Regular readers of this blog know how much I love books. I’ve co-chaired the Book Fairat our kids’ school for several years, taught Junior Great Books (another program I strongly support) and, for a brief time, considered starting anotherblog devoted to books. I love books. I encourage my kids (and others’) to read.
I also promote philanthropy. Each year I believe more strongly that we all need to challenge ourselves to find ways to be more generous and giving.
Wouldn’t it be great to somehow combine reading and giving? Hmm…
So last week, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, when the Pearson Foundation gathered together a group of bloggers, authors* and others to announce the launch of the site, We Give Books, I was happy to attend.
*Including Pulitzer Prize winning author, Dave Barry!
How does it work?
Here’s the gist: We Give Books encourages parents or caregivers to read with their kids and then donate a book to a charity selected by the reader. Read a book, give a book. For every story you read on the site with (or without!) your child, they donate a book! The reader’s only obligation (if you even want to call it that) is to read the online book. Pearson/Penguin then donates the book directly to the charity you and your child selected.
These are some of the folks behind this initiative.
How easy is this?
1) Choose the charity
2) Read a book
3) Click to donate
For every book read on the site, the Pearson Foundation will donate a book to a worthy charity (selected by the reader(s)) of the book(s) from among those listed on the site).
Just give it a try. The site is very easy to navigate. Your youngest kids can participate in turning the pages of the book. In fact, I recommend that you get your kids involved from the start. Tell them a little about the charities, let them choose which one they like most, then let them pick the first book. I bet you’ll read more than a few (and then donate more than a few).
Mark Nieker, President of the Pearson Foundation, believes “We Give Books gives parents an opportunity to read with their children, and its innovation is that it surrounds reading with those important conversations that can start a young person on a life of giving.”
You can still have that special, quality time with your child in your lap, reading a story but now it’s interactive and helps other kids! This site puts an interesting twist on story time in our hi-tech world.
The only thing that I believe could make this even better and more current? If they had an iPad app for it.
I’ll bet it’s just a matter of time.
Visit We Give Books. And let me know what you think.
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Note: I wrote this review as part of a campaign by Mom Central on behalf of We Give Books and received coffee and a gift certificate. But I would have told you about it anyway, because it’s right in our sweet spot and it’s just that good.
Many people have been calling it a Harry Potter knock off. To begin with, the book series is not another Potter. The only comparison one could make is that the main characters are two boys and a girl, and the male protagonist doesn’t fully know about his true powers until he goes somewhere away from home (Camp Half Blood/Hogwarts) to train.
Would Potter ever go to Vegas?!
We both read The Lightning Thief (along with the rest of the books in the series) at a young age and were captivated by how exciting it was. Both of us still consider it the best book we’ve ever read (tied with Stephen Colbert’s I Am America (And So Can You!) and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird). We have also read the Harry Potter books and seen the movies and the Lightning Thief series differs in many ways. The Lightning Thief is a fun way for kids and teens to learn about Greek mythology.
The Lightning Thief brings Greek mythology to the modern world, with the gods and goddesses hidden at the top of the empire state building. Camp Half Blood is the where the demigods gather, the only place they are safe. Demigods are the offspring of a god and mortal, so they are half-human and half-god. Harry Potter, however, is about witchcraft and wizardry. Magic. Contrast that with gods and Greek mythology. Nowhere close to the magic that is described in the Harry Potter series.
Have you seen this promo, where water roars behind Percy?
Percy is the son of Poseidon (god of the seas, which must be noted because the naysayers probably didn’t even know that), not a recently-trained-in-magic Quidditch captain. The people who accused The Lightning Thief of being a cheap knock-off probably didn’t even know that the book was released in 2005, before five of the Harry Potter movies were released. Also, one could make the argument (an inane, ignorant argument) that The Half Blood Prince and Camp Half Blood have something to do with each other. Well, unless Snape’s dad was Zeus or Ares or any other god, they have no connection except for the words “Half Blood.”
Anyway, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series of books was hugely successful, a New York Times #1 Bestseller and given five-star reviews by many, including the writers of this article. The people who criticized The Lightning Thief probably did no (or very little) research and just looked at the ad for the movie while tweeting “Am I the only one that thinks that Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is a total Harry Potter cop-out? #iamnotamused.” (@clawtooth35) or “hilarious: billboards for ‘Percy Jackson and the lightning thief’ don’t even try to hide the fact that it’s a facile Harry Potter ripoff…” (@estherdbrazil) or “the lightning thief dd not lve up 2 my expctations. almost juvenile for my liking. it’s like harry potter with a better looking protagonist.” (@bookletjeff) Uh huh. To quote @pfpaul, “BF#1: “The Lightning Thief looks stupid. It’s exactly like Harry Potter. Different people, same names.” That doesn’t even… “what?!”
Exactly. Different people, same names?! No they don’t…oh, whatever.
Have you heard about this action/adventure movie starring a couple teenage guys and a girl who defeat villains in the midst of great special effects? You know, dark haired protagonist, no glasses. Wait…does he wear glasses? NO, he does not. He most definitely does not wear glasses. Were you thinking of Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione? Oh no, there’s a new group in town and they don’t have English accents. Sure, Chris Columbus, who directed a few of the Harry Potter movies also directed Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, but don’t expect another Potter.
First of all, can you imagine Potter using an iPhone or iPod Touch? Ever? HA!
These American kids know how to use technology! W00T!
Our kids loved the Percy Jackson book series and enjoyed the movie. They tire of the comparisons between it and the Potter series. Actually, I wish the promos would have downplayed the Chris Columbus connection and any other similarities. Millions of Potter fanatics do not want anything to try to replace or follow Potter. Attempting to draw similarities was a mistake.
