In case you needed another reason to write books for kids, here comes some fascinating news:

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center tracked 81 clinically obese girls, ages 9 to 13, and found that 35 percent of the children managed to reduce their body mass index (BMI) when given a book to read about an overweight girl who helps herself to get healthier.

Read the whole story here: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6719309.html

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

A survey of more than three million American children has identified the most-read books at each age level.  Conducted by the Renaissance Learning Web site, the survey has some fascinating revelations.

Grade by grade, here are the most-read books:

1st Grade – Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
2nd Grade – If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
3rd Grade – Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
4th Grade – Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
5th Grade – Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
6th Grade – Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
7th & 8th Grade – The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
9th – 12th Grades – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

You can download the full report with detailed charts and analysis at http://www.renlearn.com/whatkidsarereading/ReadingHabits.pdf

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Nice piece in today’s paper about a classroom in Vail, CO using a yellow Labrador named Moose to get kids into reading.  Students take turn reading to the pooch, who (as any Lab owner could tell you) adores the attention.  The dogs are “reading certified” as part of a program called “Wagging Tales”.

I liked this part:

Moose has a calming effect on students and allows them to loosen up when they’re having trouble reading a passage.

“When they read it to me, they have a little more anxiety,” Dekanich said. “With a dog, there’s no criticism or judgment, and no laughter if the child makes a mistake.”

Here’s the link for the full article