FREE ONLINE READING PROGRAM BEATS SUMMER BOREDOM, PROMOTES LITERACY Book AdventureTM Attracts Thousands of Student Readers - 1,000,000 Quizzes Completed Since 1999 Launch June 2, 2000 - An alarming 60 percent of 4th graders watch three to six hours of television a day and an untold number spend hours playing computer and video games - a number that could increase now that school's out. With summertime approaching, parents wonder how they can encourage their children to do something more constructive with their time. Book Adventure, a free, online reading incentive program, has met with remarkable success nationally since its launch last April by tapping into kids' love of computers and simultaneously encouraging them to read. Today more than 233,000 parents, teachers and children have registered to take advantage of the program created by the Sylvan Learning Foundation - and the number of new users is growing by more than 20,000 each month. The innovative Web site is sure to fend off summer boredom while making reading and learning fun. The advent of Book Adventure comes at a time when a shocking 70 percent of 4th grade students are not able to read at their grade level - a situation that isn't helped by summers void of educational activity. Across the country Americans are faced with an urgent mission - to help our young people learn the rewards of picking up a good book. Here's how the program works: Children use their techno-savvy to log on to www.bookadventure.org anywhere -- at home, at school, or at the library - at any time. With the help of the program's mascots, Rex Reader and Bailey Bookmark, children create personalized book lists from over 4,000 recommended titles, take multiple-choice quizzes on the books they've read, and earn prizes for their reading success. Rewards include activities that can be printed from a computer or with parental consent, prizes from corporate sponsors including Barnes & Noble.com. For families without Internet access at home, the public library is a logical solution to maintain summer reading with Book Adventure. "The public library is a place where children can log on to Book Adventure, customize a reading list, go to the shelf and get the book, and then get back online to take the quizzes," said Maria Salvadore, coordinator of Children's Services for Washington, DC Public Library System. "And for parents who may not be very comfortable with computers, Book Adventure introduces technology in a non-threatening, family-oriented way," she said. "We are thrilled that so many parents and teachers are taking advantage of this valuable resource to encourage summer reading," said Kelly Hodge-Williams, executive director of the Book Adventure Foundation. "Reluctant readers and avid readers alike are engaged and challenged by the program. In fact, kids have completed more than 1,000,000 comprehension quizzes on the Book Adventure Web site. We're hoping to see a major increase by fall!" Several of the nation's leading literacy and educational organizations are providing guidance for the Book Adventure initiative. The program's Educational Advisory Committee includes the International Reading Association, Reading Is Fundamental, Inc., National Center for Family Literacy, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Catholic Educational Association, National Alliance of Black School Educators, DC Public Library System and Baltimore Reads, Inc. Just in time for summer, Book Adventure is launching its Web site's redesign complete with a sleek new Homepage and Parent and Teacher Resource Sections in mid-June. Book Adventure is working with the member organizations of the Educational Advisory Committee to provide parents and teachers with credible and valuable educational resources to help them support the education of their children and students this summer and all year long.

Book List

Quiz Sample

Prize Library