While I love my iPad (and my Kindle and my Nook too) kids engage better with the actual paper copies that don’t also come loaded with Angry Birds.  Make sure the lower shelves are full of stuff they might like – your old geology textbook, an Encyclopedia, picture books, comic books, whatever.
4. Don’t be precious about what they read.  You may have a vision of your ten-year old digging into Tolstoy, but be happy when he turns down a tv show to read Captain Underpants.  It’s going to lead somewhere good, I promise.  The potty jokes can’t go on forever.
5. Go to the library and check out a ridiculous amount of books.  This is something we’ve done consistently, every two weeks, for years.  I let each child check out AS MANY books as he wants.  They love the freedom of picking something because they MIGHT be interested – with no pressure.  It’s a treat.  As a side note, pay your late fees and round up.  Donate if you can.  We need our libraries.
6. Talk about reading as a reward, not work.  If you say “read 30 minutes then you can play,” you are sending a different message about reading than if you say, “clear your plate from the table and then you can read.”  Scheduling reading time, hoping it will then stick, doesn’t work –  in my experience.

As I sit here typing this my eight year old is reading THE GREAT BRAIN  and my six year old is reading a book about Stink, Judy Moody’s little brother.  It wasn’t always this way.  They weren’t so excited to go to the library the first 20 times.  I stuck with my program, and about two years ago the light went on for my older son.  Just last month, it happened for my younger one.  ”Mom?” he said.  ”We are rich in books.”  Yes, I said.  Yes, we are.  And there is no better way to be rich.

Teacher Viewpoint: Scribble Press in Summer Learning Camp

by Leah Lacrosse, 5th Grade Science Teacher.  Read Leah’s blog here and follow her on twitter @LLacrosse Thanks Leah for this contribution and for sharing your ideas about using Scribble Press in the classroom!  - Anna B. 

As educators around the world start recognizing the possibilities with iPad integration into the classroom, we are diving into some amazing apps. When looking for an app to support student reading, writing, and science content, I discovered the ScribblePress app. I was instantly impressed with the ease of use as my 9 year old daughter and I quickly created a fantasy type

Working together on a book

book while sitting in the doctors office. We were writing, talking, drawing, laughing, and CREATING! This is the environment that I want to see my science student work within.

Imagine…taking a field trip to the science center and returning to create a class book! The science content would be revisited with reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills automatically integrated. Or, completing a study of the solar system objects and developing their own textbook version. Creating their own work will make the content so much more relevant and memorable. These artifacts of learning could easily be revisited at testing time as they can be printed or saved to the iPad. Conference time? These books would make fantastic discussion points for learning and areas to grow.

Wow! The possibilities are endless!

In our Summer Learning Camp session, we have been utilizing the ScribblePress app for students to create books about

Creating books in class with Scribble Press for iPad

themselves. With the easy to use template, my emerging readers/writers are creating phenomenal works! Sharing with each other, I hear confidence in their voices. We are furthering the use of the app by printing out copies for the students to share with their new teachers in 2 weeks. What a great way to introduce yourself as a reader, writer, and student by being a published author.

Creating Great Books with Scribble Press for iPad

News flash – the update to Scribble Press for iPad just came out and you can now order actual printed books – and puzzles, cards, clipboards and notepads – that you create on your iPad.   Here are some answers to questions we have gotten about  the App:

• Installing the update will NOT remove your data.  All your books will be there after you install the update.
• If memory problems are causing the App to close, try closing some other Apps that are running at the same time.  Most people don’t realize they may be simultaneously running over 20 Apps.
• Questions about sharing:  your books are private unless YOU decide to add them to the public gallery, and we require parent approval for kids to add books.  We also keep an eye on the gallery to make sure that all the books up there are kid-friendly, original creations.  
• You can download and read your book on an iPad, Kindle, Nook or any other e-reader.  Our App only works on iPad but you can read the books you create on anything.
• For teachers: It’s great that so many classrooms are already using Scribble Press for iPad! we are working on a group accounts feature and invite you to join our educator community by emailing us at educators@scribblepress.com.  We want to hear your feedback.
• Updates: we are planning the next big release for April, so let us know what you think should be included.

