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Jumpstart's Read for the Record Is A Hit

Today, Jumpstart's Read for the Record 2007 Campaign set a new world record for the largest "shared reading experience" on a single day, when hundreds of thousands of adults and children across the U.S. read a custom limited edition of Penguin Young Readers children's classic The Story of Ferdinand, raising more than $1 million for Jumpstart. With 100% underwriting of the custom edition by the Pearson Foundation, proceeds from sales at Toys "R" Us, American Eagle Outfitters, and Hanna Andersson stores will benefit Jumpstart's work with at-risk children. NBC's "Today Show" created a special Ferdinand set on the plaza at Rockefeller Center, and the show was kicked off by First Lady Laura Bush, as she read to a group of children at the White House. In addition, Penguin Young Readers' Mike Lupica, author of the Mike Lupica's Comeback Kids series, was interviewed by Matt Lauer of the Today Show during the 8:30am segment. Lupica also participated in the campaign and read aloud on the air during the 9:00am segment. Other celebrities who participated included Mike Bloomberg, Frank McCourt, Sonia Manzano (Maria from Sesame Street), Meredith Vieira, Mariska Hargitay, and LL Cool J.

New this year, the Pearson Foundation matched each $10 online donation by the public with another donation of a book to a child from a low-income community. Additionally Pearson donated tens of thousands of books to Head Start and other Jumpstart-affiliated early education centers. For more on Pearson's participation, go to http://pearsonfoundation.org/pearsonrftr/.

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It’s prime time for youth sports -- the fall season, when kids are back in school and parents are back in training: struggling to get their lawn chairs, their commuter mugs and their little darlings to the soccer field on time every Saturday morning. Not to mention getting to practice after school on the weekdays and making sure all their uniform parts are washed and still fit by game time. “I can only find one red sock!” comes the dreaded cry from the bedroom. Or worse: “Uh, Mom, I think I need new cleats. My toes are all the way at the end!”

My son is a senior in high school and still playing soccer, not for his school but for an Under 19 team in a recreational league. My daughter, an eighth grader, moved up to a Division 3 team, one level up from rec, and one level down from Division 1, the most intense and time-consuming kind of travel team. Her team generally doesn’t travel more than 45 minutes from home, and will only play a couple of tournaments this fall.

Being back on the sidelines, we’re reminded of the sights and sounds of soccer: exuberant kids running to the ball, faces contorted with intensity, unconscious grunts emitted when exerting that extra effort to make contact, whoops of joy as the ball crosses the goal line… and out-of-control parents shouting their own coaching orders and trashing the referee.

We don’t often see totally inappropriate sideline behavior, but when we do, it’s ugly. And at my daughter’s game on Sunday, a parent on the opposing team got thrown off the field by a young ref who wouldn’t tolerate it.