Get Ready To Set A New Scholastic World Record For Summer Reading

NEW YORK, May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- While athletes prepare for the 2012 Summer Olympics, kids will compete in their own challenge – the Scholastic Summer Challenge - a free, interactive reading program dedicated to helping kids keep their reading skills sharp throughout the summer by reading every day.  Kids everywhere will Read for the World Record by logging the minutes they spend reading this summer and attempting to beat the current world record of 64,213,141 minutes set during summer 2011. The 20 schools whose students log the most minutes will be recognized in the 2013 Scholastic Book of World Records. The Scholastic Summer Challenge kicks-off today at www.scholastic.com/summer and runs through August 31, 2012.

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"Just like the world's greatest athletes, children need to keep their skills sharp and reading is like any other skill - it needs to be practiced," said Francie Alexander, Chief Academic Officer at Scholastic. "Without this practice, children find themselves falling down the 'Summer Slide,' and that is not the fun slide at the park, but rather the loss of critical learning and reading skills caused by not reading books over the summer."  Francie continued, "The proven way to get kids reading is to put them in charge of their own reading – let them choose the books they want to read, when they want to read, and how they want to read – whether in print or digitally. It is the win-win summer reading solution."

SUMMER READING FOR KIDS:

The Summer Challenge motivates kids with weekly challenges, fun sweepstakes, virtual rewards, book chats and friendly competition. Starting today, kids can log their reading minutes, track their reading stats, and their school's rank, collect virtual rewards in their 'prize center' and enter sweepstakes for the chance to win free books. For the third year in a row, WORDGIRL™ , from the Emmy Award winning television series airing on PBS KIDS GO!, is serving as the national "Ambassador of Summer Reading" to help encourage kids to practice reading in order to have a better vocabulary.

To reach even more young readers this summer, the Scholastic Summer Challenge is teaming up with the American Camp Association's® Explore 30 initiative that encourages campers to read 30 minutes every day.  Campers nationwide will be logging their reading minutes to help break the world record.

SUMMER READING FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS:

The Summer Challenge website is also the go-to summer resource for parents and teachers. Through the site, teachers can sign up their class, track their students' reading progress and access free helpful tools including printable reading logs and reading certificates. Plus, parents can sign up to receive email alerts on their child's reading achievements, access summer book lists compiled by Scholastic experts, and discover ways to use the Summer Challenge at home with the Family Participation Guide created in collaboration with nonprofit partner Reach Out and Read, an organization that prepares America's youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together.

For the second year, Scholastic is teaming up with iVillage and PBS KIDS to promote the importance of summer reading to families nationwide through Summer Reading Parties hosted by 80 bloggers across the country. Bloggers will receive Summer Reading Kits including books, activities, bookmarks and more to celebrate summer reading in their communities, on iVillage.com and through their blogs.

SUMMER READING AMBASSADORS

Joining Scholastic to support summer reading will be dozens of the nation's Governors' spouses who will be hosting summer reading events at schools in their home states.  The names of all of the 2012 Summer Reading Ambassadors will be announced soon.

For more information about the Scholastic Summer Challenge, please visit: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/SummerChallenge

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology and services and children's media. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs and school-based book fairs, retail stores, schools, libraries, television networks and the Company's Internet Site, www.scholastic.com. 

SOURCE Scholastic Inc.