August Story Contest Winner: ‘The Adventure of Bob’ by Simon

CONGRATULATIONS to 10-year-old Simon, winner of this month’s Faber-Castell Scribble Your Story contest! Hidden treasure, far-away planets and a great escape were the topics of

Simon creating an award winning story and having fun doing so!

Simon’s creative and colorful comic book, “The Adventure of Bob.”

Our guest judge this month is Sherri Duskey Rinker, author of one of the best picture books of 2011, GOODNIGHT, GOODNIGHT, CONSTRUCTION SITE. Why we love Rinker:  Her book is filled with surprising rhymes and creative uses of words.  Also, she wrote Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site in her free time – while juggling multiple full time jobs as the head of her own graphic design firm and mom of two. What a great inspiration for all our aspiring young authors. Scribble Press was lucky to be able to host Rinker for a reading during her book tour, and we’re thrilled she’s joined us here to help choose the first of 12 winners of the Faber-Castell Scribble Your Story Contest! Simon received $100 of art supplies from Faber-Castell including a Young Artists Essentials Gift Set and a Comic Illustrations Set. Simon also received a gift certificate to make more books at Scribble Press.

Here’s what Sherri wrote about Simon’s book:

“I love the creativity shown in Simon’s book (dare I say “graphic novel?!”), The Adventure of Bob!
Simon shows great maturity in his illustration style and his ability to aptly divide up his pages into strong graphic vignettes that move the story along and keep the reader interested. Additionally, Simon’s plot twists are lively and his dialog nicely fits the illustrations (and sometimes elicits a laugh from the reader!). Simon’s’ combination of text and graphics make him a sure winner with a promising future ahead! (Nicely done, Simon. I can’t believe you’re only almost-11 years old!)”

Congrats again to Simon! We can’t wait to read all the stories you’ll write!

To read other great books written by kids, to learn how to enter the Faber-Castell Scribble Your Story contest, check out the Scribble Press eBookshelf.

Funny stories written by kids

One of the great things about kids is their wild imaginations. Not only do they have hilarious and unique ideas, they aren’t self-conscious like most adults grow to become. For the most part, kids don’t care if their stories sound silly or are too fanciful – they just want to have fun and share their ideas. It’s this combination that makes reading all our kid authors’ books so enjoyable, and seeing their faces when they receive their published copy so exciting.

Read and download free eBooks written by kids, for kids!

Here are a few funny excerpts from some of our most popular books from our library of books by kids, for kids: 
Katie Short Legs by Amy
The old couple named their child Katie Short Legs because she was so short and they liked the name Katie.

The Time I Went Real Wrong About Tights by Alex
I scoured through my closet of 156 pairs of tights. I looked at some purple and pink tights – a little too flashy. My poodle tights? Too girly. My candy cane tights? No, too winter holiday.

Happy Birthday Aunt Tricia by Emilia and Valentina
You’re pretty like a rainbow. You smell like a birthday cake.

Another Chance by Daniela
Then Olivia put on sparkles and sparkles and sparkles and sparkles and just so many sparkles!

To read more stories by kid authors, check out the Scribble Press eBook library. It’s free to read and download eBooks, and we’re adding new stories every day!

 

Books for kids: Creative writing by kids, for kids

“Once upon a time there was a guy who worked at the pound, which means he was a dog catcher.”

The story goes on to tell us how exhausted the dog catcher is from chasing one vexing dog in particular and how much he needs a vacation. Of course, the dog catcher’s tranquil stay at the Four Season’s is abruptly interrupted by… guess who.

For two days straight, I read this story aloud to a rapt audience of campers. Ten classes of more than 20 second and third graders followed every page, every picture. By the last class, I was sure the nurse in the room adjacent to ours would come barreling in and holler, “It’s President Obama’s dog!” – of course, spoiling the story’s random but entertaining ending. Thankfully she exercised restraint. And the children were left to cheer and laugh as the story concluded.

Read Daniela's entertaining eBook!

Written by Daniela Perez, The Missing Labrador was a raging storytime success. No listener called out “I’ve read that book before!” or “This is boring.”  Everyone wanted to see just what it was that they, too, could accomplish. After all, Daniela was only in third grade.

