Random House Children’s Books Announced as Official Publisher for Jumpstart’s Read for the Record® Day

Children’s Book Publisher Unites with National Early Education Organization to Highlight the Importance of High-Quality Education for All Children

BOSTON, MA (JUNE 16, 2016) Jumpstart is honored to announce that Random House Children’s Books, the world’s largest children’s trade book publisher, has been selected as the official publisher for the 11th anniversary of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, a national campaign that helps address educational inequalities and works toward the day when all children have the skills they need for kindergarten and lifelong success.

On October 27, 2016, children and adults will join forces for the world’s largest shared reading experience, known as Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. Since 2006, this 24-hour celebration has mobilized over 17 million people, and Jumpstart holds the world reading record for the most people reading the same book on the same day. This year’s official campaign book, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers), will not only inspire adults to read with children but will also spur policymakers and organizations to take action towards transformative change in early education while putting books in the hands of more children across the country.

A limited number of special editions of The Bear Ate Your Sandwich are being sold exclusively by Jumpstart. Special editions are available in paperback, both in English and Spanish, and feature reading tips, vocabulary words, reading comprehension questions, and conversation starters developed by Jumpstart’s team of early education experts. All proceeds help bring Jumpstart’s program to preschool children in under-resourced communities across the country.

“It’s extraordinary to see schools, libraries, communities, and early education advocates, including retailers, businesses, and policymakers, come together to give even more children the ‘jumpstart’ they need to succeed,” said Naila Bolus, President and CEO of Jumpstart. “What began years ago with over 75,000 people reading The Little Engine That Could has far surpassed what we at Jumpstart could have ever imagined. It is a privilege to welcome Random House Children’s Books as a lead partner for the campaign’s 11th anniversary and we thank them for helping Jumpstart to continue to expand the reach and impact of one of our most innovative initiatives,” she continued.

“The mission of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record so perfectly aligns with our goal to instill a love of reading early in life and to get books into the hands of young learners,” said Random House Children’s Books President and Publisher, Barbara Marcus. “We could not be happier to be partnering with Jumpstart and look forward to sharing Julia Sarcone-Roach’s charming The Bear Ate Your Sandwich with many young readers and families.”

To learn more about Jumpstart, register to read, and order your exclusive copies of The Bear Ate Your Sandwich, visit readfortherecord.org.

Julia Sarcone-Roach’s The Bear Ate Your Sandwich is the tale of a bear, lost in the city, who happens upon an unattended sandwich in the park. The bear’s journey from forest to city and back home again is full of happy accidents, funny encounters, and sensory delights. The story is so engrossing, that you will not see the surprise ending coming!

ABOUT JUMPSTART

Jumpstart is a national early education organization working toward the day every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed. By participating in Jumpstart’s year-long program, children develop the language, literacy, and social-emotional skills they need to be ready for school, setting them on a path for lifelong success. Since 1993, Jumpstart has trained 40,000 college students and community volunteers to transform the lives of 87,000 preschool children nationwide. Learn more at jstart.org and follow us on Twitter at @Jumpstartkids.

ABOUT RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Random House Children’s Books is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, ebooks, and apps, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House Children’s Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

PRESS CONTACTS

Carolyn Swanhall
Jumpstart
857.413.4624
carolyn.swanhall@jstart.org

Mary McCue
Random House Children’s Books
212.782.9317
mmccue@penguinrandomhouse.com

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