Enter the Harper Holidays Sweepstakes!

Lucky! Ten people will win a Holiday Gift Box of books from HarperCollins. The winners get to choose from six different prize packs. You can enter here.

Naturally, I’d pick the kids books. Cuz… hello… they’re the best!

You’ve got to be 18 years old to be eligible. So, if you’re not, find someone who is. The last day to enter is December 22nd. You can read the other rules here.

Letters About Literature

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with Target presents… Letters About Literature, a national reading and writing promotion program.

Whew. That’s a mouth full.

Translation? Here’s a chance for some reading, writing, and shopping fun!

This is the deal. You write a personal letter to an author explaining how his or her book affected you. You can win Target gift cards and a grant for your school.

Read the Participation Guidelines here. Some sample letters here. And Frequently Asked Questions here.

The deadline is December 6, 2008.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard Contest

You can visit J.K. Rowling. At the National Library of Scotland. She’ll even read her brand-new book The Tales of Beedle The Bard to you.

Say what?

It’s true. Five lucky winners (and their chaperones) will do just that!

How, you say.

Well… I’m glad you asked.

It’s simple. Write a 200-word essay explaining how you’ve helped others. See the Official Contest Rules here.

Not familiar with The Tales of Beedle The Bard? Read my previous post. Oooh. Check out the Harry Potter prequel, too!

And, if you win... say hi to J.K. for me!

And the First Book Winner Is…

A few weeks ago I told you about First Book and What Book Got You Hooked? If you missed it, check it out here.

Well… votes have been tallied and winners announced. Kentucky will receive 50,000 new books for children in need!

The number one book that got readers hooked?

The Nancy Drew series.

Green Eggs and Ham, the Little House on the Prairie series, Charlotte’s Web, and Cat in the Hat also topped the list. See all 50 top books for hours of reading fun!

What book got you hooked? Let us know in the comments section below!

More IGOR

As promised… here’s more IGOR.

Book Adventure, sponsored by Sylvan Learning Center, is holding the Help IGOR Get To The Science Fair Reading Contest for 9 to 14-year-olds. It works like this: read books, take quizzes, earn points.

You can win a trip for two to Space Camp, a classroom screening of IGOR, and tons of other prizes!!!

Registration is required.
Individual Student Contest Rules are here.
Classroom Contest Rules are here.

Reading fun and prizes—oh yeah!

What Book Got You Hooked?

First Book is taking a vote. You’re invited to tell the whole world which book got you hooked on reading! The whole… wide… world, just imagine—they’re waiting to hear from you! Cool.

Barbara Park, Christopher Paolini, Eric Carle, Gary Paulsen, James Patterson, Kate DiCamillo, Lois Lowry, R.L. Stein and a boatload of other authors and famous people (and me too!) already voted and you can read about the books they love (Has anyone else read the book I voted for?).

Plus, you get to vote for one lucky state to win fifty thousand books! How much reading fun is that?!?

You can even vote every single day, but only until September 15th.

Disney’s Ultimate Broadway Sweepstakes

What do The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, and The Lion King all have in common?

They’re all books, of course (and lots of reading fun!).

And, they’re all Broadway plays.

AND… Disney is giving away a trip for four to see them all in New York!

See the official rules on the site. The sweepstakes end August 31st.

Two and a half million copies of Brisingr are headed to bookstores!

Of magic and dragons...

"Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep."

September 20th brings Christopher Paolini’s much-awaited third book in the best-selling Inheritance Cycle series to eager readers everywhere (yes… there will be midnight parties!).

You can read or listen to an excerpt of Eragon, the first book in this high fantasy series, here.

You can read or listen to an excerpt of Eldest, the second book, here.

You can read an excerpt from the third chapter of Brisingr here.

You can become a Fricaya Member and enter to win exclusive Inheritance prizes here.

You can sign up for the Alagaësia Newsletter and receive exclusive updates from Christopher regarding all things Inheritance here.

You can check out Eragon’s favorite books and music, read Christopher Paolini’s answers to fan questions, play an interactive fiction game, learn from the Eragon pronunciation guide, see which character you are most like, download a screensaver, and put your knowledge to the test here.

You can play the new, interactive online game Vroengard Academy here.

This should keep you busy for a while. Here’s to having reading fun!

2nd Annual Cutest Cat and Kid Digital Photo Contest

Meow! Simon and Schuster is giving away books. Oodles of books. Cat-themed books at that.

To be precise The Cat Fanciers' Association, Simon & Schuster Publishing, Iams, Dr. Elsey's, and PetSmart have joined paws to present the 2nd Annual Cutest Cat and Kid Digital Photo Contest. You can win cat-themed books and other cool cat stuff!

Basically, someone over 18 enters a digital pic of someone under 12 and a cat. See all the rules here.

Learn about cat breeds and colors, cat shows, cat careers, play fun cat games, and link to cool cat sites here.

This contest sounds purr-fect. And—like loads of reading fun!

Magazines Teach Health, Nutrition, Safety, and Exercise Fundamentals

The Children’s Better Health Institute publishes award-winning magazines you may not have heard of. Their purpose is “to encourage children of all races and cultures to strive for excellence in the areas of academics, personal fitness, medicine, and science.”

And… they make it FUN!!!

Turtle Magazine “offers colorful and entertaining stories, poems, and rebuses” to preschool children.”

Humpty Dumpty “keeps four to six year olds growing and healthy bodies moving.”

Children’s Playmate has “fun activities, stories, and recipes that promote healthy habits” for six to eight year olds.

