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Posts tagged NPR

John Merrow: Vocabulary is King

Apr28
2011
Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Today’s guest blog post is from John Merrow, education correspondent for PBS NewsHour and president of Learning Matters. Merrow is also the author of The Influence of Teachers.

John Merrow, education reporter for PBS and NPR, shares his thoughts with First BookRecently, while editing a piece for PBS NewsHour about ‘the vocabulary gap’ that develops in the first three years of life, I became acutely aware of the need for public action.

We know that about three-quarters of the children who aren’t reading competently and confidently by the end of third grade will never catch up. And while a staggering 91% of African-American boys are below grade level in reading in third grade, this is not a racial issue or problem. It’s a national crisis: 83% of all low-income children are behind.

That’s right: 83 percent.

But it’s not just about vocabulary. It’s about language, conversations, speaking and listening. Kids from affluent homes and kids who succeed in school acquire that wonderful vocabulary through conversations, not vocabulary drills.
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Posted in Education, Guest Blog Posts, Literacy - Tagged education, First Book, John Merrow, Learning Matters, LM Books, PBS NewsHour, The Influence of Teachers, vocabulary

Wait wait…don’t tell me: Win Carl Kassell’s voice on your answering machine!

May28
2010
Written by Guest Blogger

One of our amazing supporters, has started an eBay Giving Works auction to benefit First Book! This past year, she won the opportunity to have Carl Kassell, Judge and Scorekeeper of Wait Wait! Don’t Tell Me, a radio news quiz show on NPR record the message on her answering machine.  She had such a great experience that she asked the show’s producers if she could auction off this amazing opportunity and use it to bring more new books to children in need.

From now until June 3rd, you will have the chance to bid for Carl Kassell’s voice—which of course is priceless. Visit the auction on eBay and benefit First Book!

Posted in Literacy, Philanthropy - Tagged ebay giving works

Odds and Bookends: July 17

Jul17
2009
Written by Katie B.

100 Best Beach Books Ever: Final Voting
Help NPR narrow down it’s list of listerner-nomiated Best Beach Books Ever. The list of the top 100 titles will be announced on July 29.

How much do you know about literary spies?
Test your knowledge of literary espionage in Guardian’s challenging quiz (I scored 6 out of 10, a score that Guardian described as this: Mediocre. You have some intelligence, but this stuff is so widely known that you are an essentially worthless asset). Here’s hoping you fare better on the quiz!

Quirk Announces Follow-Up to ‘P&P&Z’ – Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
Quirk announced its next entry in its Quirk Classics series, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, another a Jane Austen mashup which will be published on September 15. Also, check out the Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (S&S&SM?) book trailer.

Planning a staycation this year?
Staycation is one of 100 new words that have been added to the 2009 update Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Also making the list were waterboarding, vlog, carbon footprint, flash mob, frenemy, locavore and webisode.

61 essential postmodern reads: an annotated list
Check out Jacket Copy’s list, complete with an annotated key as to what elements make each title fit in the postmodern category.

Posted in Books & Reading, Literacy Links and Articles - Tagged beach books, P&P&Z, postmodern books, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Quirk, quiz, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

John “PC” Hodgman Comes to DC!

Oct24
2008
Written by Jen W.

So, chances are that many of you might easily recognize the face, but not necessarily know the name. John Hodgman — book author, McSweeney’s scribe, NPR commentator, Daily Show Resident Expert, and What Book Got You Hooked? contributor – also just happens to be “that guy on the Mac commercials.” You know… the charmingly bespectacled, slightly nerdy one.

But what you, dear readers, may also not know about “La Hodge” (note: you read that here first) is that the man has A Following. A big one. Call it “Hodgmania,” if you will. And nowhere was that more in evidence than last night at the reading and signing of his latest literary offering, More Information Than You Require (Dutton Adult), at Politics and Prose bookstore here in the district.

Let’s just say there were people. Lots and lots of people. More people than an author signing requires. There was, of course, the expected Mac-worshipping, NPR-loving, McSweeney’s-reading types in attendance. But I would venture to say that there might have been a few PC users who braved the crowd as well. Especially the guy who came up to the microphone and posed the question: “Do you think we look alike?” (The answer was yes, so La Hodge #2 came up to the podium and took a photo with his doppelganger, to the crowd’s amusement.)

READ MORE »

Posted in Authors & Illustrators - Tagged Daily Show, John Hodgman, McSweeney, Politics and Prose

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