Photograph Credit: Random House Children’s Books
Welcome back from Father’s Day weekend and our short break from our summer reading series. Diving back into the many opportunities provided for summer reading, the Junie B. Jones program is next on the schedule.
Before outlining that program, I wanted to share about a change from last year. In this series, iVillage’s Summer Reading Challenge would have landed at this post. I was hoping they would reintroduce it, but they have chosen a different direction.
Instead of summer reading, iVillage will host the Back to School Community Challenge. I realize that many are just starting summer and thinking about the end of summer is just way.too.soon. I get that, and I’m not ready for summer to end either.
As the iVillage website does not indicate the dates of the challenge, I will just link to the page where you may enter your e-mail address for notifications. When the challenge begins, then iVillage will send you a daily e-mail for 4 weeks.
The first 2 weeks will focus on the transition from summer to school, and the last 2 weeks will offer organizational tips to get everyone out the door on time. If you are interested, you may sign up and then those e-mails will come when the challenge begins.
Without any waiting period, our next summer reading opportunity is new-to-me. In May, the Junie B. Jones series offered a FREE welcome kit which is scheduled to ship in July. Though the kit has reached its limit, the monthly newsletter and reading information is still available for the Junie B. Jones Kids Club.
Junie B. Jones Kids Club
Participants
The books are written for children ages 6-9, but all can participate in reading this series.
Program Length
The Junie B. Jones newsletter is distributed monthly.
Goal
Offer tips and activities for getting the most out of these books.
Requirements
Sign up with a valid e-mail account, read the newsletters when distributed, and enter any contests or sweepstakes.
Redemption
No prizes are offered from the publisher or author for reading this series. However, the printable activities, certificates, and reading log are available via the newsletter links.
Reward
If one signed up in May before the supplies ran out, then she would receive a FREE book and bookmark from Junie B. Jones books around July. I will watch more carefully for this offer next year and post when the offer is available.
Junie B. Jones Club Benefits
My girls like the series. As Miss 6 is developing her love of reading, the extra activities that enhance the reading are beneficial. Also, the monthly newsletter lets us know of offers, gives access to printable worksheets, and announces upcoming contests.
My son would not be interested in this series, and I’m not wild about it. As I read these books, I find myself correcting the character’s English which is a pet peeve of mine.
I really want my children reading books where the characters speak correctly. Within eight pages of Junie B. Jones Has a Monster Under Her Bed, I corrected three sentences as the following works are not in the English language – “fusstration,” “runned,” and “slided.”
The stories are geared toward Miss 6’s age group and even my 4-year-old likes listening to the books. Though I don’t mind the topics, I am not wild about the vocabulary, but we still read the books. I just make sure I correct the words when I read it whereas Miss 6 likes to read on her own.
I’m not trying to sway you one way or the other, but I mention it for those of you who are particular about the vocabulary. With that said, the Junie B. Jones reading opportunity is very well organized, and we are using it with slight adjustments.
As you continue your summer reading and encouraging others to do the same, I hope you are finding great opportunities for nudging those less enthusiastic readers. Happy summer reading!
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More 2014 summer reading programs: