Today our publisher, Holly Hartman, and I were talking about how sad it is that so few Americans speak a second language. We speculated that the positive impact of everyone speaking an additional language would have an enormous impact on our learning lives and, in particular, on our economy. We took turns praising those we knew […]
New readers can get overwhelmed when presented with an abundance of books from which to choose. Beyond a random grab or selecting books based upon cover designs, novices don’t know how to select books the way more experienced readers do and little ones can get lost in the dizzying number of choices. So, how do […]
Today is Multicultural Children’s Book Day! We at Unite for Literacy pride ourselves in presenting a library of books that celebrate the diversity found among families that call the United States home. This day of recognition for multicultural children’s books is a nice opportunity to publicly embrace a larger effort to ensure that all children […]
Unite for Literacy is known for its free online library of narrated picture books for new readers (www.uniteforliteracy.com). This week, we initiated what we have termed Two Book Tuesday (#2BookTues). Every Tuesday for the foreseeable future, we will be adding two new books to the Unite for Literacy Library. Like all of our other books, […]
Windows of opportunity, like house windows, only provide fresh air when they are open. A closed window of opportunity is like a wall in a house. Well, actually, procrastinators can see what might have been possible by studying a lost opportunity window, but once a window that offered choices is closed, there’s really not much […]
I’ve shared here before about the recent research conducted about the amazing impact of having books in the home. That longitudinal study, conducted in 27 countries over a 20-year period concluded that the single best index for predicting school achievement is the number of books in a child’s home. That beats parental education or income, the […]
November is officially National American Indian Heritage Month. It also is Alaska Native Heritage Month.* The contribution that native cultures have made to mainstream America may be invisible to the average American, but these are our fellow citizens and their diversity adds strength to this most diverse of countries. Indigenous North Americans invite everyone, including us descendants […]
What’s the difference between a child reading a digital picture book on a screen and reading the same book, printed? Small children often find digital books fascinating; they also become excited with the opportunity to enjoy a printed book. They’re both books, right? So, what’s the diff? Important to note here, is that what are […]
With the 2014 World Series in full swing, a dear friend of mine from Louisville, Kentucky, thought it appropriate to send me a clipping from that city’s newspaper; it celebrates a young lady named Zen Kweli. She’s a kindergartener who has achieved what most children (and many adults) never do. She’s read 1,000 unique books…and […]
