Do you wiggle when you read? When you wiggle with preschoolers, do they wiggle in their seats?
The 2009 Kansas Reads to Preschoolers committee and the SLK staff working with the statewide one-book/one-state reading project for the very young certainly hope so! During November 15-21, 2009 (the week before Thanksgiving), the Kansas Center for the Book will present the fifth annual Kansas Reads to Preschoolers…About Fitness!, featuring Wiggle by Doreen Cronin, in locations all across the state.
Plans are being laid for promotion leading up to, and events during, the preschooler week. This year’s theme is fitness, and a select committee of professionals in a variety of fields and from all parts of Kansas narrowed a field of about three dozen titles down to four, which were submitted last spring to State Librarian Christie Brandau. From these four, she selected Wiggle. Work on 2009 Kansas Reads to Preschoolers has progressed since then.
Wiggle was written by New York author Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Scott Menchin. It was published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers in 2005. Since then, Cronin, Menchin and their publisher have produced a companion book, Bounce. A new title in the same vein, Stretch, is expected in September 2009. All three books should work very well together in events with children ages 2-4.
Sponsors who help with funding, and participate, include the Kansas Parent Information Resource Center (KPIRC), the Kansas Public Health Association (KPHA), the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), and the Johnson County Health Department. Partners who will join in the promotion are the Kansas Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (KAACCRA), the Kansas Pediatric Foundation and Healthy Kids Challenge. Many joined the Kansas Center for the Book in this effort because of the dual attractions of the fitness theme, which they promote, and the importance of early literacy among children.
Doreen Cronin has been invited to come to Kansas and plans are under way for events at local libraries and through online video and audio programming to reach across the state. A website is being built to provide information, a toolkit, read-alikes, promotional materials and more. Wiggle is being recorded and will be made available through the Kansas Talking Books Service in Emporia, and the Kansas Audio-Reader Network has been approached to record and broadcast it. Requests have been made to Governor Mark Parkinson to sign a proclamation, and to his wife to read in a selected location. Sponsors and partners across the state are laying plans to promote in their own publications and participate during the preschooler week in a variety of ways.
The Kansas Center for the Book has a limited number of promotional copies of Wiggle available at a 50% discount. If you are interested in more information or how you can participate, contact KCFB at kcfb@kslib.info or 800-432-3919. Wiggle with us during 2009 Kansas Reads to Preschoolers!
