Since the release of the Kindle, Amazon's popular digital reading device, a few publishers have started to experiment with converting their comics to Kindle editions. But while the recently released and upgraded Kindle 2 offers an improved design and a better screen experience—unlike the first Kindle, the Kindle 2 offers a 16 tone grayscale screen—reading comics on the device is not an altogether enjoyable experience.

Comics on the Kindle 2 can look dim and small; word balloons are often difficult to read even when enlarged—indeed the Kindle's zoom and enlarge feature is often inadequate. Nevertheless, while the publishers PWCW spoke with had varying degrees of success converting their comics to the Kindle, they all stressed the importance of carefully examining and understanding the Kindle digital format, emphasizing that the device and its technology will likely improve in the future. "At this point, it's just to learn what it takes to get these books into the format under the assumption that the technology will get better," said Neil DeYoung from Hachette's Digital Media Group. "When that does happen and the market is ready, we'll already have the chops needed."

How dysfunctional is your reading? Julie Myerson's new novel about her own family's schism is making headlines at the moment, but domestic traumas have always been a literary staple. Find out how messed up your reading habits are by taking this therapeutic quiz  ... at the guardian

Between 2005 and 2007, author James Patterson gave away more than $600,000 to promote literacy through his annual PageTurner Awards. But when he noticed that his own elementary school-age son had become a reluctant reader, he decided that there had to be another way to get children excited about reading. 

October marked the soft launch of his newest PageTurner project, ReadKiddoRead.com, which replaces the awards. By December, with almost no fanfare except for a mention in an interview with Al Roker and an ad in People magazine, the site attracted 20,000 visitors. It brings together reviews for books for newborns to teens, interviews with bestselling children’s authors like Jeff Kinney and Rick Riordan, and a book blog with reading lists by children’s literature consultant Judy Freeman, author of Books Kids Will Sit Still For.  

In the modern age of information, reading truly is a fundamental survival skill. Here are ten tips that anyone can use to improve their reading skills: http://adjix.com/6tnr

 Reading isn’t just for girls. It’s cool. It’s very cool. In fact, at Spring Lake Park High School in Minnesota, all the boys know that real men read.

It’s hard to miss this slogan while walking through the school’s hallways. There you’ll find 35 large posters of men enjoying a good read. And these role models aren’t celebrities or authors—they’re real men who the students encounter every day. more » » » 

[Via Children's Bookshelf]



Earlier this month, the King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City hosted an eight-hour reading marathon to raise money for Book Wagon, a charity that provides children living in local housing projects with books. Throughout the day, 10 young readers in first through fifth grade sprawled out in the bookstore aisles and read books, raising $650 in book and money donations for the charity in the process (the read-a-thon had a $20 entry fee, and several kids raised more than that). The participants also received some reading prizes, including "Most Trivia Questions Answered," "Most Money Raised" and "Most Pages Read."

Try some of these resources ...
-- More about Roald Dahl  

 

-- Roald Dahl booklist

 

-- Lesson plans for specific books

 

-- Ideas for teachers
Click here - for some great ideas for your class.

-- Worksheets for Younger children
Click here for six worksheets to print out for 5-7 year-olds.

-- Worksheets for Older children
Click here for eight worksheets to print out for 8-12 year-olds.

-- Roald Dahl Quiz

-- Colour-in sheet

The International Reading Association provides online resources for use in the home or the classroom, to encourage reading and develop literacy skills. Created and collected by experienced educators (or, in the case of Choices booklists, by experienced kids) they're designed to make your teaching task a little easier and a lot more effective. The detailed, research-based lesson plans and activities are available from Kindergarten up to year 12.

On our reading page ...