There is such value in sharing the stories that children write. We are mistaken to think only the glorious bound book of a best-selling author can inspire a child’s creativity. In fact, I might argue that children are the best writers for other children. After all, they share a certain appreciation of the improbable.

How else can you explain the universal acceptance of the idea that the exasperating, chicken-stealing dog causing mayhem at the Four Season’s ACTUALLY lives in the White House?

Check out The Missing Labrador or one of the other great books written by young authors.

-Jennifer Sarja

Summer Reading: For the Harry Potter Fan

Since the publication of the first in the Harry Potter series in 1997, the bespectacled young wizard has done more to get kids engaged in reading than all the wheedling and cajoling of well-meaning parents everywhere.  Here are some ideas for younger readers who have reached the end of the series or want to find something similar.

This is the first of several summer reading lists we are publishing. A word of caution: These books have been hand-picked by me (voracious reader, editor’s daughter, mom of four) and may seem random and arbritrary and certainly are incomplete. Please add your own suggestions in the comments field or on our Facebook page where we are running a CONTEST! Give us your top summer reading recommendation for kids and be entered automatically to win a book basket with SIGNED COPIES of a few books for young readers, plus an Author’s Tool Kit to create your own book. Happy reading and writing…

Hugo Cabret illustration

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET (Brian Selznick). We discovered Brian Selznick last summer and were drawn into this compelling world of orphan Hugo Cabret, living in a train station in Paris a century ago told in words and in black and white drawings. Can’t wait to read WONDERSTRUCK – his new book coming out in the fall.
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA (CS Lewis). Shorter than most of the Harry Potter tomes, this fantasy about four children who enter a magical world through the back of a wardrobe is a compelling read accessible to kids as young as six if read aloud. I have to confess, we started the next book THE HORSE AND HIS BOY and put it down. Just didn’t hold up to NARNIA.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (Roald Dahl). We just read this aloud and it really stands the test of time. A great adventure with a moral at its chewy chocolate center.
A WRINKLE IN TIME (Madeleine L’Engle). I love this book for many reasons, in part because it’s an adventure story with a girl at the center that boys still enjoy reading. Originally published in 1962, this fantasy of the Murry children who must rescue their father in a strange land is still a gripping read.
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS (Lemony Snicket). I have to confess to not having cracked this one yet, but everyone else recommends it for Harry Potter fans. We’re planning to check it out this summer.
THE LAST OF THE REALLY GREAT WHANGDOODLES (Julie Andrews Edwards). I love this adventure story about siblings who trek to visit the last living Whangdoodle by using their imaginations. Plus it’s a fun word to say and was written by Julie Andrews.
A WHOLE NOTHER STORY (Dr. Cuthbert Soup). My boys and I loved this humorous mystery-conspiracy novel about the Cheeseman family, on the run from corrupt government agents. And it even has its own video trailer.

We’re always looking for great recommendations so please share your ideas!  And remember to check out our free eBook library – books created at Scribble Press that you can download free on your iPad, Nook or other reader and enjoy at home.

And the winner is…

Aidan was so thrilled to meet Anna, and she loved congratulating him on his book! “I am happy and excited,” Aidan said.

The votes have been tallied – with a whopping 255 “Likes,” five-year-old Aidan’s book, “How My Implant Changed Me,” has won our eBook Contest! Aidan will receive a publishing party at our New York Upper West Side location at the end of the month, where he’ll sign 20 copies of his book to give to friends and family.

A regular scribbler since our UWS studio opened, Aidan has written more than 10 books. He said he wrote “How My Implant Changed Me” to share his experience of having a cochlear implant.

Aidan wrote about being sad when he couldn’t hear people talking, how he was scared and then brave after going through two surgeries, and how he now loves to talk to his friends!

“I thought it would be a good book and people would know how I was a little boy and could not hear,” Aidan said.

When you create a book at Scribble Press (or by using the Author’s Tool Kit, available for purchase at scribblepress.com), you can turn it into an eBook (for free!), and share it with friends, family and other kids all over the world!

In fact, far away in LA, six-year-old August read Aidan’s story on an iPad and commented, “That was a cool story. I didn’t know you could get an operation to make you hear better.” 

New eBooks are being added everyday, so check back often for other amazing stories by kid authors, and congrats to all Scribblers who entered the contest and received votes!