National Geographic Launches Book Club for Kids

Posted on November 23, 2001

The National Geographic Society has announced the launch of an online book club, National Geographic Book Club for Kids, as part of its new, nonfiction literacy campaign for students in grades 3-6. The site is a virtual resource center for National Geographic's new nonfiction Reading Expeditions book series and other books. It offers downloadable study guides, book previews, interactive teacher forums and book reviews written by children from around the world.

``Our goal in going online is to encourage children to build their reading skills and better comprehend social studies so that they can become informed citizens of the world,'' said Ericka Markman, senior vice president of School Publishing at the Society. ``MasterCard is helping us extend the reach of Reading Expeditions to classrooms across the country.''

National Geographic Book Club for Kids aims to encourage young people to have fun reading while providing them with educational materials. Included are stories from National Geographic's 30-title series, Reading Expeditions, as well as more than 20 well-known trade books on topics ranging from adventurous explorers to history buffs to world travelers, by authors such as John Hersey and Laura Ingalls Wilder. A further 30 titles will be added to the Reading Expeditions series next year.

The book club also gives students opportunities to create bookmarks and to submit book reviews to the website's ``Be a Star Reviewer'' section. In addition, the site offers an online forum where educators can exchange teaching ideas and discuss innovative ways to incorporate new lesson plans into the classroom. The site links to additional interactive educational features and resources, such as the National Geographic Bee.