Making the Most of Your Grow Up with Books Subscription!

At Grow Up with Books we want to help families foster the love of reading!  Families that sign up for a subscription with Grow Up with Books receive a lot more than just great books at the click of a mouse.  No matter what reading plan you choose, be sure to get the most out of your subscription by remembering  the following tips:

• Be sure to keep your book queue full!  That way we always have a list of what your family wants to read next.
  
• When you return books, be sure to go on to the Grow Up with Books website and click "order returned."  This allows us to go ahead and process your next order.  Your new books will go directly to the post office.  You will not have to wait as long for new titles!
• Read, Learn, and Return full orders, not partial ones.  We are unable to process your next order if all books are not returned in the handy postage-paid return mailer.
  
• Don’t forget…if your family loves a book and you want to keep it, you can! Visit the website and buy the book at a reduced cost.

Grow Up with Books also offers specialized services that you won't find anywhere else!

• When books are returned they are sanitized with a green cleaning product to help keep germs out.  The books you receive have been through this same process to help keep your family healthy!
  
• The Read TWO Experience helps your family know how to read the book-To your child, With your child, or on their Own. Each book is marked with this information to help guide you as a parent of a Seed, Sprout, Sapling, or Young Tree reader.
• Grow Up with Books has a Reading Consulting Team with nearly 40 years of classroom reading experience. If you have questions about ways to help your child's reading development or literacy in general, feel free to write us at rct@growupwithbooks.com.  We will provide timely personal feedback and reading tips to all our subscribers.
• All of our books are reviewed by the Reading Consulting Team and Connection Cards are created for each book.  These suggested activities help guide parents to foster a love of reading by helping children make connections between books and themselves, other books and the world.
• Don't forget...Grow Up with Books gift cards or gift subscriptions make great gifts for baby showers, birthdays, holidays-anytime is a great time to give Grow Up with Books!

We are pleased that we can offer these services to our subscribers.  We hope that all subscribers will participate in our Summer Reading Program "Score! Read with GUWB" and receive a $10 gift card to Dairy Queen.  We ask all subscribers to Reach-a-Reader and save $5 on next month's subscription by getting a friend to sign up for a Grow Up with Books monthly book plan. 

If you haven't signed up yet, what are you waiting for?  Look at all the benefits you will receive when you share the love of reading and experience Grow Up with Books!  Sign up today and join in the fun of

reading with your child!

Tips for Summer Reading

Make even more summer memories with your family by trying out some of our

Summer Reading Tips!

1.  Family Storytime:  Choose a crowd-pleaser like Charlotte's Web or Clementine from the GUWB collection.  Each day read the story together as a family.  Either read the story to your children, or have the family take turns as "Guest Reader" for the evening.  After reading, have a conversation with your crew about connections you can make with what you've read. 

 

2.  Take a Trip:  Many of the books in the GUWB collection lend themselves to daytrip excursions for your family.  If you live in Virginia, you might read My Chincoteague Pony and visit Chincoteague Island for the annual pony penning event.  If you live in Illinois, you might read Abe's Honest Words and visit Abraham Lincoln's birthplace and museum.  If you live in the mid-Atlantic region, your might read the non-fiction book Washington, D.C. and spend a day touring our nation's capital city.  No matter where you live, try to make connections between books you read and summer events!

   

3.  Write All About It!  To encourage summer writing and keep those writing skills sharp, try one or all of these writing suggestions: 
     a.  Keep a journal:  In the book Ellie McDoodle:  Have Pen, Will Travel, Ellie goes camping with her aunt and uncle and writes all her adventures in her signature "doodle-style" notebook.  Capture your family's adventures in your own journal.
    b.  Help your child create a blog with his or her friends so they can "chat" through writing about books they are reading.
    c.  After reading Diary of a Worm, use a blank calendar to have your child record "out of the ordinary"  events (a surprise trip to Dairy Queen, a visit from grandma, a playdate, a summer party, etc.).

