January Winners Announced!

Congratulations to Brookside Charter School in Kansas City, winner of January's Save Everything! (and the Picture Book.)

The school sent in more than 100 picture book reviews! This was facilitated through April Roy and Ann Reaves of the Plaza Library, part of The Kansas City Library system, which is bringing Save Everything! into the schools they visit.

How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz was the school prize (along with Guinness World Records 2011 and other worldly prizes.)

Individual picture book prizes were:

When It's 6 O'Clock in San Francisco, by Cynthia Jaynes Omololu.
One World, One Day, by Barbara Kerley.
All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon, ill. by Marla Frazee.
Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow, by Linda Glaser, phot. by Shelley Rotner.

And bonus book The Best Pet of All by David LaRochelle, ill. by Hanako Wakiyama.

The Plaza Library will deliver the prizes when they read to the school again this month!

First Kid Reviews Are In!

The first kid reviews have come in for Save Everything! (and the Picture Book.)

Ann Reaves of the Plaza library brought four new world-themed picture books to a local school, and the students wrote more than 100 reviews! Thank you for coordinating this, Ann!

Here are reviews from some of our youngest picture book readers:

Big Kid Picture Book Reviews

For Save Everything! (and the Picture Book,) Plaza Library librarian Ann Reaves recently shared How I Learned Geography, by author/illustrator Uri Shulevitz, with local second, third, and fourth graders.

In this picture book, a World War II refugee family is hungry. But rather than buying bread, the father buys a map. Though angry at first, the little boy is able to imagine far off lands--and even learns to draw because of the map.

My favorite quote from a kid review: "It was about a very poor boy who learned a lesson (Feed your mind.)" (See the full review below.)

I love seeing how kids review books differently from adults. For one thing, when adults say what they would change, it's something like, "I wish there was a glossary."

Kids, on the other hand, say:



Or, occassionally:



(Hey, we all have our favorite subjects!)

Library book reviewers tend to say who would benefit from the book being added to their collection. Children following the Percy Jackson series, for instance.

But when kids are asked "Who would like the book the most?" they give you a name:



The most popular answer to this question: "my mom."

I love that their moms love picture books!

Here are picture book reviews from some big kid readers:







Thank you, Ann, for leading this Save the World! (and the Picture Book) activity.

Please see below for a printable Save the Sweetness! (and the Sweet Picture Book) flyer. Kids and teachers can win sweet picture books by reviewing sweet picture books during the month of February.

February: Save the Sweetness! (and the Sweet Picture Book)

Save Everything! (and the Picture Book) allows kids to:

1. Read picture books.
2. Write (or draw) reviews.
3. Win picture books.

Teachers and school librarians can win books for their classrooms and libraries, too.

February's theme is Save the Sweetness! (and the Sweet Picture Book.)

It includes lots of sweet books for the younger picture book set. If your library or bookstore doesn't have a book on the list, choose any new-ish sweet picture book.

It's FREE to participate. The purpose of this program is to show the wide range of picture books available for all ages and interests. They're great for literacy, family time, and imagination (not to mention fun!)

Here is the printable February flyer, which includes book review worksheets for little and big kids:



Thank you for Saving the Sweetness! (and the Sweet Picture Book.)

The Plaza Library Loves Picture Books!

I met with April Roy, youth services director of the Kansas City Public Library, the other day. April was recently elected to the 2012 Caldecott Committee, so throughout the year, she'll receive more than a 1,000 picture books from publishers to read and consider. Luckily, April loves picture books!

And...she's going to promote Save Everything! (and the Picture Book) through the library. At the Plaza Library, there will be a Save the Picture Book! display beginning in February. This will include books from the "official" list, which will be posted on February 1, and other picture books that follow that month's theme.

In February, the theme is Save the Sweetness! (and the Sweet Picture Book.)

They will be mostly new books, as one purpose of this promotion is to show that though we all love the classics, lots of wonderful picture books are being created today...and many will be our children's classics.

April is also bundling picture books with chapter books, to show older kids, and their parents, that if they love a chapter book, they'll also love this similar picture book.

I'm doing a Friday Family Fun Night in March, when the theme will be Save the Bookworms! (and the Picture Books They Eat.)

April has lots of other great ideas that I'll let you know about when the time comes. This is an exciting partnership with a great library!

Save Everything! (and the Picture Book) January Printables

View and print the Save Everything! (and the Picture Book) January flyer and book review worksheets here:

Be the Hero! Save the World! (and the Picture Book)

This package arrived on our snowy doorstep yesterday:



It contained one of our super secret February books by Janee Trasler...plus a couple October prizes! A fringe benefit of this contest: reading the picture book prizes to my family. After reading two books from the white box to my youngest son, he surprised me by reading the third book on his own--for the first time ever!

Also received a May girl power book by Diane Adams...and a thrilling book about something that zooms. My two older sons sometimes read chapter books while I read my youngest picture books. I love when, after hearing the first couple lines of the picture book, they set down their novels to listen to the rest, which is what they did with these books.

Now, would you like to have your own box of picture book joy delivered to your home or classroom?

To find out how to participate in Save Everything! (and the Picture Book) in January, skip forward to the next post.

Here are our four picture prizes for January...plus world puzzles and Guinness World Records 2011.









Here are a few ways people are participating in Save Everything! (and the Picture Book:)

A school librarian is having her eighth grade participate as part of a picture book unit. A fourth grade teacher is doing the project with her class. And a mother is using the lists for a reading project with her son. With him off to sports practices frequently with his dad, she wanted to spend some mother-son time.

Finally please check out the author/illustrator Web sites on this page. They have been updated to include those who have generously donated their books to be used as prizes (or whose books have been donated by their publishers.) A big thanks for their support of Save Everything! (and the Picture Book.)