Contact:

Sara Sinek, Scholastic, 212-343-6899, ssinek@scholastic.com
Mike Barrett, Scholastic, 212-343-6570, mbarrett@scholastic.com

NEW YORK – April 20, 2016 – To help get kids reading more books this summer, bestselling children’s author Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants and the new Dog Man series) is a real-life reading superhero, giving free books to schools across the country. More than 4,000 educators entered the first-ever Dav Pilkey ‘Be a Reading Superhero’ Educator Contest, and one school from each U.S. state* was selected as the winning school. Each of the winning schools will receive a new Scholastic book for every student in the school to take home to kick off summer reading. The contest is in support of the 2016 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge – a free reading program that helps kids take a “summer leap” into books and keep kids reading all summer. Parents and educators can learn more about the challenge and register kids to participate at www.scholastic.com/summer.

Educators who entered the contest were asked to fill out an online application posing the question: “Please tell us what you are doing to help get your students reading this summer?” Examples of winning entries include: educators opening the school library over the summer for students to check out books; educators using their personal funds to fill a backpack of books for every student; and educators hosting special book-themed events, such as “reading parades” or a library day at the local community pool.

The winning schools are listed below and available online at http://scholastic.com/summer/contest/teacher/:

• North Pole Elementary School, North Pole, AK
• Holtville Elementary School, Deatsville, AL
• London Elementary, London, AR
• Lake Valley Elementary School, Prescott Valley, AZ
• Betty Plasencia Elementary School, Los Angeles, CA
• Fowler Elementary School, Fowler, CO
• Green-Hills School, Bristol, CT
• Mispillion Elementary School, Milford, DE
• Read-Pattillo Elementary, New Smyrna Beach, FL
• Holsenbeck Elementary School, Winder, GA
• Konawaena Elementary Kealakekua, HI
• Southeast Elementary, Ankeny, IA
• Ronald Reagan Elementary, Nampa, ID
• K.D. Waldo Middle School, Aurora, IL
• North Liberty Elementary School, North Liberty, IN
• Tonganoxie Middle School, Tonganoxie, KS
• Hickman County Elementary, Clinton, KY
• F.K. White Middle School, Lake Charles, LA
• Freetown Elementary School, Freetown, MA
• George Washington Carver Elementary School, Lexington Park, MD
• Washburn School, Washburn, ME
• Susick Elementary, Troy, MI
• Clearwater Middle School, Waconia, MN
• Ballwin Elementary, Ballwin, MO
• Jackson Elementary, Pascagoula, MS
• Polson Middle School, Polson, MT
• Fred A. Anderson Elementary School, Bayboro, NC
• Lincoln Elementary, Beach, ND
• Wasmer Elementary, Grand Island, NE
• Seabrook Elementary, Seabrook, NH
• Francis A. Desmares, Flemington, NJ
• Colinas Del Norte, Rio Rancho, NM
• Craig Hill Elementary, Rochester, NY
• Frank Kim Elementary, Las Vegas, NV
• Central Elementary, Reading, OH
• Jarman Elementary School, Tulsa, OK
• Awbrey Park Elementary, Eugene, OR
• Thomas K. Finletter, Philadelphia, PA
• Governor Pothier Elementary School, Woonsocket, RI
• Cyber Academy SC, Greenville, SC
• Trenton Rosenwald Middle School, Trenton, TN
• E.H. Gilbert Elementary School, San Antonio, TX
• Bryant Middle School, Salt Lake City, UT
• Callaway Elementary School, Callaway, VA
• Shaftsbury Elementary School, Shaftsbury, VT
• Jefferson Elementary, Mount Vernon, WA
• Waller Elementary, Burlington, WI
• Beverly Elementary School, Beverly, WV
• Slade Elementary School, Laramie, WY

“When it comes to kids and reading, there’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure,” said Dav Pilkey, international bestselling author and creator of the phenomenally popular Captain Underpants series. “Even though I struggled with reading growing up because of my dyslexia, I was fortunate to have parents who encouraged me to choose the books I wanted to read: silly books with tons of illustrations that made me laugh out loud. And if it weren’t for these books that motivated me to keep turning the page, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today. Summer is a great time to discover the fun and joy of reading and I am honored to be the global ambassador of the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge campaign.”

“This contest shows educators consistently go above and beyond to ensure students are prepared for summer reading. From keeping the school library open over the summer to using their own personal funds to help build a child’s home library, educators are true reading superheroes for their communities,” said Michael Haggen, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic Education. “Thanks to author Dav Pilkey for his generosity, more kids will have access to high-quality books and discover the joys of reading for fun. We hope this, combined with the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, helps support schools, families and their communities and keep children reading-ready over the summer months.”

This year’s theme for the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge is “Be a Reading Superhero.” As the 2016 Scholastic Summer Reading Global Ambassador, Dav Pilkey, together with Scholastic, launched the national contest to ensure all kids have access to great books this summer. The Summer Reading Challenge is a free, global reading program that encourages kids to take the “summer leap” into reading more books this summer. Starting May 9th, kids can log on, read books and keep track of their reading minutes. Throughout the 18 weeks of summer, kids will be able to unlock fun stories from 18 children’s authors who will share how they became reading superheroes. At the end of the summer, the school in each U.S. state, territory and in the District of Columbia that has logged the most reading minutes will be named “Best in State,” featured in the 2017 Scholastic Book of World Records, and will receive a commemorative plaque as well as an official Scholastic party kit to celebrate their achievement.

To learn more, go to //mediaroom.scholastic.com/SummerReadingChallenge and follow #SummerReading on social media.

* No eligible entries were received from The U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

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