Jumpstart and Random House Partner to Promote Early Learning Through Jumpstart’s Read for the Record®

Random House Children’s Books title, Quackers by Liz Wong, chosen as 2017 Read for the Record campaign book

BOSTON (MARCH 13, 2017)—Random House Children’s Books, the world’s largest children’s trade book publisher, has been selected as the official publisher for Jumpstart’s 12th annual Read for the Record campaign. Read for the Record is a national effort to raise awareness about the need for high-quality early learning for all children while also raising funds to support the important work Jumpstart does in communities across the United States.

This year’s book choice, Quackers, was written and illustrated by first-time author Liz Wong. The book features a kitten who grows up thinking it is a duck and highlights themes that are sure to resonate with young children today, such as acceptance, fitting in, and embracing our differences.

The campaign culminates on October 19, 2017, when children and adults across the country will gather together to celebrate Read for the Record Day by reading the same book on the same day and attempting to beat the world record for most people reading the same book at the same time. Since 2006, this 24-hour celebration has mobilized over 17 million people in support of early education and literacy, including celebrity ambassadors such as Josh Duhamel, Bridget Moynahan, LL Cool J, Maya Angelou, Mandy Moore, Julianna Margulies, and more.

Mr. Duhamel, an actor best known for his role in the blockbuster Transformers movie franchise, is also a member of Jumpstart’s Board of Directors and an avid supporter of Read for the Record. He helped mark today’s announcement with a video on social media featuring him surprising an excited group of preschoolers with a copy of Quackers. “As the father of a three-year old, I see how important reading is to young children’s growth and development,” says Mr. Duhamel, “and this campaign is a fun and important way to spread that message.”

A limited number of special-edition copies of Quackers will be sold exclusively by Jumpstart. Special editions will be available in paperback in both English and Spanish and will feature reading tips, vocabulary words, reading comprehension questions, and activity guides 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.

“Read for the Record highlights the invaluable connections and learning gains that are made when caring adults, be it parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, or mentors, read with young children,” explains Naila Bolus, President and CEO of Jumpstart. “Quackers is a wonderful story of self-identity, trying new things, and being whoever you want to be. I can think of no better way to celebrate Jumpstart’s mission and Read for the Record than with this inspiring and uplifting story.”

Random House Children’s Books President and Publisher Barbara Marcus said, “We are so excited that Quackers by Liz Wong has been selected by Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. It is a perfect book to read together, and one that celebrates acceptance, inclusion, and friendship. We have seen firsthand the incredible impact this initiative has on children, classrooms, and communities. We look forward to partnering with Jumpstart again and reaching even more young readers together to inspire a lifelong love of books and reading.”

To learn more about Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, visit readfortherecord.org.

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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 yearlong program, children develop the language, literacy, and social and emotional skills they need to be ready for school, setting them on a path for lifelong success. Since 1993, Jumpstart has trained 45,000 college students and community volunteers to transform the lives of 100,000 preschool children nationwide. Jumpstart is a proud member of the AmeriCorps service network. Learn more at jstart.org and follow us on Facebook and 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.