YALSA/WrestleMania Reading Challenge
Finished with the WrestleMania Reading Challenge? Find out what to do next!
Download the WrestleMania Reading Challenge Winning Entry Form.
Download the WWE Reading Challenge Toolkit here.
View the annotated booklist, Sports Grrrl: Girls in Sports.
View the full contest rules.
Letter from WWE to YALSA members.
About the Challenge:
YALSA & WWE’s WrestleMania Reading Challenge is a brand new program designed to encourage teens in grades 9-12 to not only continue their reading beyond TRW, but to earn a reward for doing so by offering chance to win prizes donated by WWE.
Getting Involved:
Registration is now closed. For the 448 libraries that are registered to participate, please check out the WrestleMania Reading Challenge Toolkit for program details, lists of recommended reading and ideas on how to promote the event in your library. Complete rules for the Challenge can be found here.
Partners: Through the generous donations of our Partners, each registrant will receive books and other materials. Official Partners include:
Dear YALSA Member:
World Wrestling Entertainment has enjoyed supporting YALSA in its efforts to get more young Americans to read.
As part of that effort, last year, WWE and YALSA piloted a WrestleMania Reading Challenge with the Chicago Public Schools targeting reluctant readers. The program was a success with several hundred students participating. The school libraries reported that there was a significant increase in library use by reluctant readers, some of whom had never been to their school libraries before!
I am pleased to announce to you that WWE has decided to expand the WrestleMania Reading Challenge, and offer it as a program to all YALSA members. The program is straightforward. Each teen participant will be asked to read 10 books and two magazines, between Teen Read Week 2006 and the end of January 2007. Two books will be required reading, and the teens can self-select the others. Each teen participant will be required to submit a short reading log that describes the books that have been read, along with a brief 300 word essay or poster describing/portraying some aspect of the two required books. In February 2007, each library will be encouraged to hold a reading challenge, with the top teen three winners in each library receiving prizes from WWE, ranging from tickets to events to merchandise.
We received tremendous support from Comcast Chicago last year. We plan to coordinate with the local cable affiliate in your area, if you participate, to provide promotion and support for the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.
We are working with YALSA to kick-off the WrestleMania Reading Challenge at a media event during Teen Read Week. Rules and a toolkit to help you implement the program will be sent by YALSA to those of you who enroll in the program by October 21st.
I hope that your library will consider participating in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge, and we look forward to working with you in your efforts to get more young people reading.
Sincerely,
Gary Davis, Vice President WWE Corporate Communications
Book It
Sports Grrrl: Girls in Sports
By Maggie Hommel
The following booklist appears in the Winter issue of YALSA's online newsletter, YAttitudes.
Averett, Edward. The Rhyming Season (Clarion, 2005)
Brenda’s new high school basketball coach brings some unexpected changes to the team—including a requirement that players recite poetry on the basketball court.
Bildner, Phil. Playing the Field (Simon, 2006)
A farcical story about Darcy, a girl who wants to play on the boys’ baseball team, that includes mistaken lesbian identity, mom-principal romance, and madcap twists and turns.
Beim, Gloria. The Female Athlete’s Body Book: How to Prevent and Treat Sports Injuries in Women and Girls (McGraw-Hill, 2003)
Orthopedic surgeon Beim covers common injuries that women face in multiple popular sports and offers basic prevention and treatment strategies.
Blumenthal, Karen. Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America (Atheneum, 2005)
This nonfiction account of how Title IX came to be features personal accounts, facts, and memorable images illuminating the past of organized women’s sports and offering implications for the future.
Coleman, Evelyn. Born in Sin (Atheneum, 2001)
A hard-edged, but ultimately hopeful, novel about Keisha, a girl from the projects who is outraged at being placed in a summer at-risk program but begins to discover a natural talent for swimming.
Lake, Sanoe, and Steven Jarrett. Surfer Girl: A Guide to the Surfing Life (Little, 2005)
Full of colorful photos and chatty text, this book from two experienced surfers is an insider’s look at the sport that will answer every surfer (or wannabe surfer) girl’s questions.
Murdock, Catherine. Dairy Queen (Houghton, 2006)
A football book ... for girls. Farm girl and jock D. J. begins secretly training (and crushing on) Brian, the rival school’s quarterback, then decides to try out for her own school’s football team.
Mackal, Kathy. MadCat (HarperCollins, 2005)
MadCat Campione is thrilled when her fastpitch softball team qualifies for Nationals, but making it to the big-time brings pressure and requires sacrifice that she didn’t expect.
Ritter, John. Under the Baseball Moon (Philomel, 2006)
Skateboarding, trumpet-playing Andy Ramos’ trumpet riffs inspire and spur on promising softball-pitcher Glory Martinez in this unique, jazz-laden book.
Roberts, Kristi. My Thirteenth Season (Holt, 2005)
Star little-leaguer Fran gets a shock when she moves to a new town—here she is not welcome on the all-male baseball team. Though a sheriff’s visit ensures she can play, she becomes locked in battle of wills with her coach and teammates.
Seino, Shizuru. Girl Got Game, vol. 1 (Tokyopop, 2004)
In this sports manga, Kyo’s basketball-obsessed dad urges her to pose as a boy at her new high school so she can try out for the school’s high-profile basketball team.
Spinnelli, Jerry. There’s a Girl in My Hammerlock (Simon, 1991)
An oldie but goodie, this novel follows Carly’s struggles and triumphs as the only female wrestler on her high school wrestling team.
Summitt, Pat. Reach for the Summit (Broadway, 1998)
The legendary women’s college basketball coach gives tips for winning in sports and in life.
Maggie Hommel is the Young Adult Librarian at the Park Ridge (Ill.) Public Library. While she can’t claim to be an athlete, she is an avid sports fan.
|
