Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

New York City students helped Scholastic celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its I SPY brand Wednesday in Times Square during the event, “I SPY A Celebration: 20 Years; 20 Kids; 20 Riddles.”  For finding 20 hidden objects around a 12-foot-high birthday cake, the students’ school will receive 500 books.  In addition to its new book I SPY SPECTACULAR, the anniversary year will see new I SPY releases from Briarpatch and Scholastic Interactive.  Photo: A. Walker

Currently, Scholastic is hosting two I SPY anniversary sweepstakes: one at www.snackpicks.com/ISpy in conjunction with the recent launch of I SPY branded fruit snacks and another through Scholastic Book Clubs.

Scholastic Media is celebrating its 20th anniversary celebration of the beloved I SPY franchise beginning next month with the publication of I SPY SPECTACULAR: A BOOK OF PICTURE RIDDLES with riddles by Jean Marzollo and photographs by Walter Wick.  The year-long campaign will include a slate of new I SPY releases across multiple categories and platforms, a new signature MY I SPY online game, a live promotional event and coordinated brand promotion across all of Scholastic Inc. 

Even though I SPY was conceived with children age 4-8 in mind, it became apparent soon after the original publication that the books appeal to all ages—toddlers, preschoolers, elementary school children, teenagers, parents and grandparents. Readers of all ages respond to the verbal and visual challenge of the books, delighting both in friendly competition and cooperative teamwork as they work to solve the riddles.  The brand features beautiful graphics, a rhythmic rhyming text, and thought-provoking seek-and-find games that enable children of all ages to feel like heroes.

In this Wall Street Journal interview, gender and media equality advocate Geena Davis provides insight on her career, her firsthand experience with how a powerful movie about women can impact viewers and what led her to create the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The Wall Street Journal

The 24th Annual Kids Choice Awards, hosted by award-winning comedian, Jack Black aired Saturday, April 2 live from the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles. Kids cast a record-setting 200 million votes between March 7 and April 2 for 20 categories. A full list of the winners is available at http://www.nick.com/kids-choice-awards/nominees/

HIghlights include:

TV Show: iCarly     
Reality Show: American Idol
TV Actor: Dylan Sprouse
TV Actress: Selena Gomez 
Cartoon: SpongeBob SquarePants
Videogame: Just Dance 2
Female Athlete: Lindsey Vonn
Movie: The Karate Kid
Movie Actor: Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland)
Movie Actress: Miley Cyrus (The Last Song)
Animated Movie: Despicable Me
Music Group: The Black Eyed Peas
Male Singer: Justin Bieber
Female Singer: Katy Perry
Favorite Book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Video Game: Just Dance 2

This sounds like a lot of fun. Wish I could go. The Chronicles of Narnia Specialty Garden will be in full bloom on the 7th Floor of Macy’s from March 27 through April 10, timed with the DVD release of the film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Children, as well as adults should enjoy this incredible display that recreates the mythical, magical world of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia. The garden is inspired by the sea of lilies the courageous voyagers traveled to reunite with the Great Lion Aslan. A full day of activities will include activity stations, coloring stations and readings from the book. Customers who purchase of $50 or more in kids, will receive a Narnia goodie bag that includes a copy of the newly-released The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader DVD.

Saturday, April 9th, 2011 @ 2PM is Narnia Family Day
March 27th – April 10th, 2011 – Display (Open during regular store hours and admission is free to the public)

Macy’s Herald Square – in Kids on the 7th Floor
151 West 34th St., New York, New York 10001

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the American Academy of Pediatrics have joined with the best-selling children’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and with We Give Books to help families learn about healthy eating habits at home. The Eating Healthy. Growing Strong. campaign is an important part of the Alliance’s mission to combat childhood obesity.

This spring, more than 17,500 pediatrician offices across the United States will receive free copies of specially created The Very Hungry Caterpillar books, together with growth charts and parent handouts that encourage doctors and parents to have meaningful conversations about the importance of healthy eating.

In addition to beginning the conversation on healthy eating between pediatricians and parents, the campaign also showcases ways to integrate discussions of healthy active living into family reading time. Tips for parents to discuss healthy active living using The Very Hungry Caterpillar include:

    * Teach your child that apples, pears, plums, strawberries, and oranges are all fruits. Ask them if they can name other fruits.
    * Talk to them about how fruits are good for your body.
    * Talk about how when the caterpillar overeats, he gets a stomachache—so it is important to stop eating when you feel full.

“Parents should read with their children every day, starting when they are babies,” said O. Marion Burton, MD, FAAP, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “This campaign provides a wonderful opportunity to teach children about healthy eating habits at a very young age, while fostering a love of books and language.”

The materials are being provided to the campaign by We Give Books, a digital initiative from Penguin—the publisher of The Very Hungry Caterpillar—and by the Pearson Foundation. Visitors to We Give Books will have the chance to read a library of great children’s books for free, any time they like, and each time they read a book at http://www.wegivebooks.org/, the Pearson Foundation will donate a brand-new book to a leading literacy group.

Parents and healthcare professionals are encouraged to visit the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (www.healthiergeneration.org/veryhungrycaterpillar) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (www.healthychildren.org/veryhungrycaterpillar) websites for free resources and materials to encourage eating healthy at home including a reading guide on how to discuss healthy active living usingThe Very Hungry Caterpillar and a special growth chart to keep track of a child’s journey to becoming healthy and strong.

On March 2, PBS KIDS is honoring the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, more widely known as Dr. Seuss, with a two-hour marathon of THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT!  PBS KIDS will celebrate Dr. Seuss’ 107th birthday by rhyming along with the playful Cat during two brand new episodes, “Incredible Journey/Bamboozled,” where the Cat introduces Nick and Sally to two incredible creatures, Salmon Sam and Zhu Zhu the panda, and “Teeny Weeny Adventure/I See Seeds,” in which the Cat takes Nick and Sally on two “tiny” adventures.  The fun will then continue with encore presentations of two favorite CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! episodes.