News Report #5

Megan Beverly
LIB 103
11/29
http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/october2009/wrestlemania_yalsa.cfm

NEWSFor Immediate Release October 20, 2009
YALSA, WWE® kick off WrestleMania® Reading Challenge

News Report 5
The Young Adult Library Services Association is a division of ALA has partnered with the WWE to do the WWE Wrestle Mania Reading challenge. It strives to get children and teens to read more, at least one book or magazine a week throughout the year. WWE superstars such as John Morrison, Kofi and Nikki are the spokes persons. At the end of the year, twenty-one finalists who have participated will win airfare, accommodations and a ticket for a parent or guardian t o go to Wrestle Mania and their library wins $2000 dollars. The finalists then compete in a final round challenge. Then three winners from those categories will win ringside seats.
I think that anytime an entertainment business gets on board to help with reading or literacy it is a good thing. It encourages kids to really think that it is cool to read and learn, if their favorite wrestling superstar also thinks that it is cool. Everyone knows that you can sell a kid anything if you have the right angle. I think that more library projects should be done like this to encourage kids to read. If I had been a part of something like this as a child I would have been really excited to read and go to the library. Everything with children that makes learning fun and exciting is a good thing. Also I think it is great that the child’s library receives money because these days I know that libraries are on tight budgets.