Today marks the beginning of Children’s Book Week, May 11 – 17.  What a perfect week to celebrate the tradition of reading with our children and out loud to our children.  Surprise them with a new book from library or for them to keep!  (Ideally, let’s make our purchase at an independent bookseller — they need our support.)

Click the tab “For Kids” on the website, and find a downloadable bookmark and door hanger designed by artist Dan Yaccarino; and story starters by authors such as Mary Pope Osborne, Barbara Park, Jon Scieszka and more — they provide the opening paragraph to encourage younger kids to write their own tales.

Teens are encouraged to write their own book reviews and post them.

From the Children’s Book Council:

“A celebration of the written word, Children’s Book Week introduces young people to new authors and ideas in schools, libraries, homes and bookstores. Through Children’s Book Week, the Children’s Book Council encourages young people and their caregivers to discover the complexity of the world beyond their own experience through books.”

Even GeekDad, a Wired Magazine blog, is on board.  I love their tagline, “raising geek generation 2.0”.  Read on, geekdads!

This is also the week that the Children’s Book Council announces the winners of the Children’s Choice Awards.  The list of books nominated for the Children’s Choice Awards is broken out by age group, through teens.

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I love books.

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Reading opens new windows into the world for all of us.