Please add BookFairs@emailer.scholastic.com to your address book. Summer 2010      In This Issue: Reading Challenge Extended, Accepted, and Exceeded Copy-and-Share Tips, Tools, and Reproducibles Keep Kids Reading All Summer Long At the Book Fair — Great Summer Reads North Side Elementary Students Amass 30,484 Hours of Reading Time      During '100 Book Challenge' When they put their minds to it, the 575 students at North Side Elementary School outside Harrisburg, Pa., know how to keep the reading light burning and the book pages turning. During its recent "100 Book Challenge," held from the end of January through May, the school's voracious readers amassed the equivalent of 3 1/2 years in total reading minutes. That translates into 1,270 days, or 30,484 hours, or 1,829,025 reading minutes. Instead of tracking the number of books read, students were asked to log the time they spent reading both in school and at home. The emphasis was on reading "fun, fast, and easy" books. Children kept track of their reading time in 15-minute increments called "Steps." Teachers, parents, and the entire North Side Elementary community worked together to help students meet the challenge. Keep reading to find out how they did it.    Copy-and-Share Resources Principal to Principal is your source for tips, ideas, and resources about reading... all yours to use for free! You are welcome to copy and share these articles in your own school newsletters. Ages and Stages of Reading Development – Infants and Toddlers As your child's first and most important teacher, one of your goals should be to surround your child with talk. Ages and Stages of Reading Development – Preschool Help increase your child's exposure to language and print. These tips will help you make language come alive for your child. Ages and Stages of Reading Development – Kindergarten Learn how to help your child make the connection between letters and sounds in fun ways. Ages and Stages of Reading Development – First Grade Encourage newfound skills by finding opportunities for your child to read books and other materials... for free! Ages and Stages of Reading Development – Second Grade As your second grader comes into his own as an independent reader, help him read and write with greater ease and confidence. Ages and Stages of Reading Development – Third Grade Chances are your child is now reading well on her own. Help her maintain good reading habits and take responsibility for her own learning.     World Record Challenge Keeps Kids Reading      All Summer Long Scholastic is once again hosting the Scholastic Summer Challenge and challenging kids to Read for the World Record to keep students reading and learning all summer long. The campaign kicked off on May 1st and already more than 3,000 schools worldwide are participating in the challenge, logging 20 million reading minutes (so far). Last year's record was 35,846,094 reading minutes, and students at Sunset Palms Elementary in Boynton Beach, Fla., logged a big chunk of those minutes – 683,057 reading minutes to be exact, more than any other school, earning them a place in the 2010 Scholastic Book of World Records. Sunset Palms tied the challenge to Scholastic's "What Would You Do for Reading?" campaign and set a school-wide reading goal of one million minutes for students. Even though they didn't quite reach their goal, Sunset Palms Principal Karen Riddle and Assistant Principal Cory Zigler still agreed to let students turn them into human sundaes as a reward for earning the top spot in the record book. Summer isn't over yet. There's still time for students to sign up! Just visit scholastic.com/bookfairs/record.    At the Book Fair – Great Summer Reads Along with award-winning books from hundreds of publishers, Scholastic Book Fairs has a selection of great summer reads to help you turn the dreaded summer-reading slide into a climb. Our editors combed bestseller lists, library reading lists, and state award title lists to assemble this list of recommended reads for grades 3-8. And here's another great read... just in time for summer: The Big Field by Mike Lupica When star shortstop prospect "D–Will" joins the team, Hutch feels displaced in more ways than one. With the summer league championship on the line, just how far is he willing to bend to be a good teammate? Meet the author in this exclusive video interview.     Hot Topics     • Encourage your kids to stay current this summer with the Kids Press Corps     • Scholastic and Save the Children establish long-term education recovery fund to benefit Haiti     • Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and Scholastic launch summer reading fundraising campaign     • Visit our Principal's Guide for more free resources   Visit Scholastic.com  Book Fairs | Principal's Guide | Contact Us