Did you know that every time you pick up a book for fun you help teach children to read?  This year, make your own personal reading part of your kids’ summer reading program.

Do you have a pile of books waiting because you’re too busy to read?  Do you put off reading “fun” books because you feel you should read “important” ones?  You are not only depriving yourself of pleasure, says children’s literature commentator Sharon Levin, you’re setting a bad example for the kids who look up to you.  “As long as the message is that reading is not fun, not an activity we CHOOSE to do and make the time for, then no amount of lip service will convince a child otherwise,” says Levin in her recent online article “Raising a Reader” in the Bay Area Parent, Silicon Valley edition enewsletter.  “[T]here is a huge impact for a child in seeing her teacher prioritizing and enjoying reading time.”  And, says Levin, what makes reading enjoyable is – reading books that one enjoys!  Never mind whether the books are “good,” or “edifying,” or “challenging.”  If you don’t like it, you won’t read it; and the same rule goes for kids.

So pick up that summer reading!  And maybe you should even read some fun kids’ books while you’re at it.  You’re never too old to enjoy a truly great children’s book – and it will give you something to talk about with the kids.  Oh, and by the way: the East Bay Children’s Book Project can always use donations of great children’s books, especially new picture books and board books.  Here’s how you can donate to us.

Happy summer reading!

The East Bay Children’s Book Project helps put books into the homes of children who don’t have them.  Now a study says that children who grow up in homes with books are more likely to stay in school for longer – and that this may be true whether their parents are highly literate or not.  And here’s the best part – you can help do something about it!  (Read all the way to the end …)

According to the May 21, 2010 online issue of Science Daily, a 20-year-long study showed that having 500 books in the home can be as important as having university-educated parents in determining how much education a child will receive.  But you don’t need a big personal library to have an effect on your child’s education or literacy: according to the study, children with even 20 books in the home got higher levels of education than those without any books.  And the effect was greater when the parents had less education.

Are there really families with no books at all in their homes?  Sadly, yes.  Literacy, and the lack of it, is a huge issue.  An estimated one in four English-speaking adults in the United States can’t read well enough to complete a job application.  And when money is tight, buying books is low on the list.

That’s where the East Bay Children’s Book Project comes in.  Our clients get books into the hands of children who need them.  For example, the Families for Literacy Program of the Oakland (California) Public Library’s Second Start Adult Literacy Program gives over 1,000 books a year to the children of adult literacy learners.  These children will grow up with books in their homes.

YOU CAN HELP! Organize a book drive for the East Bay Children’s Book Project at your office, school, place of worship, or among friends.  Ask a local business to host one of our book collection bags; contact us to find out more.  Spread the word: tell your friends who work for organizations benefiting children about us.  Or make a donation to help us buy new books and cover our expenses!  Support the East Bay Children’s Book Project.  We make education happen!

Looking for family fun?  Take the kids to the newly reopened Oakland Museum of California for an amazing experience in artistic, cultural and historical literacy – and a great time!

The Oakland Museum, at 1000 Oak Street, is all about California and its people, told through thematic exhibits of art, history and nature, plus a koi pond, lots of outdoor things for kids to discover and places to run around, and a bookstore with an interesting selection of children’s books, crafts and activities.  After extensive remodeling, the Art and History galleries reopened on May 1, 2010 (Natural Science will reopen in 2012).

Now, before you say your kids don’t like art museums – this isn’t that kind of art museum.  It’s fun just to walk around the art collection, with its bright colors and a huge partitioned open space broken into thematic sections.  Kids can pull out drawers under the exhibits to explore.  And in addition to a wide variety of “grown-up” art, there are all kind of things that invite curiosity and questioning: Photo albums you can look through!  shiny silver rocks!  hammers hanging on a wall!  There’s even a section that asks “Is It Art?” with objects like a glass box containing a matching pink-haired troll doll and fuzzy pink hat.

The History section is all about making you feel like you’re actually walking around in California’s past.  Nooks and crannies abound, as do hands-on activities, from drawing to unpacking a ship’s trunk to spinning wheels of chance to posing with huge tags that say things like “strangest object in the museum.”  You can see a stagecoach and an old-fashioned fire engine, you can play a piano and make it sound like a bell or someone banging a pan.  You can try to guess what that weird-looking thing was used for.  You and your kids can even write comments on post-its on some of the exhibits and can make suggestions for future exhibits or offer to donate something for the museum to display!

And teachers – the Museum offers a wealth of materials and programs and free events just for you.

So – go!

On Saturday, April 24, the East Bay Children’s Book Project will celebrate our 5th anniversary with a party to thank all our supporters and clients.  To get us in the mood, here are some children’s books about parties and celebrations!

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson: All the animals are having a party in Bear’s den while Bear is sleeping … or is Bear sleeping?

Happy Birthday, Danny and the Dinosaur! by Syd Hoff: If you already know Danny and the Dinosaur, I don’t need to tell you any more.  If you don’t, what are you waiting for?

A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats: Peter wants to invite Amy to his birthday party in this wonderful book by the author of The Snowy Day and Peter’s Chair.

Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik: Little Bear has a birthday party and other gentle adventures in this most wonderful of classics.

Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton: Sometimes you just gotta party for the heck of it (especially when you’re Sandra Boynton’s hippos)!