Get Head Start With Summer Books

Having Fun With The Early Readers Club

(CBS)  Summer vacation is a great time for children to discover how much fun reading can be.

So, libraries across the country have set up special programs to give kids access to the wonderful world of books.

Carla Hayden, the new president of the American Library Association, visited The Early Show Friday to talk of the importance for children to read during the summer break.

Hayden says she is excited about The Early Show's Early Readers Club because it's a great opportunity for children. She says libraries across America have been sent Early Readers' Club list of books as another tool for the summer to help promote reading.

Children who read during the summer retain their reading skills and they also begin the new school year reading at a faster pace, she says. She warns that if children don't read during the summer, their skills will dull and they will have a hard time getting back into the academic cycle.

During the summer, she says, children can discover how much fun it is to read by choosing books they want to explore.

The public libraries, she says, have other special programs to promote reading.

Hayden also says the summer is the time that most children get a library card of their own, which gives them a sense of empowerment. Even if their library is not nearby, they can go online and find a book's availability.

As children get older, it can be difficult to maintain interest in reading. Hayden suggests parents read aloud to the family to bring reluctant readers, especially teens, together without struggling with words.

For the latest Early Readers Club, The Early Show invited three children's book authors to do special readings and sing-alongs.

Laurie Keller, author of "Arnie, the Doughnut," Kate & Jim McMullan, authors of "I Stink!" and Alan Katz, author of "I'm Still Here in the Bathtub."

Keller, who illustrated as well as wrote "Arnie, the Doughnut," says her book is a hilarious account of a day in the life of a doughnut.

In the book, Arnie, a chocolate frosted doughnut with sprinkles, is proud to be one of the "Best Doughnuts A-Round," chatting up his fellow pastries — crullers, apple fritters and cinnamon twists — all made at the Downtown Bakery. But, Arnie is shocked when, having been purchased by Mr. Bing, he finds out his fate and that of all doughnuts. In the end, he convinces Mr. Bing that not all dougnuts are meant to be eaten.

Keller has also written and illustrated "The Scrambled States of America" and "Open Wide: Tooth School Inside." She says the idea for "Arnie, the Doughnut" came from an actual visit to a doughnut shop where she viewed all the donughts as characters.

The McMullan's book, "I Stink!," is a picture book about a garbage truck with a big appetite. The McMullans say they were inspired to write the book by a loud, crunchy eating noise from a garbage truck they could hear through their apartment window.

Eventually, Kate started waiting for the truck to come and pick up the garbage. She became friends with the garbage engineers, who showed the couple how their truck worked. Kate and Jim say the trucks had characteristics that were human, in some ways.

The McMullans have created seven children's book together. Kate McMullan has written about 50 children's books. She is also the author of the popular "Fluffy, the Classroom Guinea Pig" series.

Alan Katz, a song and comedy writer, has taken some favorite classic tunes and created amusing new lyrics in his song book "I'm Still Here in the Bathtub: Brand New Silly Dilly Songs." The hilarious collection of 14 songs is a follow-up to his first song book "Take Me Out of the Bathtub: And Other Silly Dilly Songs."

Some familiar favorites include the title song "I'm Still Here In The Bathtub" to the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", "I-T-C-H-Y," to the tune of "Bingo" and "Tiny Baby Brother," to the tune of "Itsy Bitsy Spider." Illustrations are by David Catrow. And it is for ages 2-8. Available nationwide at bookstores. List Price $15.95.


Here is an excerpt from
Tiny Baby Brother" (To the tune of "Itsy Bitsy Spider")

My tiny baby brother
Took our remote control
When I wasn't looking
He flushed it down the bowl
Mom said it's my fault
And when I watch him again
Then my tiny baby brother
Must stay in his playpen!

Again today I baby-sat
And figured, it's okay
Reached in, plucked him out
Let him run away
He smashed our mother's car phone
Smeared paint throughout the den
That's why I'm singing this song
From inside his playpen!

Katz is a multiple Emmy nominee for his work on the Rosie O'Donnell Show and Disney's Raw Toonage, and he has written for children's programming on Nickelodeon, ABC Television, and Warner Bros. Animation's Taz-Mania.