Media Contact:  Dianna Cleveland
Telephone:  1-800-375-2926
Email:  dcleveland@playbooks.com

Popular Children’s Book Author has First
Reader’s Theater Series Published by Playbooks, Inc.

Ladera Ranch, CA (March 26, 2008)   Well-known, award-winning children’s author and former school teacher, Linda Schwartz, has her first Reader’s Theater formatted story series entitled “Lessons in Character” published by Playbooks, Inc., the Multi-Leveled Reader’s Theater company.  Three stories are currently included in the series:  There’s No One Like You,  Jake Can’t Fake It!, and  Surprise! Uh-Oh! Oh, No!   Schwartz worked in concert with Playbooks, Inc. and its unique and patented format of colorized and multi-leveled dialogue in the development of the character-education themed trilogy which is designed for students ranging from Kindergarten to 2nd grade and helps children learn valuable lessons in self-acceptance, responsibility and cooperation.  Each story has five character roles written to target specific reading levels within this grade ran ge.

The characters in There’s No One Like You are creatively portrayed by different animals with distinctive physical traits.  As each animal reveals insecure feelings about a trait, the other four animals offer positive affirmations.  One by one the animals learn how marvelous it is to be different and how boring the world would be if everyone were exactly the same.

Every child can relate to Jake’s distaste for chores in Jake Can’t Fake It!  In this story, Jake, who’s simply not a puppy any more, learns the hard way about the consequences of avoiding his responsibilities.  With some creative planning and inspiration from his parents, Jake’s sloppy habits turn into a responsible routine that he loves!

In the story, Surprise! Uh-Oh! Oh, No!, a class of young frogs plan a surprise birthday party for their teacher.  They learn how listening to each other encourages everyone to volunteer many ideas. The process fosters a cooperative team spirit and an ordinary party evolves into a very special event. When something unexpected happens that could spoil the party, the students have become so good at thinking as a team and working together that they soon come up with a great idea to save the day.

“As an educator, I feel it is important to teach students more than just curriculum basics such as reading and math,” said Schwartz. “We also have a responsibility to teach children how to be better people and how to get along with others. The format of Reader's Theater  makes learning about cooperation, self-acceptance, and responsibility FUN!”

With “Repeated Guided Oral Reading” being the best proven method for building reading fluency, Reader’s Theater is extremely effective while bringing excitement and fun to reading aloud in the classroom. The multiple reading levels of dialogue, and the opportunities for dramatic role-playing, encourage readers of differing skill levels by modeling higher levels of reading, vocabulary and creative expression.  Backed by scientific research, Reader’s Theater has been rapidly growing in popularity in schools and out-of-school programs as a powerful reading tool that effectively improves a child’s reading skills and fuels a love of reading.  Playbooks® Reader’s Theater is used in thousands of schools across the country to promote reading skills in children of all ages.

These three books and over 60 other Reader’s Theater titles are available at the Playbooks Reader’s Theater web site, www.playbooks.com or by contacting the company at 1-800-375-2926.

About the Author
Linda Schwartz is a popular children’s book author with over 100 published and widely distributed titles and activity books.  Her passion for writing children’s stories was sparked by her earlier career choices as an elementary school teacher in several Southern California public schools, and as the founder and president of The Learning Works, a leading  publisher of educational materials.  Linda Schwartz received her B.A. from the University of Florida and M.S. from Cal State Northridge.

About Playbooks, Inc., the Reader’s Theater Company
Playbook, Inc., headquartered in Ladera Ranch, CA, is a leading Reader’s Theater specialty children’s book publisher supplying the education and consumer markets. Playbooks, Inc. owns the patent for character dialogue printed in multiple colors and written at multiple reading levels.  Information about Playbooks, Inc. and Reader’s Theater titles can be found at www.playbooks.com or by calling 1-800-375-2926.