- Postcards for more children who read - Balloons flying far
Growing Book Towers with Balloons - an idea that Hamburg children's book author Ursel Scheffler had a few weeks ago. Now, some of the colorful balloons with postcards have actually reached several children. "We released about 120 balloons into the air. And at least four of them were found by children," Scheffler told the German Press Agency in Hamburg. The wind had carried these balloons far into the east, even in stormy weather. "We were already afraid that they would all just land on the Rickmer Rickmers in the Hamburg harbor," said the 86-year-old laughing. Two had tangled and flown away together. "I believe those are the ones that made it to the Uckermark and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern."
Towers of Books for Children
On the postcards, among other things, was written "Lionhearted through Reading" - the new motto of the "Towers of Books" project. With this, children were to be made aware of the project and encouraged to participate. Scheffler had the idea for the "Towers of Books" more than ten years ago, because she wanted to do something about the poor reading results of Hamburg children in the Pisa study. So she invented a "Pisa scale" that grows by stacking books read by each class, allowing the class to grow a tower. About 15 centimeters is a "Pisa". The one who has read the most gets a prize.
Also for Preschool Classes and Children with Foreign Parents
Almost 300 "Towers of Books" have been "read" by students in Hamburg and beyond since November 2011. They have enjoyed more than 1.5 million books for this. Meanwhile, Scheffler has expanded her projects to include preschool classes and children with foreign parents.
Information about the "Towers of Books" project
After encounters with several children, Scheffler considered adding, "Perhaps the 'Lionhearted through Reading' motto inspired some children to delve deeper into books." Also, as Scheffler continues her projects, she might say, "Inspired by the success of 'Towers of Books,' I'm now introducing a similar project for preschoolers, promoting early reading skills."
