Get Wild About Reading!(R) With BETWEEN THE LIONS(R) This Fall! The Library Where Kids Learn to Read by Watching TV

Market Wire, July, 2003

BETWEEN THE LIONS, the Emmy Award-winning PBS KIDS series, swings open its enchanted library doors "between the lions" beginning Monday, September 15, 2003 (check local listings), timed for National Library Card Sign-up month. This season, five new half-hour episodes will premiere with a roaring Get Wild About Reading! initiative including a BETWEEN THE LIONS Library Outreach Campaign and a sequel to the popular Read Aloud Book Club launched this past year. BETWEEN THE LIONS continues to take pride in diversity with its variety of library visitors, stories, and increasingly cross-cultural audience. All five new episodes will debut in one week starting September 15, and will be added to the mix of sixty-five returning favorites to fill out the rest of the BETWEEN THE LIONS season. Produced by WGBH Boston and Sirius Thinking Ltd., under Executive Producer Judith Stoia and Sirius Thinking Executive Producers Christopher Cerf and Norman Stiles, the series is the first and only children's television program with the primary goal of helping children learn to read using a research-based curriculum.

The new episodes include the feline librarians Theo and Cleo with their inquisitive cubs Lionel and Leona, and a number of new segments with famous library patrons, such as Kelly Ripa reading "Star Light, Star Bright," India.Arie singing "Outlaw Words," Brian McKnight singing "Homophones," Dr. Ruth Wordheimer (played by none other than Dr. Ruth Westheimer) helping with "Long Word Freakout," and Al Franken visiting Marmy's Poetry Corner. A host of other stars stop by the library including Larry King, Melissa Etheridge, Mo Lewis, Meredith Vieira, and Oliver Platt.

According to Judith Stoia, BETWEEN THE LIONS' Executive Producer, "Sixty-eight percent of fourth graders read below grade level. American children need BETWEEN THE LIONS as never before; it's the only program on television that helps kids learn to read and it works!"

BETWEEN THE LIONS Is Research-Tested and Kid- Approved

Research conducted with children in Mississippi (2001/2002) and in Kansas (2000) confirms that children can improve their reading skills by watching BETWEEN THE LIONS. These two scientifically based studies show that viewing BETWEEN THE LIONS boosts children's early reading skills in key areas, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary.

An extensive BETWEEN THE LIONS national educational outreach campaign builds on these positive findings and is designed to rally families, teachers, librarians, literacy organizations, and community leaders around the goal of helping kids learn to read and Get Wild About Reading!

Get Wild About Libraries

The BETWEEN THE LIONS Get Wild About Reading! Library Outreach Campaign provides libraries nationwide with resources for outreach to children, educators, adults, and new patrons. The campaign was inspired in large part by the success of the 2001 Get Wild About Reading! Campaign of the Chicago Public Library. BETWEEN THE LIONS has partnered with the American Library Association (ALA) to expand the campaign nationwide with a CD-ROM provided to 4,000 libraries across the country for establishing local campaigns with customizable BETWEEN THE LIONS banners, bookmobile wraps, and other promotional materials. Libraries can also access resources for parents and teachers such as curriculum content by episode chart, story sources, book club cards, and a parent fact sheet in English and Spanish.

Get Wild About Book Clubs

Through the BETWEEN THE LIONS Read Aloud Book Club campaign, local PBS stations partner with libraries, schools, child care centers, families, bookstores, and other community organizations to set up book clubs for children or incorporate Read Aloud Book Club activities into other events. Numerous PBS stations across the country have already launched local Read Aloud Book Clubs; Michigan Governor, Jennifer Granholm, even proclaimed April 9 as Read Aloud Day statewide. This fall, local PBS stations, librarians and national outreach partners will launch the BETWEEN THE LIONS Read Aloud Book Club II. Books included in the Read Aloud Book Club II will target children ages five to seven, and include books selected by children's librarians that feature diverse genres and cultures.

Get Wild About Reaching Diverse Audiences

Since its 2000 premiere on PBS, BETWEEN THE LIONS has maintained a strong commitment to diversity. The BETWEEN THE LIONS library includes visitors that come in all colors, sizes, ages, and species; a variety of music genres; celebrity guests that represent different claims to fame -- entertainment, sports, storytelling, poetry, science, and opera; stories and folktales from around the world; a diverse advisory board with broad-ranging expertise; research studies conducted in diverse communities; and an increasingly cross-cultural audience with twenty percent Hispanic and sixteen percent African American viewers. BETWEEN THE LIONS was created to help young kids learn to read in English, and honors home culture and language by translating many educational outreach materials in Spanish for parents, caregivers, and extended family members to play an active role in raising readers.