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DECEMBER 5, 2006 / Legacy Project / -- From the time we're children, we make wishes on stars. That's one reason Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes by bestselling author and educator Susan V. Bosak has become such a popular gift book for all ages. As a story about hopes and dreams across a lifetime, it's filled with stars that children and adults can wish on. It's also inspiring families to share wishes and dreams across the generations. Dream has been developed by the national Legacy Project under the nonprofit Parenting Coalition and Generations United in Washington, DC. The Legacy Project is offering a free family activity kit filled with ideas to bring parents, grandparents, and children closer and share family stories and history. There's also a Listen to a Life Essay Contest with a Grand Prize of a ThinkCentre computer from Lenovo and a $500 Books Are Fun gift certificate.
The free online activity kit is filled with activities, crafts, games, and even a Generations Scrapbook children, parents, and grandparents can do together.
To enter the contest, young people 8-18 years interview a grandparent or grandfriend 50 years or older about the older person's hopes and goals through their life, how they achieved their goals and overcame obstacles, or how dreams may have changed along the way. The young person then writes a 300-word essay based on the interview.
The Grand Prize is a ThinkCentre computer from Lenovo and a $500 gift certificate from Books Are Fun. Twenty runner-up prizes include $200 gift certificates from Books Are Fun. All winners receive a framed award certificate and a specially signed copy of the Dream book.
Dream is a one-of-a-kind collaboration with fifteen of the top children's illustrators in the world, including two-time Caldecott Medal winners Leo and Diane Dillon. It combines richly-detailed illustrations with a beautifully told poetic story about hopes and dreams across a lifetime that inspires both children and adults. Reviewers have described Dream as "dazzling," "magical," and "inspirational." The book has won a remarkable 11 national awards, including the Pinnacle Award as Best Gift Book, a Teachers' Choice, and the International Reading Association Children's Choice -- 10,000 children across the country read and vote on the books they like best.
"You're never too young or too old to dream," says Bosak. "I want to remind families to go outside, look up into the night sky, and make wishes on stars. One of the fun things in the Dream book is that each artist has hidden a star in their illustration. The idea is to hunt for the stars and make a new wish with each one you find. This encourages discussion between children, parents, and grandparents, and helps children become aware of their own hopes and dreams."
The Listen to a Life Contest deadline is March 31, 2007. Entries can be submitted online on the Legacy Project website www.legacyproject.org. If you fax or mail an entry instead, it must be TYPEWRITTEN and RECEIVED by March 31, 2007. It must include the total number of words in the entry (must be 300 words or less), entrant's first and last name and age, co-entrant's first and last name and age, relationship of entrants (i.e. grandchild/grandparent or young friend/grandfriend), entrant's telephone number (with area code), complete mailing address, and e-mail address (if available). Entries can be faxed to (905) 640-2922 or mailed to Listen to a Life Contest, c/o Generations United, 1333 H Street NW, Suite 500W, Washington, DC 20005.
Dream by Susan V. Bosak (TCP Press, $17.95) is available in bookstores. For more information, the free online family activity kit, and complete contest rules, visit www.legacyproject.org or call 1-800-772-7765.
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