Contacts:
Alexandra Wladich, Scholastic, 212-965-7353, awladich@scholastic.com
Mike Barrett, Scholastic, 212-343-6570, mbarrett@scholastic.com

NEW YORK – April 27, 2017 – Despite conventional wisdom, six in 10 children ages 6–17 agree “I really enjoy reading books over the summer,” according to the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report™: 6th Edition, but too many kids lack access to books when school is not in session. To keep kids’ enthusiasm up around summer reading and to provide kids with more books to read for fun, bestselling children’s author and illustrator Dav Pilkey, together with Scholastic, is giving one school in each U.S. state, territory* and the District of Columbia 500 new books for their school.

More than 6,000 educators entered the 2017 Dav Pilkey Summer Reading Educator Contest for a chance to win 500 Scholastic books for their school by sharing their need for new books that would help keep their students reading all summer. The contest is part of the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, a free, global online and mobile summer reading program, to encourage reading all summer long. Parents and educators can learn more about the Dav Pilkey Summer Reading Educator Contest and register kids to participate in the challenge at www.scholastic.com/summer.

The winning schools* are listed below and available online at http://scholastic.com/summer/contest/teacher/:

• Hanceville Elementary School, Hanceville, Alabama
• Talkeetna Elementary, Talkeetna, Alaska
• Hualapai Elementary School, Kingman, Arizona
• England Elementary, England, Arkansas
• Hoover Elementary, Indio, California
• Irving Elementary School, Pueblo, Colorado
• West Bristol School, Bristol, Connecticut
• North Georgetown Elementary, Georgetown, Delaware
• Riverdale Elementary, Orlando, Florida
• Cowan Road Elementary, Griffin, Georgia
• Paia Elementary School, Paia, Hawaii
• Desert Springs Elementary, Nampa, Idaho
• McCutcheon Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois
• Global Preparatory Academy, Indianapolis, Indiana
• Moulton-Udell Community School, Moulton, Iowa
• Frances Willard Elementary, Kansas City, Kansas
• Highland Elementary, Owensboro, Kentucky
• Loranger Elementary, Loranger, Louisiana
• Indian Island School, India Island, Maine
• Hillcrest Elementary School, Frederick, Maryland
• Lt. Clayre Sullivan School, Holyoke, Massachusetts
• Cleveland Elementary School, Port Huron, Michigan
• Whittier International Elementary, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Lumberton Elementary School, South Lumberton, Mississippi
• Salem Lutheran School, St. Louis, Missouri
• Southside Primary School, Wolf Point, Montana
• St. Mary’s School, Bellevue, Nebraska
• Doral Academy-Fire Mesa, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Dr. Norman Crisp Elementary, Nashua, New Hampshire
• Ann Street Elementary School, Newark, New Jersey
• University Hills Elementary, Las Cruces, New Mexico
• P.S. 48, Bronx, New York
• Rockfish Hoke Elementary, Raeford, North Carolina
• Erik Ramstad Middle School, Minot, North Dakota
• Brantner Elementary, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Apache Elementary, Apache, Oklahoma
• Maple Elementary School, Springfield, Oregon
• Jackson School, York, Pennsylvania
• Gladstone Street Elementary, Cranston, Rhode Island
• Northside Elementary School, Rock Hill, South Carolina
• Hawthorne Elementary School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
• Rockford Elementary School, Rockford, Tennessee
• Deweyville Elementary School, Orange, Texas
• East Midvale Elementary, Midvale, Utah
• Ferrisburgh Central School, Ferrisburgh, Vermont
• Park Avenue Elementary School, Danville, Virginia
• Garfield Elementary School, Olympia, Washington
• Rowlesburg School, Rowlesburg, West Virginia
• Wileman Elementary School, Delavan, Wisconsin
• Ten Sleep School, Ten Sleep, Wyoming
• Thomson Elementary, Washington, D.C.
• D.L. Perez Elementary School, Yigo, Guam
• Saipan SDA School, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
• John B. Watson School, Rincon, Puerto Rico
• Calvary Christian Academy, Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands

Click here to download a PDF of the winners list.

QUOTES:

Dav Pilkey, Caldecott Honor artist and creator of the bestselling Captain Underpants and Dog Man series:

“We all know that reading is important, but there’s a certain kind of reading that is life-changing: reading for fun. Studies have shown the benefits of making a habit out of reading for fun—not only does it help our brains stay sharp over summer vacation, but it also makes us more empathetic. This is not only life-changing, but also world-changing. I have such admiration for all the educators who participated in this contest—they are great advocates for their students and communities, and they too are changing the world.”

Michael Haggen, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic Education:

“We know that when children don't have access to books, they have less of an opportunity to practice and develop the reading skills that allow them to achieve academic success. They may also lose the chance to learn more about themselves, other people and the world in which they live. Thanks to the Dav Pilkey Summer Reading Educator Contest, kids across the country will have beautiful, brand new books that will help them fall in love with reading.”

To learn more, go to http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/SummerReadingChallenge and follow #SummerReading on social media.

*No eligible entries were received from the U.S. territory American Samoa.