Jumpstart Selects Candlewick’s Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away for Annual Literacy Campaign, Read for the Record®

Newbery Medal winner Meg Medina’s picture book named 2020 Read for the Record pick

BOSTON, MA—Jumpstart, a national early education organization, announced their partnership with Somerville, Massachusetts-based independent children’s book publisher Candlewick Press for this year’s 15^th annual Read for the Record campaign. For the second year, the TJX Companies, Inc.—a longtime Jumpstart contributor—will serve as the campaign’s exclusive presenting sponsor. The organizations will come together with millions of readers around the globe on October 29, 2020, for the annual effort to celebrate literacy and provide access to high-quality children’s books.

“Each year, this day brings visibility to the essential role that adults play in supporting the learning and development of children by doing one simple act: reading aloud,” Jumpstart CEO Naila Bolus said. “At Jumpstart, we view books as windows to different outlooks and experiences and as mirrors in which children can really see themselves. I think this year’s book speaks especially to these times—and the importance of connection and caring for one another. We are thrilled to partner with Candlewick Press once again to bring this story to millions of readers.”

This year’s book selection, published by Candlewick Press, is Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away, written by Newbery medal winner and acclaimed author Meg Medina and with illustrations by Sonia Sánchez. The picture book, about a young girl saying goodbye to her mejor amiga, beautifully represents lasting friendship and offers a sensitive portrayal of the universal experience of encountering change.

“It’s such an honor to have been selected for Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away is a story that celebrates the enduring power of friendship over time and distance. If we have learned anything in 2020, it is how much we depend on one another for love and support, especially in difficult times. I hope this story resonates with families all over the world who will share it together in that spirit,” said author Meg Medina.

This year will also mark the second time Jumpstart has partnered with Candlewick Press for Read for the Record. Not Norman: A Goldfish Story, written by Kelly Bennett and illustrated by Noah Z. Jones, was the campaign’s 2015 selection.

“Especially because we so fully share Jumpstart’s mission of ensuring that young readers have access to books that enlarge their lives, we are thrilled to work together to put Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away in children’s hands this year,” said Karen Lotz, president and publisher of Candlewick Press. “Meg Medina is a gifted storyteller for readers of all ages, and in this, her first picture book since winning the 2019 Newbery Medal, she reminds us of her gift for conveying young children’s emotions, and for documenting our most profound relationships.”

Each year, during Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, adults celebrate the transformative power of books by reading to children in their communities. This act creates a positive association with reading and learning and highlights the social-emotional benefits that occur from one-to-one reading. In 2019, over 2.1 million readers participated in the campaign, spanning 34 countries.

Thanks to continued support from TJX Companies, the leading off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States and worldwide and the campaign’s exclusive presenting sponsor, the campaign will impact the lives of thousands of children from underserved communities and put high-quality literature into the hands of children who have limited access to books at home.

“TJX is a model of corporate citizenship,” Bolus said. “Their generosity to Jumpstart and many other organizations, along with their commitment to supporting children and families creates a collaboration with limitless potential. Having TJX as the exclusive presenting sponsor underscores the importance of the work that we are doing day in and day out to significantly impact equity in early education.”

A limited number of special-edition, paperback copies of Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away will be sold exclusively by Jumpstart, in both English and Spanish, through the Jumpstart website. Jumpstart’s special edition 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 underserved communities across the country.

Book pre-orders opened May 13, 2020. Everyone is invited to pledge to read with Jumpstart on October 29! To learn more about Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, visit readfortherecord.org.

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ABOUT JUMPSTART FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

For 25 years, Jumpstart has been fueled by the core belief that providing high-quality educational opportunities to all young children contributes to breaking the cycle of poverty. Jumpstart provides an early education solution that meets the needs of the children and communities we serve while advocating for change that ensures all children have access to the early learning opportunities they need. Learn more at jstart.org.

ABOUT CANDLEWICK PRESS

Candlewick Press is an independent publisher based in Somerville, Massachusetts. For more than thirty years, Candlewick has published outstanding children’s books for readers of all ages, including books by award-winning authors and illustrators such as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature emerita Kate DiCamillo, M. T. Anderson, Meg Medina, Jon Klassen, and Laura Amy Schlitz; the widely acclaimed Judy Moody, Mercy Watson, and ’Ology series; and favorites such as Guess How Much I Love You, Maisy, and Where’s Waldo? by Martin Handford. Candlewick is part of the Walker Books Group, together with Walker Books UK in London and Walker Books Australia. Visit Candlewick online at www.candlewick.com.