I haven’t been sharing children’s books lately but when my favorite NASCAR driver, Matt Kenseth, and his wife Katie released this book I just had to tell you all about it!!
Race Against Bullying was released August 26 to coincide with National Youth Literacy Day. It is a book aimed at educating and empowering children to make good choices if faced with bullying situation. It is also the first installment of a four-part series of educational children’s books that Matt and Katie Kenseth championed. The series is designed for family reading for children ages 4 through 8 to become more self-confident and empowered to make good choices.
The book is only available at Dollar General stores and online at DollarGeneral.com. We were able to pick up a few copies at our local store last Saturday and the clerk said they were going fast.
It is a really cute story with a fantastic message.
BOOK SYNOPSIS: Nine-year old Matt is starting fourth grade when he encounters a bully who teases him about his racing. A frustrated Matt seeks the assistance of his parents and his friends to help him deal with the school bully. With their help, Matt discovers several methods to help him with this difficult situation.
According to Kenseth:
“This book is designed to help families discuss the effects of bullying with their kids. We believe it’s important our kids not only know how to deal with a bully, but also understand that it’s not OK to act like one.”
The book is excellent made too with a strong heavy board cover and beautifully illustrated – 22 pages – 10″x10 – And it is priced right too at just $3.00!!!!
This book would be a great gift to a new reader. At this price you could buy a copy for your child or grandchild and then purchase an extra one to donate to their school or classroom library.
According to www.stopbullying.gov, more than 70 percent of students say they have seen bullying in their schools and less than 30 percent of students who are bullied notify an adult. More statistics, further reading about bullying, and ways that adults can help can be found at the stopbullying.gov website.*
About Matt Kenseth
Kenseth, an avid reader and literacy advocate from the small town of Cambridge, Wis., is the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion who currently drives the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. A father of four, Kenseth championed this project in hopes these books can help spark dialogue among families to better prepare today’s youth for the challenges that await them.
Kenseth has helped support literacy programs throughout his career and currently serves as an ambassador for the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Sharing in both Dollar General and Kenseth’s commitment to literacy is long-time Kenseth sponsor CITIZEN Watch, who made a $25,000 donation on Kenseth’s behalf to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation in honor of the book launch.*
Dollar General Literacy Foundation supports literacy programs for children, youth, adults and families in 40 states nationwide. The Foundation works to:
- Increase access to programs that are designed to help adults and youth who are struggling with basic literacy and education.
- Ensure individuals are able to read English at proficient levels to advance toward and obtain their high school diploma or equivalent.
- Help create models of success/best practices that can be replicated in order to help increase the high school graduation rate and GED attainment rate in the United States.
To that end, it makes grants in the areas of:
- Adult literacy: Grants support adult basic education, GED preparation and English language acquisition.
- Family literacy: Grants support adult education instruction, children’s education, Parent and Children Together Time, and parenting classes.
- Youth Literacy: Grants support implementation of new or expansion of existing literacy programs; purchase of new technology or equipment to support literacy initiatives; purchase of books, materials or software for literacy programs.
- Summer Reading Programs: Grants go to local nonprofits and libraries to support summer reading programs for pre-K through 12th grade students.
- Beyond Words: Grants go to school libraries recovering from major disasters.
For more information go to http://apts.org/grantcenter/funding-topic/k-12-education/dollar-general-literacy-foundation
I will be posting about future books in this series when they are released!
*This information is from an article posted on MSN Money on August 26, 2014.