While you're doing your back to school shopping this month and next, keep in mind the selected title for this year's Reading for the Record, over at Jumpstart:
Last year, 2.3 million people participated in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. We were two of them, were you?
Jumpstart’s premiere national campaign, Read for the Record, is presented in partnership with the Pearson Foundation, and occurs annually, Millions of individuals come together to celebrate literacy and support Jumpstart in its efforts to promote early childhood education.
This year, on October 3rd, people across the country will read the children’s book Otis by Loren Long in support of Jumpstart’s mission to work towards the day that every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed.
Otis is a fun-loving tractor who roams the fields after a hard day's work and plays in the haystacks. In the barn one night, his engine provides a gentle purr that helps a frightened young calf fall into a peaceful sleep. The two become inseparable. That is, until the farmer decides to upgrade and brings home a brand-new, shiny yellow tractor and relegates Otis to the weeds behind the building. Having outlived his usefulness, Otis just sits there, impervious to the calf's call to play. But when his friend gets stuck in Mud Pond and no one—not even the fire department—can pull her out, the feisty tractor revs his engine ("putt puff puttedy chuff") and saves the day.
Let's see if we can double that 2.3 million people!
You can even get free activity guides from Jumpstart and from Loren's website,, for more fun than just reading the book!
So pick up Otis while you're Back to School shopping, take the Reading Pledge, and Save the Date for some quality reading with your child!
On behalf of all of us here at Jumpstart, thanks so much for spreading the word about this year's Read for the Record campaign! We look forward to celebrating with you on October 3rd!
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