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Friday, August 19, 2011

Getting Books in the Hands of Children

That's what it's all about, right?  Getting books into the hands (and hearts!) of readers.  In my case, the readers are children.

So, I was so happy to see what Penguin (my publisher for the Good Knight Series) had cooked up for a couple of my books. They are re-releasing GOOD NIGHT, GOOD KNIGHT and GET WELL, GOOD KNIGHT as part of their Penguin Young Reader Program.  I am thrilled, because that means more books in the hands of young readers!!

And look, they even did a little redesign on the covers:
This one releases in September.

This one comes out in January

And I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Imagination Library, but it is a program (started by Dolly Parton) that puts books into the hands of children FOR FREE.  I have been honored by the fact that they have been giving away TAKE CARE, GOOD KNIGHT in their program:



Here is a nice article about how some really great people who have made such a difference in the lives of preschool children in their community by seeing that books get into the hands of kids.  I mean, 10,000 books!  (That's a lot of books!)

Of course, my favorite part of the article was this quote:

Sometime this summer, the 10,000th free book was delivered to a child’s mail box. It may have been Julie Chaffee’s. Chaffee, 5, loves receiving the books in the mail. Her favorite is “Take Care, Good Knight” by Shelley Moore Thomas. “I like it because I get to read it to my dolly that I got at the garage sale,” she said.




Yes, I melted a little.  And there could have been a tear.  Because that's what it's all about when you write for children, getting the book into the tiny little hands and having them read it (or having someone read it to them).  


It's why we do what we do.


And Kudos to both Penguin and Dolly Parton for doing their part in helping our children become literate.  Knowledge is Power, and the better you can read, the more knowledge is available to you and the more control you will eventually have in determining your own destiny.


(Sorry to go all Jedi on you, but this is important, folks. Kids need reading.  They need books!)


hrh

16 comments:

Christina Lee said...

Well, I just melted a little too!
xoxo

Yat-Yee said...

So lovely. Yay for your and the Good Knight books. My son loved them even before I knew you.

Jess said...

That's so sweet! Kids AND dollies are getting a lot out of your books, Shelley :) And what a fantastic book program~ kudos to Dolly Parton, etc. Thanks for sharing this info!

Laura S. said...

Wonderfully said! I'm the aunt who is always buying my nieces & nephews books for their birthdays and Christmas and just because. My best friend had a baby shower the other weekend, I got her and baby eight books, LoL! I think I will single-handedly stock her child's library over the years!

Dawn Simon said...

Wa-hoo! That's so exciting! I like the covers! (Confession: the quote made my eyes get kind of misty, too.)

Susan R. Mills said...

So true! And Congratulations for the re-releases and for that wonderful quote! I'm with Dawn, my eyes got a little misty too.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

awwww. I'm teary, too. I picture that little girl reading her wonderful new book to her dolly.
Your Good Knight reaches out from the pages.

Anne Spollen said...

Wonderful program, wonderful program.

And yeah, the melting...

Matthew MacNish said...

That would have made me cry too. I need to get these for my nephew.

Anonymous said...

Huge congratulations! And yes, the Imagination library is an amazing program. SO wonderful that TKGN is part of it. I love to think about all those kids falling in love with your stories.

Myrna Foster said...

Love! So does this mean they might get released as paperbacks?

Hardygirl said...

Wow! I'm all warm, fuzzy and happy.

Our local literacy council donates heavily to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. What a great program! So glad your wonderful books are a part of it.

sf

Joanne R. Fritz said...

Oh, that is so sweet! I'm a little teary-eyed right now. And I'd heard about Dolly Parton's program but didn't realize it was THAT many books. Fantastic!

Laura Pauling said...

What wonderful news, Shelley. Your books should be in all schools and libraries! And on a parent's to buy list as their children are learning to read!

Jemi Fraser said...

Yay!! I have to admit I melted a little too! That is completely awesome - what a thrill to get a quote like that :)

Yay Dolly Parton & Penguin too - fabulous :)

Joanna said...

:-)