Welcome! We are Wendelin Van Draanen and Mark Parsons, the husband/ wife team coordinating the Exercise the Right to Read campaign.
Wendelin is a popular children’s book author and a former classroom teacher. Mark is also a writer (non-fiction) as well as an instructor.
We are the parents of two school-aged children.

Exercise the Right to Read is nationwide initiative designed to...

• meet schools' literacy goals
• meet schools' fitness goals
• meet schools' community service goals
• raise funds for schools, their libraries, and disadvantaged children
  

The program is free and easy to implement, and runs throughout the year, with prizes awarded at the end of each cycle. (Next cycle ends May 10, 2011)

In a nutshell, schools do on-site “marathon” fundraising (by reading 26 minutes a day and running / walking 1 mile a day for 26 days) keeping 90% of the proceeds and donating 10% to First Book, a charity that provides books for disadvantaged children. (Click here to find out more about First Book.)

Information and materials are all free and available at The School Program link of this site. Just click, print, and go!

Our goal is to help schools offset growing budget cuts, help improve childhood fitness and literacy, and put a spotlight on the good work that First Book does.

Won’t you get involved? Click on any of the buttons in the orange column to the right to find out more. Together, let’s Exercise the Right to Read!



For more information about Wendelin’s books, visit
wendelinvandraanen.com