Press Release - Monday, August 04, 2008
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First Lady Patricia Blagojevich announces August selection for Children's Reading Club as A Little Princes
CHICAGO - First Lady Patricia Blagojevich today announced August selection for her Children's Reading Club - A Little Princes by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Tasha Tudor. This month's selection tells the story of Sara Crewe, the little girl who imagines she is a princess in order to survive hard times at Miss Minchins London boarding school.
"Reading with your children is one of the best ways to spend quality time with them while helping them develop critical skills like building a good vocabulary and active listening," said the First Lady. "Reading with my daughters is one of my favorite things to do and I hope that more parents can take part in reading to and with their own children."
A Little Princess is a classic story of Sara Crewe who begins life as the beloved, pampered daughter of a rich man at an English boarding school. When her father dies leaving her penniless, Sara becomes a servant of the household. Hated by the schoolmistress for her independent spirit, Sara becomes a pariah in the household, with only a few secretly loyal friends. But through her inner integrity and strength of will, Sara Crewe maintains the deportment, inner nobility and generous spirit of a "real" princess.
Frances Hodgson Burnett grew up in England. She began writing what was to become The Secret Garden in 1909, when she was creating a garden for a new home in Long Island, New York. Burnett was already established as a novelist for adults when she turned to writing for children. Little Lord Fauntleroy, written for her two young boys; the play A Little Princess, which became the basis for the novel of the same name; and The Secret Garden are the works for which she is most warmly remembered.
The First Lady launched the Children's Reading Club literacy initiative in March of 2005, to encourage parents to read with their children. The club is a recommended reading list made up of books the First Lady and her daughters enjoy at home. The Children's Reading Club applies to all children, but specifically targets children between the ages of seven and twelve. Each month's book selection is featured on the First Lady's website, http://www.illinois.gov/firstlady.
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