My first published book review is up at this month's The Edge of the Forest.

US Airways and Reading Is Fundamental Put Children’s Books on Planes; Launch “Read with Kids Challenge.”

TEMPE, Ariz., — Feb. 29, 2008—US Airways (LCC) has joined with Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) to launch a new early childhood literacy campaign, “Fly with US. Read with Kids,” which features a free children’s book for passengers traveling domestically during March, the online “Read with Kids Challenge,” and support of RIF programs serving young children across the nation.

During the month of March, US Airways, the official airline of RIF, will distribute copies of best-selling author/illustrator Lucy’s Cousins’ children’s book Come Fly with Maisy to passengers on domestic, mainline flights to take and share with a child. The organizations’ “Read with Kids Challenge” encourages Americans to read with young children during March, April, and May in an effort to log one million minutes reading. All entrants who log their time will qualify for a grand prize drawing of a family vacation to Walt Disney World(R) Resort in Orlando as well as other prizes. Participants can enter their time online at RIF.org.

“Reading, much like travel, is an adventure and a way to explore new worlds,” said Doug Parker, US Airways Chairman and CEO. “By teaming up with RIF on this first-of-its kind campaign, US Airways is helping foster literacy skills and a lifelong love of reading in children throughout the country – a key foundation for future academic and economic success.”

US Airways’ new campaign with RIF, the nation’s oldest and largest children and families’ literacy nonprofit organization, also includes donating 80,000 books to 25,000 children in RIF programs. US Airways' 3,300-member employee volunteer corps, the Do Crew, will participate in RIF book distributions and reading rallies in communities where the airline has large employee concentrations: Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Las Vegas; New York City; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Washington, D.C.; and Winston-Salem, N.C.

“Reading and interacting with children is fun and valuable whether at 30,000 feet or at ground level,” said Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO of RIF. “Thanks to US Airways, RIF can provide more books to children and their families and promote the value of adults reading with young children. Research has shown that reading to young children helps them build vocabulary, develop skills for reading, and better prepare for success in school.” qubo, a TV and online entertainment service for children that champions literacy, has agreed to help promote the Read with Kids Challenge. qubo is currently broadcast on NBC Saturday mornings, ION TV network Friday afternoons and Telemundo weekend mornings and airs as a 24/7 digital broadcast channel and website.

About RIF Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), founded in 1966, is the nation’s oldest and largest children and families’ literacy nonprofit organization. RIF’s programs work to improve literacy by providing children with free new books, promoting reading for fun, and involving caring adults—all proven to support academic achievement. Because research has shown the importance of early childhood language development, RIF’s highest priority is reaching underserved children from birth to age 8. In 2007, RIF distributed 16 million books to 4.6 million children at nearly 20,000 locations, including schools, clinics, Head Start centers, and other sites throughout the U.S. RIF’s website offers educators, parents, and children advice and activities that support literacy. Visit www.RIF.org

About US Airways US Airways is the fifth largest domestic airline employing more than 36,000 aviation professionals worldwide. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express operate approximately 3,800 flights per day and serve more than 230 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. US Airways is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers our customers 17,000 daily flights to 897 destinations in 160 countries worldwide. This press release and additional information on US Airways can be found at www.usairways.com (LCCG)

FROM CAROL H. RASCO, President and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental

Please ACT NOW capwiz.com/rif/go/de… and help RIF build support for our funding by sending an e-mail to your members of Congress asking them to sign the RIF Dear Colleague letter.

Since we first shared the disappointing news of President Bush’s proposed elimination of funding for RIF in his fiscal year 2009 budget less than two weeks ago, more than 30,000 messages have been sent to Congress urging legislators to reinstate RIF’s funding.

This initial outpouring of support has prompted RIF’s congressional champions to capitalize on the momentum by circulating in Congress a Dear Colleague letter on behalf of RIF. The Dear Colleague letter asks members of Congress to sign-on in support of RIF’s funding. This is an important next step in the campaign to protect RIF’s FY09 funding.