   

4.  Capturing Memories:  Summer is filled with lots of memory-making moments.  After reading When Lightning Comes in a Jar, take your family outside at dusk with a jar to capture your own fireflies and make your own experience.  What other connections can your family make with this story? (reunions, family ties, foods, stories of the past, etc.)  Take pictures of events that make your summer special and encourage your child to write captions for each one in a scrapbook.

We hope these Summer Reading Tips will help your family enjoy reading even more books this summer!  Be sure to check out the GUWB book collection and tips from the Reading Consulting Team. 

Happy Summer Reading!

The GUWB Team

Subscriber Benefits at GUWB

If you are a subscriber to GUWB (the Netflix of children's books), one of the many benefits you have is access to our Reading Consulting Team (RCT). The information below shares a little bit about what the RCT can offer.

A few years ago a parent asked me, “How do you know what books to read to your child?” My answer was, “Well, I’m a reading teacher. I just know.” But as the conversation continued it became obvious to me that this parent had many thoughtful questions about reading with his child. So I began to wonder…

How do parents know what to read to their children?

In this time of technology any parent can hop on the computer and use any available search engine to locate information on multiple approaches to reading with children. The library is a wonderful place to go for children’s literature guidance, if there is a children’s librarian at your branch. Asking your child’s teacher or reading teachers at his or her school is helpful, but what if they are not yet in school, or not yet reading?

The Reading Consulting Team at Grow Up with Books is readily available to answer your questions about reading to or with your child, or guiding them when they read on their own (the Read TWO Experience). We are a team of educators with 40+ years of experience in the classroom and have children of our own. Our team is set to answer your burning questions about these and other topics:

• What are the "hot books" out now for kids?

• What should I read to my infant or toddler?

• What series would interest my 9-year-old boy?

• What do I do if my child can read, but can’t comprehend?

Be sure to check our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the website or email us at rct@growupwithbooks.com.

Happy reading and we look forward to hearing from you!

The GUWB Team

Submitted by Julie Dauksys (Reading Consulting Team)

10 for 2010 Making Reading a Resolution Reality

It's that time of year again when we make our New Year's Resolutions only to drop them within weeks, days, or even minutes. When we stop to ask ourselves why, it's usually because it wasn't convenient. So, our million dollar question...How do you make reading convenient for your family? Or maybe the question should be....How can we afford NOT to make it convenient. I'd like to offer several suggestions for a family plan of reading in 2010!













10 for 2010... a Family Plan...
1) Make reading FUN! Let your child choose a headlamp or special book light to brighten the experience for "before going to sleep" reading.
2) Have a plan. Set aside a specific time for reading that works best for your child. Talk about the plan as a family so that all are involved and own it.
3) Allow for CHOICE. Letting your child have a say in what they read can make all the difference. If it's something they want to read it's more likely that they will enjoy reading it.
4) Choose a FAMILY chapter book. Remember that your child's listening level is 2-3 grade levels above their reading level. Books with vivid vocabulary and believable characters allow your family to take a shared adventure in the comfort of your own home.
5) Carry books in the car! Have a special bag or use the back of the seats to hold books. If you don't have them, they can't read them.
6) Stash some books in the bathroom. A basket of books for "waiting time" can be a very good thing.
7) Consider books on CD. While not a replacement for reading with your child, it does show how to read smoothly (fluency) and change your voice to match a situation (inflection).
8) Be an example. Read along with your child and read your own novel.
9) Start a family book club. With your friends who have children, consider reading the same story. Plan a celebration date for finishing the book where you can talk about connections made and even enjoy some tasty goodies! Over at Literate Lives they share about a "Grand Discussion" and how to hold one at your school.
10) Make reading FUN! Be sure to get comfy when you read. Who says you can't read in a tent with your grandmother listening?

This is just a start to a list. Share some of your family's tips for keeping reading exciting and a priority in your life. We'd love to hear from you!!!




The GUWB Team