Barnes & Noble's 12th Annual Summer Reading Program For Children

Barnes & Noble announced that its 2008 Summer Reading program features Andrew Clements, author of the bestselling children's book Frindle. At the heart of Frindle, and Clements' other wise and funny school stories including No Talking, The Landry News, and Lunch Money, is the belief in the power of words. This summer, Andrew Clements is helping Barnes & Noble foster an appreciation for the written word, taking reading out of the classroom while giving students the chance to earn a free book. Barnes & Noble is expecting to exceed the more than 322,000 free books it gave away last year.

Andrew Clements made a Barnes & Noble in-store appearance on May 14 in Framingham, Massachusetts, and will be making in-store appearances July 19 in Augusta, Maine and September 18 in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Clements will also be participating in a discussion of children's literacy in Barnes & Noble.com's online Book Clubs (www.bn.com/bookclubs) this summer. The BN.com discussion, part of the Family Room Book Club, begins June 2, and will feature guest appearances from several children's book authors.

Barnes & Noble stores will distribute "Summer Reading with Andrew Clements" activity kits and journals to educators nationwide, each containing four student activities and a reading journal. Parents can pick up activity kits and journals at their local Barnes & Noble store or online at http://www.bn.com/summerreading.

Children who take part in the program read any eight books of their own choosing, list them, and record their favorite parts of the book in their "Summer Reading with Andrew Clements" journal. They then can bring their completed journal to any Barnes & Noble to receive a coupon for a free book from a list of bestselling titles. The completed form also serves as an entry form to win a free autographed copy of an Andrew Clements book.