Quotes from Feedback Forms
Featured Read With ME. Book - The Circus Ship
Read-Along with Read With ME. Videos
Read With ME. Volunteer Opportunities
Read With ME. Follow-Up Form
Teachers needing additional book bags should email Read With ME. coordinator Connie Cushing at nidoba@wildblue.com stating the quantity needed and the complete mailing address. Please include a contact name.
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| At the Augusta Armory, with the help fo the Army National Guard, Governor John Baldacci and Mrs. Baldacci work with more than seventy Read With ME. volunteers packing bookbags for kindergartners across the state each year. |
"It is wonderful that this program exists .... Often times parents are so busy that reading with a child is not in the plans. But when the child presents an actual book, and is excited about sharing it, a parent is more apt to do so." -- Fort Fairfield Elementary School
Read With ME. is a statewide Maine Reads program aimed at improving literacy and reading skills among Maine’s students. Read With ME. is made possible by FairPoint Communications. All of the books and information are provided at no cost to the participating schools and students. FairPoint Technicians, FairPoint Pioneers, and members of the Maine Army National Guard are among the volunteers delivering books to the schools, swelling the program’s volunteer number to almost 100.
Through Read With ME., every kindergartner in the state has the opportunity to receive a book bag, which includes a selected book as well as literacy information including an activities sheet, and a bookmark developed by the Maine Department of Education. Schools have been provided with videos (captioned versions available) about reading aloud produced by Maine Public Broadcasting.
Since 2000, Read With ME. has reached more than 18,000 kindergarten students in Maine annually. The Maine Army National Guard and more than 100 volunteers help to deliver the books. All of the books and information are provided at no cost to the schools or students.
If your child’s kindergarten class is not participating in Read With ME., please speak to the school principal and suggest they contact Maine Reads.
2010-11 Bookbags to Feature The Circus Ship
In fall 2010, kindergartners will receive this year’s featured book The Circus Ship, which was written and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen, a resident of Camden, Maine. The Circus Ship is a fictional, lighthearted story that was inspired by the tragic sinking of a circus ship in 1836 in Maine's Fox islands. Van Dusen ’s illustrations are gouache paintings. The Circus Ship is the recipient of this year's Lupine Award by the Maine Library Association.
The Circus Ship has been specially-designed and reissued for Read With ME. to include activities for young readers. Each book bag also includes literacy information and a bookmark developed by the Maine Department of Education and illustrated by Van Dusen.
In addition, a clip of First Lady of Maine Karen M. Baldacci reading from the book is available on the Web site of Maine Reads so that kindergartners may read along from their copies with the First Lady as well as an interview with Chris Van Dusen; this online addition is part of the FairPoint Communications Digital Enrichment program.
Join Read With ME. authors and illustrators, as well at the First Lady, as they read from their books. Follow along with your book and enjoy activities with some of the authors!
Read-Along Read With ME.Videos
Quotes from Past Feedback Forms for Read With ME.
"Thanks for your support! I love giving my kindergartners books right from the start!"
"The Read With ME. program provides a positive connection with parents as their child enters kindergarten. It also emphasizes the importance of literacy and the role that parents play in the development of literacy skills."
"We live in a poor, rural community with few resources, so books and fresh input are very much appreciated!"
"I love the Read With ME. program. It warms my heart to be able to hand those book bags to the families and tive them the gift of a book and time together while reading it. "
"At our open house, all the parents' eyes lit up like Christmas trees when they saw the book bag hanging in their child's cubby and heard it was to take home."
"Many of our children were very excited about getting their own book. Lots of then do not many books."
Read With ME. Volunteer Opportunities
"I delivered some books for Read with ME. this year. It was so much fun! The schools were all very excited to have the books, and I saw some parts of Maine that I'd never been to before." --- Cynthia Lord, author of Rules, 2007 Newbery Honor Medal, and Read With ME. volunteer
We are looking for volunteers to help with the following Read With ME. activities every August. We look for volunteers to:
- Help pack book bags and boxes at the Augusta Armory
- Deliver books to one or more schools in a particular area.
Sign up as a volunteer using our online form or for more information on volunteering, please contact:
Connie Cushing
Read With ME. Volunteer
nidoba@wildblue.net
This form is for participating 2010-11 Read With ME. teachers and librarians only. If you participate in the 2010-11. Read With ME. program, we would appreciate hearing back from you. Please download this form (microsoft word), save it to your hard drive, fill it out, and email your completed response to info@mainereads.org.
Read With ME. Book Selection
At the start of the new year, a committee consisting of parents, educators and librarians meets and selects the book to be featured in the annual Read With ME. book bag.
To be considered, a book must by written or illustrated by a resident of Maine willing to make some Maine appearances on behalf of Read With ME., must be able to be published in a special edition with additional pages created in collaboration with the publisher and author/illustrator and Maine Reads, and must be able to guarantee publication and delivery ofalmost 20,000 softcover copies on deadline and on a strict budget. We look for books with a read-aloud story line, and language that is accessible to both kindergarten-age children and parents with a range of reading abilities. If you wish your book to be considered, please mail a nonreturnable copy of your book to Maine Reads with a cover letter containing contact information.