RIF 2.0: Have you downloaded the FREE Water Wonders and Our Book by Us! ebooks?

Once a year, the Reading is Fundamental truck rolled into my elementary school parking lot. It seemed like book fairies brought every single copy of Amelia Bedeliato my school so I could add yet another book about the bumbling maid to my collection. It was a free book; it was my book.

There’s something special in owning a book. For over four decades RIF has been putting books in the hands of young readers. RIF provides 15 million new, free books to 4 million children across the country.

Years after my Amelia Bedelia phase, I find myself working at FableVision, a studio that helped launch what can only be described as RIF 2.0. Working with RIF and the National Writing Project, FableVision developed a suite of free enhanced bilingual ebook apps. Water Wonders and Our Book by Us! feature the work of FableVision founders and twin brothers, Peter H. Reynolds and Paul Reynolds.

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With a tap on the iPad, I first downloaded Water Wonders, a colorful exploration of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) concepts with twin siblings Sydney and Symon. One cool feature of the book: kids can decide to read on their own or have the book read to them. After reading the book, kids get a chance to experiment – giving a truly hands-on approach to learning.

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The Our Book by Us! app was developed for preschoolers to read and explore with their caregivers. The app features six minibooks highlighting the daily adventures of SugarLoaf and her family. For an interactive feature, Our Book by Us! has a drawing tool allows kids to create their own stories. The kid in me spent the better part of an hour creating my story by following prompts on the screen.

In keeping with RIF’s goal of providing a free book for young readers, both apps – available on iTunes, Google Play and in the Amazon Appstore - are offered free of charge through the generosity of Macy’s and the Verizon Foundation.

The format for reading is changing. More and more publishers are jumping into the e-reader world as libraries are stored in a handheld tablet. Water Wonders and Our Book by Us! bring RIF into this world.  With a tap and a download, every kid can have their own book.

Download your copy of Water Wonders and Our Books by Us! (available in English and Spanish):

• Google Play
• Apple App Store
• Amazon App Store

Arts|Learning Annual Advocacy Awards and Symposium: Honoring Peter H. Reynolds

Arts|Learning held its 26th Champions of Arts Education Advocacy Awards at the Gardner Auditorium of the Massachusetts Statehouse on May 24, 2012 where 17 outstanding advocates (including arts teachers, administrators, business, legislators, arts organizations, media, and students) were recognized and honored for their amazing work supporting and promoting arts education in dance, music, theatre arts, and visual arts. FableVision Studios' Founder Peter H. Reynolds was one of the well-known individuals being honored. Others included Anita Walker, MA Cultural Council Executive Director; MA Senator Stanley Rosenberg, MA Representative Alice Peisch, Ernie Boch, Jr. and his Music Drives Us Foundation, and others.

The symposium focused on the theme, Theory in Action: Research to Results. Experts presented examples of best practices in arts education. Peter Reynolds gave an awesome reading of one of his books and talked about fostering creativity.

Congrats, Pete for continuing to inspire!