We are asking Congress to appropriate $26 million to fund RIF’s book distribution program for some 4.6 million underserved children and families in fiscal year 2009. The funding is critical to support our reading motivational programs at nearly 20,000 locations nationwide.

We hope you will share this message with six or more friends who will also contact their members of Congress. Thank you in advance for your support!

I would be a mermaid fair;
I would sing to myself the whole of the day;
With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;
And still as I comb’d I would sing and say,
Who is it loves me? who loves not me?

-Alfred Lord Tennyson

To read the whole poem, go here.

The round up is at Writing and Ruminating. 

I am: Robert A. Heinlein Beginning with technological action stories and progressing to epics with religious overtones, this take-no-prisoners writer racked up some huge sales numbers.

This comes as no surprise.

 National Women’s History Month starts on Saturday; this week’s Booking Through Thursday question asks who your favorite female lead character is; Shannon Hale is having a discussion about being tough and feminine at the same time at her blog.

I have a response that will tie all of these together.  Unfortunately, I’ve been awake for 14 hours on less than 6 hours of sleep, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

From Colleen at Chasing Ray:

Just to update you on the idea that several of us have been bouncing around for a web site recommending books to teenage boys. We are working on the design and putting together a big list of daily posters. But first the name:

Guys Lit Wire!!

All credit for that one goes to Sarah (who will likely also want to mention some help from Tanita). I was banging my head hard against the wall on this and Sarah came through big time. So kudos to her limitless creativity which will be big time on display on the site. Wait until you see the header she is working on for the main page - it is some kind of awesome.

We are planning to go live by June 1st and update every Monday - Friday with a different daily poster. We hope to have 21 folks on board dedicated to posting at least once a month. This way we get tons of new content from lots of different points of view, which is what I really wanted. We will likely run multiple daily posts as the site evolves but readers will be able to count for sure on at least one new post every weekday and that is what we will build a lot of the site’s readership on.

There will be book recommendations, author interviews, literary commentary, a rant or two (I’m sure) and lots of other good stuff. The goal is to cover a ton of different types of books from across the literary spectrum so we can become a good resource to actual teenagers as well as anyone seeking to find books for teen boys. (And if the girls want to visit we are happy to have them, but boys are our target audience.)

Right now everything is moving forward quite nicely but we do still need some folks to commit to posting. If any of you would like to participate in Guys Lit Wire (or recommend someone) then please let me know. We are especially looking for guys so we can keep our group balanced (and because guys know a thing or two about what guys like to read… :) Please send me an email if you can help. (colleenatchasingraydotcom)

Just making a list for myself based on the list published by LOCUS.

Faerie Wars, Herbie Brennan Un Lun Dun, China Mieville

Looking for vintage book covers?  Go to Book Scans! "The goal of the Bookscans Project is to provide a visual catalog of ALL vintage American paperbacks."

So much fun!

I’m "reading" Holly Black’s Valiant right now on CD on my commute.  I almost stopped because I feel like the reader tries a little too hard to distinguish character voices, making them so different as to be unsuited to the characters.  But I’m going to keep going, because I’m enjoying it anyway.

Sometimes, a character in a book says something that feels like it could have come out of your own mouth.  At least, it happens to me every once in a while.  As I don’t have the book itself here I’m paraphrasing, but this one sounded just like me, to myself anyway.

Sketchy Dave is scolding Lolli for just up and telling Val all about herself.

Lolli says, "I tell everybody everything.  People only believe what they can handle.  It’s how I know who I can trust."

I’m sure I’ve gotten it horribly wrong, but the gist is there.  And it is absolutely who I am.  There are things I hold back, but they are my very private and personal things.  Most things, I just come out and say, and one of the reasons I do that is because people’s reactions are a quick way to gauge who is a good fit for you as a friend.  You can’t pretend to be someone you’re not and then get mad if people find out who you really are and don’t like you, not reasonably.  But if you’re open from the first, they know and you know whether or not you’ll really get along.