Jack and Jill “ features profiles of regular kids doing extraordinary things” (ages seven to ten).

Children’s Digest “features up-to-date reviews of books and CD-ROMS” for nine to twelve year olds.

Check out the 2008 Cover Contest featured on each website–kids get a shot at illustrating a cover!

Cool. And definitely reading fun!

Chronicles of Narnia Giveaway

Aaaah! Tomorrow’s the last day to enter The Narnia Sweepstakes.

HarperCollins is giving away awesome Narnia stuff.

Check this out:

“Each winner will receive a copy of the new interactive gift edition, Narnia Chronology: From the Archives of the Last King; The Chronicles of Narnia Pop-up by Robert Sabuda; The Return to Narnia: The Rescue of Prince Caspian, illustrated by Matthew Armstrong; and The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set, which includes all seven books in the series and features cover illustrations by three-time Caldecott Medal–winning artist David Wiesner.”

Hurry! Quick! Enter here.

Plus, there’s games, an interactive timeline, and audiobook samples. You can even download a Narnia widget—now, that’s reading fun!

New Seekers Series

Erin Hunter, the author of the Warriors books, has a new series. Seekers: The Quest Begins is about bears and the reviews are mixed. They range between “I love this book” and “seems quite relentless and brutal.” Check out the Amazon reviews here.

HarperCollins is giving ten lucky winners a free autographed copy. Free is fun! Enter the contest here.

Win James Patterson’s Newest Book

James Patterson’s newest book, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, isn’t due in stores until July 21st, but you can win a copy for FREE now!

“James Patterson's exciting new series is full of high wish-fulfillment fantasy, humor, and of course, all of the suspense that Patterson fans have come to expect--only this time, it's literally out of this world.” Read an excerpt here.

Enter the JamesPatterson.com Sweepstakes by signing up for the JP newsletter. You get entered in the contest and get the scoop on exclusive contests and content. Stuff like advance chapters of upcoming books, contests and special offers, the latest movie news, and James Patterson appearances.

Sweet.

Barnes and Noble Gives Books Away—For FREE

Summer Reading with Andrew Clements is on!

This is the deal for first through sixth graders...

Read eight books of their choosing
Print out the Summer Reading Journal
Tell about their favorite part of the books they listed
Do four fun activities (they really do look fun)
Get it all signed by a parent
Take it to a Barnes and Noble by September 2nd

The free book list isn’t on the site, but I was in the store the other day and there were some AWESOME choices. A nice selection of classics, award-winners, and new releases. Check out the rules here.

Don’t miss out on this one! I’m bummed; I’m too old to participate ;0(

Oh! When you turn in your Summer Reading Journal and get your FREE book, you are automatically entered in a drawing for an autographed copy of an Andrew Clements book. There’s an exclusive interview with him under the rules section and a store locater on the right. It just keeps getting better!

Seriously. I’m sooo jealous.

We Have a Winner!

Last month I announced the cheriwilliams.com monthly drawing. Every comment made by you, my faithful readers, equaled an entry in a drawing.

Anonymous, who posted a one-word book review on June 2nd, is our winner!!!

Congrats, anonymous ;0) Please, email me and I’ll get your winnings to you.

June Wrap-up

Wow! It’s almost July. Here’s a wrap-up of previously posted contests and fun stuff that haven’t expired yet.

You can still:

Win a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Enter the Reading Rockets Daily Fun Quiz for an Amazon gift card
Win a Disney World Dream vacation at Disney’s Read and Dream
Enter The Big Write for a chance at cash prizes
Win a Spiderwick Chronicles 2-disc special edition DVD from Tony Diterlizzi
Hunt and win with the Reading Warriors Summer Reading Challenge

Be sure to click on each link for contest guidelines. Good luck winning!

Become a Reading Warrior!

Are you ready for a summer reading adventure?!?

Learn to identify your prey and where to hunt for it…

The Reading Warriors Summer Reading Challenge is rooted in the legends and adventures of the Cats and Clans in Erin Hunter’s best-selling series—Warriors.

Kids eight (96 moons) and over earn reward codes which can be used to earn exclusive Warriors rewards.

Explore new lands… Establish and defend territory… take the reading challenge today!

The Spiderwick Chronicles

I’m off to snap up a copy of The Spiderwick Chronicles DVD. It’s based on the best-selling fantasy-adventure series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, and it comes out today. I’m kinda worried though, it looks scarier than the books. Does anyone know if it is?

Check out Tony’s is website (which is very cool btw). He’s having a contest. Draw a picture about one of his books… he’s giving away six copies of The Spiderwick Chronicles 2-disc special edition DVD.

I’ve already ordered a copy of Tony’s new book Kenny and the Dragon. It’s not due out until August, but because I think you’re awesome, you can read an excerpt here.

From Reading Fun… To Disney Vacation

Woo hoo! Scholastic is giving away four trips to Walt Disney World!

Kids in grades PreK–8 who read and log 4 or more books can enter.

September 1st is the deadline. Winners will be randomly selected. It’s easy to enter!

Oooh, check out the bookshelf games while you’re there.

I gotta go find my kids…

The Big Write!

Calling all fourth to eighth graders!

Join the St. Louis Writers Guild and Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation for a cool contest.

Write your own story that begins with the sentence, “It all began when someone left the window open.”

Six entries will win. Check out the Official Contest Guidelines and the Official Contest Entry Form.

All entries must be postmarked on or before September 12, 2008.