Have you ever heard of this????

[NanceXToo]

My mom just emailed me about a website called wegivebooks.org.

 

She wrote:

 

"on october 7th go to

http://www.wegivebooks.org/

 

according to People mag for everyone who reads ezra keat's the snowy day, this org along with a program called Jumpstart will give a free book to a child in need.it's free and they hope it will set a record for the most people reading the same book on one day. I looked at the site and it seems there are lots of books to read there. last year justin bieber read on the same occasion called "read for the record""

 

I'd never heard of wegivebooks.org but I just looked at their site and apparently there are free kid's books you can read online, and you can choose a campaign to support, and each time you read a book on their website, a real book is donated to the particular campaign you are supporting in an effort to support literacy worldwide.

 

It looks really interesting, I'm going to look into it some more! I thought I'd pass the info along (and see if any of you know anything about this site).

[NanceXToo]

No-one?

 

Well, I signed up, and I chose "United Through Reading" as my campaign!

 

“The United Through Reading Military Program eases the stress of separation for US military families by sponsoring a DVD reading of a children’s book by a deployed soldier for their family waiting at home.

In some ways, the program couldn’t be simpler: military personnel have the opportunity to pick a children’s book and then to record themselves reading that book so that the resulting video can be shared with their families while they’re away. The service member first reads a book while being recorded and sends the DVD home to the child. The child at home watches the DVD and follows along with the book, if available. The parent at home captures the child's reaction in a photo or email and sends it back to the service member. In most cases, this process is repeated with new books throughout the service member's tour.â€

 

There are other types of campaigns to choose from, too.

 

I read my almost 5 y/o son three books, which he enjoyed. Seems like a cool site and a cool idea, you guys should think about checking it out :) Most are for younger kids. The ones for older kids are sciency and I even noticed a few pertaining to ancient Egypt for the 8-10 y/o's (it goes from 0-3, 4-7, and 8-10), for those of you doing that in SOTW :D

[Barb_]

Okay, I was a little confused until I went to check it out. This is a charity site run by Pearson with about 50 DK and Penguin picture books available to read online for free. The selection rotates monthly and seasonally. For each book you and your child read, The Pearson Foundation will donate a physical book to the foundation of your choice. Here's the FAQ

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q: Is it free to read books on wegivebooks.org?

 

A: Yes, please enjoy and know that you are helping others with each and every book you read on the site. Select a literacy campaign to support and get started now!

 

Q: What kind of books can be read and how many will there be to choose from?

 

A: Picture books from Penguin and DK appropriate for children through age ten will be available. There is a mix of fiction and nonfiction, a range of authors, and an equal balance between read-alouds and books for independent readers. We’ll be adding new books each month (and seasonally) to ramp up to 50+ titles in 2010.

 

Q: How long will books be up?

 

A: The period of time in which a book appears on the We Give Books site varies by book. Depending on what authors and publishers decide, some will be only available on a short-term or temporary basis (seasonal titles for example), and some will be available on a perennial basis.

 

Q: How are books actually donated?

 

A: As we make We Give Books available, we’re aiming to make book donations as simple as possible: Each time someone reads a book on the site, we’ll donate a book to a charity he or she designates.

 

Q: Is there a limit to how many books for donation someone can help donate?

 

A: Currently there is no limit to the number of books someone can help donate. However, this is something that may be revisited as we move forward.

 

Q: What happens if someone reads the same book more than once on the site?

 

A: We Give Books donates a book each time you read a book—no matter how often you read the book. We hope that visitors and members will read and re-read their favorites.

 

Q: Can someone change the charity on whose behalf they’re reading?

 

A: Readers can always choose to read for a different charity.

 

 

Q: Who pays for the books that are donated and will authors be paid royalties?

 

A: The Pearson Foundation covers the costs of sourcing or manufacturing the books and delivering them to the charity partners. Over time, we hope other corporations and foundations will get involved too. Our authors will be paid royalties for books used to fulfill donations. Royalties will not be paid to display the books available for online reading so we are very grateful to our authors who have agreed to participate in the program and share their books online.

 

Q: Why are there ‘buy’ buttons on wegivebooks.org?

 

A: This feature gives WGB members the option to purchase the books they enjoy online on wegivebooks.org either for their own home or to give to a school, library, or directly to a child. These same books are always available online at wegivebooks.org to members and non-members to enjoy time and again for free.

 

 

Q: What books are donated to the literacy charities – are they the same ones available for online reading?

 

A: The books we donate to charity partners will include the fiction and non-fiction books you can read on the We Give Books site. However, we aim to provide many more Penguin and DK books that—for one reason or another—won’t necessarily appear on the We Give Books site. In any event, the We Give Books team will coordinate closely with our literacy partner to identify the kinds of children’s books they need most, and then will generate a list of appropriate books for each charity partner.

 

Q: When do donations actually get donated?

 

A: Unless a literacy partner requests another delivery schedule, we’ll share donated books each month. Orders will be picked, packed, consolidated for each charity partner, and shipped by our Penguin and DK warehouses in the most cost-effective way possible.

 

Q: Will We Give Books be donating used or damaged books?

 

A: Penguin and DK are sharing only new books as part of the We Give Books program.

 

 

Q: What is Better the World?

 

A: Better the World is our strategic technology partner. The Better the World platform powers the community experience that is part of We Give Books.

 

Q: What is Issuu?

 

A: Issuu is the technology that powers the reading experience on wegivebooks.org. The Issuu viewer is the online tool you use to turn the pages as you read, and zoom in and out.

 

Q: Does participating on We Give Books entitle me to claim a charitable deduction on my US income tax?

 

A: No, We Give Books is totally free, and without making monetary charitable contributions, you cannot claim charitable deductions on your US income tax.