ANNOUNCING

Summer Reading 2008

Catch the Reading Bug!

at your local library and discover the amazing world of insects. The 2008 Summer Reading Club is open to young people, birth through teens, with programs, prize drawings, special story hours, the reading club, and more! There is a host of great performances coming to a library near you like Queenie Bee the Clown, Bill Pate’s Drums, storyteller Lethan Candish, Pizzicato Puppets and the Animal Rescue League Wildlife Center with live animals! Registration for the club begins mid-June at most libraries. For more information about the club and performances, call or visit your local library in Allegheny County! Click Summer Reading Club EVENT CALENDAR to learn about programs for all ages or visit www.clpgh.org/summer/

The joy of Biggest Bedtime Story Ever continues, thanks to our friends at Comcast.  Visit ON DEMAND and then click on Your Town, Give Back and Bedtime Story.

May 30 - August 8

Fridays! KidsPlay Market Square

Come hear stories in Market Square, downtown Pittsburghevery Friday. There'll be arts and crafts, songs, special guests and the best readers of all - KDKA celebrities. Presented by READ! 365, Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Point Park University Children's School, Shady Lane and Children's Museum - Pittsburgh. Open to the community and local childcare centers.  For more information please call 412-361-8560.

Click HERE for a complete schedule and booklist.

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Points of Interest

Carnegie Museums / Science Center

visitors who present an Access card may purchase

General Admission to museums for $1/person

for up to 4 persons per card.

Tickets to an Omnimax film are a $5 add-on

with general admission.

For more information call 412-237-3340 or 412.622.3131
Children under 3 are free

"Support Line"

presented by Allegheny Family Network

for families raising children with emotional and mental health needs. "Support Line" is a comprehensive reference & referral resource to help families navigate the mental health maze in Allegheny County.  

AFN offers a helping hand & a listening ear at

1- 888-273-2361

Sign Language for Parents & Young Children

Tiny Fingers to Tiny Voices

Free course sponsored by The  Peal Center

Six 45-60 minutes lessons

Taught by Kimberly S. Simon; M.Ed, Special Education

Presented in four local communities

Cranberry Twp, Squirrel Hill, Penn Hill & Washington

Call 412-281-4404 or toll-free 866-950-1040 for schedule

9th Annual BEST BOOKS FOR BABIES

Beginning with Books announced its annual Best Books for Babies at all local Border stores Saturday, May 17. Celebrity readers (WTAE-TV anchors Sally Wiggin and Michelle Wright, KDKA's Jeff Verszyla and Coach Agnus Berenato) and early literacy experts read stories and talked about the importance of reading to babies - especially those from birth to 18 months.  An outstanding committee has selected 10 books published this past year that meet the following criteria:

  Click here for the 2008 list!

For a complete list of Best Books for Babies click here.

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Wednesdays, June 18 through July 23

Family Storytime

10:30 AM

A partial list:

July 2: Dog Safety Storytime with special guest Marsha Robbins (Western Pennsylvania Humane Society) and her trained therapy dog. Bring the whole family for stories, songs and thymes about our canine friends! Then learn the 10 rules for meeting a dog with one of Marsha's adorable trained therapy dogs. This is an excellent way to teach your little ones how to interact with dogs when they are playing outside this summer. Marsha is happy to talk with you about adopting a pet, or dealing with your child's fear of dogs. Donations of canned pet food greatly appreciated.

July 9: Anansi Puppet Show in Spanish!

Other CLP program:

Sunday, July 6 at 2:00 PM

Tuesday, July 15 at 7:00 PM

Preschool Bingo

Learn to identify the letters of the alphabet while having fun with other children!

Friday, July 25

Cuentos y Canciones en Espanol:

Spanish Fun with Connie Mathews

11:00 AM

Stories, songs and rhymes in Spanish for native speakers and beginners alike!

PLEASE REGISTER by email: children@carnegielibrary.org

or call 412-622-3122.

Check out the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh website for more events: www.carnegielibrary.org/events/

Wednesday, July 9

Kids Writing Workshop

Barnes and Noble - Squirrel Hill

6 pm

Author, Elizabeth Claire Alberts is coming from Australia to sign books and to hold a children's writing workshop.
 
If you know a kid who loves to write or aspires to be a writer when they grow up, this is a great workshop for them to attend!
 
Recommended for kids ages 6-12 but anyone can join in the fun!
 .
For more info contact
Michelle Smith

Barnes and Noble
1723 Murray Ave
Pittsburgh  PA  15217
412-521-8972
crm2579@bn.com 

Thursday, July10

Mini Biggest Bedtime Story Ever

Meyers Ridge - McKees Rocks

5:30 - 7:00

Join the fun as READ! 365 partners with Citiparks and the Housing Authority of Pittsburgh in presenting storytime, light dinner and arts and crafts.  Each child will receive a gift book and lots of ideas for parents on how to help your children become great readers.  Free! For more information call 412-361-8560.

More programs will be scheduled at communities throughout the summer from 5:30 - 7:00.

Monday, July 28 - Homewood North - Community Center

Monday, August 18 - Northview Heights - The Park

Friday, July 18

Little Biggest Bedtime Story Ever

Millvale Riverfront Park

The Pavilion

5:30 - 7 pm / Rain or Shine

Presented by Millvale Public Library (located at the Millvale Community Center), READ! 365 and The Grable Foundation.

In celebration of the opening of the summertime library in Millvale there will be a kickoff at the park with stories, gift books, light dinner, a pj parade, music from Kelsey Friday and the Rest of the Week, and lots of other fun activities. Recently a building has been purchased at 209-213 Grant Avenue for the future site of the year-round Millvale Public Library. For more information please email millvalelibrary@hotmail.com or call 412-361-8560

Friday-Sunday, July 25 - 27

Pittsburgh Blues Festival Weekend

Hartwood Acres

Friday (5 - 10:30 pm); Saturday and Sunday (2 -10:30 pm)

Presented by First Commonwealth. Proceeds benefit Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Join us for Pittsburgh’s biggest blues celebration at Hartwood Acres. Great national and local bands all weekend. UPMC KidZone, raffles, merchandise vendors, and plenty of food! Fox 53 presents FREE FRIDAY admission with bag of groceries to donate to the Food Bank! Kids 12 and under always free – free parking too! More info: www.pghblues.com or 412-460-BLUE

Saturday, August 9

Kindergarten...here I come!

Children's Museum - Pittsburgh

9 am - 1 pm

Join the 4th annual celebration of your child's entrance to kindergarten. 

Meet Mr. McFeely from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, explore a real school bus, meet a crossing guard and many more fun activities.  Parents and caregivers can learn about health and immunization concerns, meet local child development experts and receive valuable information on easing your child's transition into kindergarten. No registration required. For more information click on Children's Museum or call 412-322-5058

Ongoing

Book Distribution Program

RIF Pittsburgh serves over 20,000 children in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas with free, new books up to five times a year. We are currently recruiting volunteers for our Book Distribution Program – Outreach Component to help us provide support to over 100 schools and community groups we serve. We are currently looking for 15 to 20 volunteers to serve at 30 to 40 different schools and community groups in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.  A person can volunteer with RIF Pittsburgh as little as three times a year (1site) or as many as fifteen times a year (5 sites).  Volunteers will be asked to work with children ages 2-12 and to complete a reading related activity with them during their visit.  Volunteers will be required to attend one orientation and three trainings during the school year where they will receive all their supplies and activities and be able to choose the schools/organizations that they which to volunteer with.  For more information, contact Mandy Sable, Director of Programs, at 412-321-8022 Ext. 298 or ASable@rifpittsburgh.org.

RIF Pittsburgh is currently looking for new sites for our 2007-2008 school year Book Distribution Program.  To qualify, your school or organization must serve children between ages 2-12, the population is over 40% economically disadvantage, and must be in Allegheny County.  If you would like to receive free, new books three times during the school year, please contact Mandy Sable, Director of Programs, at 412-321-8022 Ext. 298 or ASable@rifpittsburgh.org.

Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.)

Events Calendar

Events Calendar

For the Love of Reading

The Consortium for Public Education
Yearly, thousands of new and gently used books are collected and given to children through area food banks. Since the program began, more than 235,000 books have been distributed. This program is sponsored by Borders Books and Music stores and WQED MultiMedia. Visit the MVEC Web site or call 412-678-9215.

OASIS Intergenerational Tutoring

This program gives caring adults the opportunity to change a child’s life by committing just one hour a week for the school year to help one child learn to read. OASIS provides training sessions, materials and supplies, support meetings, and ongoing education – no previous teaching experience required. Volunteers can be matched with dozens of K-3 or primary schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools or other participating districts. Contact OASIS Pittsburgh online or by calling 412-232-9518.

Annual Events

BIGGEST BEDTIME STORY EVENT / RECAP

More than 3400 people attended the event on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at the Petersen Events Center and throughly enjoyed stories read by Mr. McFeely, Kiya Tomlin, Keri Harmicar, Michelle Wright and Cynthia Battle. Sonji led us in song and Grover and Pirate Parrot won our hearts.  At the end of the evening ever child received a gift book from Borders, milk and Smiley cookie from Giant Eagle and Eat'n Park and toothbrush and toothpaste from Small Smiles and Glaxo SmithKline.

And so many kidswore their PJs! (Even some adults)

Look for us again May 16, 2009!

A letter of thanks from a happy family:

I wanted to send a thank you and an email of praise to your organization for the Biggest Bedtime Story program in Oakland this past Saturday.

My husband I brought our three year old son, and we were so impressed by this program - and the work you do to promote reading. We have been reading to our son each day, three to five books per day, since his birth.  It has dramatically impacted his speech development, his curiosity to learn new things, his acceptance of new situations and people - literally every part of his development has been impacted through reading.  In fact, when friends and family members have a new baby, we have been asked over and over: "what can we to make our son as smart as your son?" My answer is always: read to them every day. 

The gift that you gave to each child was amazing. My son has recently really been intrigued by maps. We have been buying a lot of maps for him to study, and to our surprise he received a hard back Atlas. It was a wonderful gift, and we have been studying and reading this book! It will be a helpful reference all through is school years! The quality of your gift was well appreciated.

Celebration of Literacy

“Children’s Village”

Early Literacy Conference

Fall Festival of Children’s Books

Fridays! KidsPlay Market Square

Every Friday through the summer months READ! 365, Pittsburgh Association for the Education of the Young Child and Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership present downtown story time, arts and crafts provided by Children's Museum, Center for Creative Play and Shady Lane School, visits from the Beginning with Books Storymobile and other fun activities. Market Square comes alive as downtown childcare centers and come for an hour of great fun.  Also, families are encouraged to join KidsPlay. Check read365.org website next spring for the 2008 summer KidsPlay Market Square schedule.

Intergenerational Reading Day

Kennywood Caper

Literacy Sabbath
Every congregation can encourage every member to get involved in literacy in some way. From pledging to read every day to the children in your own world to organizing or supporting a group effort, everyone can do something:

• Sponsor storytimes for children
• Send volunteers to read at a local school or library
• Hold a community book drive that will put books into children’s hands
• Organize a family event that celebrates reading

For more information, Get in Touch with READ! 365 (info@read365.org) or call 412-365-2034.

Mentoring Awareness Day

Mon Valley Reads

One Book, One Community

Read Across America
Pittsburgh celebrates the birthday of Dr. Seuss along with the rest of the nation! Created by the National Education Association to celebrate this special birthday (March 2), Read Across America is a fun time for local children, offering plenty of special activities and “Seusscial shenanigans.” To join in on the fun, contact the Children’s Museum (412-322-5058) or

Reading Is FUNdamental Pittsburgh (412-321-8022).

Storywalk

Three Rivers Storytelling Festival