Instead, I recommend putting Potter aside and opening yourself up to something new or, at least something a little different, based on myth and legends.
If you’re looking for respectable teen action heroes for your teens or preteens, I believe this is your film (and I hope an entire series of films). In it, smart, brave, attractive kids discover their demigod selves and embark on a quest which eventually leads them to Zeus and Poseidon. In fact, it’s a fairly good introduction to Greek mythology.
Exercise caution with sensitive tweens or younger kids, though. Ms. Dodds’ morphing into a flying fury and the minotaur chasing Percy and Grover were quite frightening scenes, though probably the scariest moments of the film. After those two, the intensity eases a bit.
Kids who have read the book series (or at least the first book, “The Lightning Thief”) will enjoy the movie but may quibble over differences and omissions. The parts of the book that were necessarily left out of the movie are not crucial to the storyline. My kids believe that the few aspects that were missing can be easily added in to future movies.
Logan Lerman (as Percy Jackson) strikes the right balance between seeming a little awkward with his new-found abilities and being as confident and strong as one would expect from a demigod. He’s more like Peter in Heroes than Potter at Hogwarts. No wands, just hands (and occasionally a sword).
The attraction between Percy and Annabeth was believable (I don’t really care that Annabeth wasn’t blond) and Luke was a terrific antagonist.
Bottom line? Get over Potter and give this movie a chance.
And one more thing: Lerman is more likable than Radcliffe
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Parents often warn other parents to be prepared for those dreaded teen years:
“Just write off about five years of their lives.”
“During those years, they think you know nothing. Then, in college, miraculously, you’re once again brilliant and they ask you how to do everything from folding laundry to paying rent.”
“Oh, they’ll tell you they hate you, but they’re just really mad at you.”
“I didn’t know the person who inhabited my daughter’s body during those years. But, in about eleventh grade, the daughter I knew returned.”
In the early years of their lives, many kids try hard to please their parents. They implicitly acknowledge their necessary state of dependence and pretty much worship the ground we walk on. The effect on parents’ egos is rather intoxicating. We reach a point where we start to believe we know what we’re doing. We stand tall and breath sighs of relief, as we begin to feel confident in our parenting abilities. We go through stages where we proudly boast about achievements and quickly pull out photos of the little angels. But if we talk to parents with teenagers, we often hear them say (to those of us with younger children) that we should “enjoy it while you can” because it can change in a flash when those adorable toddlers and grade school kids reach adolescence.
As my kids approached middle school, I witnessed other teens grow sassy and more defiant so I found myself getting a little nervous, worrying more than I used to, wondering if my kids would change and, more importantly if our relationships would drastically change.
When I first heard about Amazon’s electronic reader, the Kindle, I was skeptical. Actually, I was close to being outraged. I feared Jeff Bezos planned to eventually eradicate traditional printing methods for all books and newspapers. I hated the idea of reading books on a screen, especially given the inordinate amounts of time I spend looking at computers, iPhones, handhelds and televisions. Then I tried it.
And fell in love.
My daughter and I devoted one of our family podcasts to the Kindle and the Kindle 2 and I taped a webcast about the Kindle 2 and the iPhone Kindle app. This blog post is not about the attributes of the Kindle, rather it’s about my recent discovery of a necessary accessory for the Kindle 2: a carrying case.
Unlike the original Kindle, the Kindle 2 arrives to you with no carrying case.
My obsession with books has been tested with the introduction of the second generation of Amazon’s Kindle.
If you’re interested in learning more about this (potentially game changing) device, watch the video below to hear some of my thoughts about it.
My intention was to publish a review of Amazon’s new Kindle 2, but after learning about the release of the iPhone Kindle application, I felt pretty strongly about its release and wanted to tell the world about it. After calming down (and researching more information about the intent behind Jeff Bezos allowing that Kindle app to be sold), I recorded more rational (and hopefully helpful) comments.
To hear general information about the Kindle 2, start about halfway in (5:10).
If you love books and find yourself frequently nagging your kids to read more, you may want to consider buying a Kindle.
What’s a Kindle? It’s an electronic book reader produced by Amazon.
Kindle 2 by Amazon
Anyone who travels several times per month (and likes to read) should seriously consider investing in this device. It holds 1500 books and is smaller and lighter than some paperbacks.
I’ve written many posts about books, my love of books and my experiences with book fairs. My daughter and I have hosted many podcasts about books – from picture books to Twilight. It seemed only natural, then, that I would create a blog about books. Currently under construction, the new blog seeks to assist its readers with the sometimes overwhelming task of finding books for their kids. As the years go by, it becomes increasingly difficult to find good books for my middle schooler. At the same time, I find more friends asking me for recommendations of good books for their kids. The new site will tackle those challenges and more.
Stay tuned. I’ll let you know as soon as the site is ready for prime time.
I heard all the hype but was not expecting much from the Twilight movie (based on the books by Stephenie Meyer).
After a friend of mine bought the book for me and handed it to me saying, “You have to read this book. It’s fantastic!” Soapbox Girl and I read the first book in the series. My daughter loved it so much that she devoured the next three books, New Moon,Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn within a week.
looked better in the film than in any of the interviews I’d seen or articles I read about him.
Twilight is basically a love story – a passionate, unusual love story – which happens to involve vampires. For various reasons, the actor portraying Edward Cullen (main character) had to be gorgeous and the female lead (Bella) had to seem vulnerable, smart and beautiful (but klutzy).
Check, check, check and…check.
Bottom line?
Great love story, fabulous chemistry between the main characters, action, suspense, beautiful cinematography and direction. Worth a look!
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Note: Heed the PG-13 rating for some intense battles and mature theme.
