By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 12/29/2008
The popular Woogi World Website is hoping to get more elementary school kids reading by teaming up with HarperCollins Children’s Books, Walden Media, and Penguin Books to collaborate on a new online world called Woogi Readers Club.
“We’re excited to be part of this unique approach to enticing children to spend more time reading books,” says Diane Naughton, vice president of marketing at HarperCollins Children’s Books. “By melding the publishing industry with a popular children’s virtual social site, we can create a new level of interest in reading, and thus capture even the reluctant reader’s attention.”
The club, launched November 18, hopes to help kids “fall in love with books and reading.” A basic club membership features an online version of children’s classics (such as Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling). And an upgraded club membership fee of $7.95 a month entitles kids to receive popular age-appropriate titles provided by the three participating publishers.
The first books offered are The Mouse and the Motorcycle (HarperCollins) by Beverly Cleary and The White Giraffe (Walden) by Lauren St. John. Penguin will follow with The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger.
And there’s fun involved as well: kids will be able to play chapter-oriented games and level up as they “pass off” each chapter of the current month’s book.
“Combining the resources of HarperCollins Children’s Books, Walden Media and, Penguin (along with the reach of the Internet via Woogi World), means more children will have access to the best books available,” says Scott Dow, CEO of Children’s Way, the creator of Woogi World. “Our partnership with these leading children’s publishers makes it possible for Woogi World to ignite this generation of children with not just a love of reading, but we believe in the long run, a love of learning.”
As with all Woogi World virtual clubs, kids must apply for membership by first completing Woogi World’s Internet Basic Training, where they learn how to stay safe in cyberspace. The application process also involves writing a brief paragraph as to why they want to join the club