Book Cubs

RIF developed the Book Cubs pilot program to build upon the lessons demonstrated in the children's public television show, Between the Lions. The program targets young children ages four to seven with an emphasis on serving those children most at risk of school failure.

Program Goals:

• Improves home-classroom learning interactions.
• Increase book access through classroom libraries.
• Encourage families to read together.

Book Cubs is designed to take place in schools, libraries, or community-based organizations that already host literacy projects such as RIF. Book Cubs combines the proven elements of RIF’s most successful reading motivation programs: a challenge goal; materials that help support children’s learning; and books to choose and keep.

Children, or "Book Cubs," enter their classroom, or "Den," for weekly sessions. During these sessions, the Book Cubs' coordinator engages the children and their designated reading partners, known as "Mane Readers," in fun activities and learning exercises centered on stories and lessons featured on Between the Lions. Each Den maintains a collection of the high-quality books featured on the show, and these books circulate freely between the classroom and home.

Program features include: 

• A ten-book reading challenge for Cubs and their Mane Readers.
• A Mane Reader orientation session
• Take-home materials to help the adults feel comfortable and confident reading with their youngsters
• A recognition event of special awards and a distribution of free books for the children. This event recognizes the success with which participants have explored various literacy concepts and met or exceeded the reading challenge.

During the 2000-2001 school year, the Book Cubs program was piloted in Boston and Washington, D.C. RIF provided each Book Cubs site with training, materials, and ongoing assistance in implementing a successful project. The Book Cubs program was evaluated as part of an assessment of the positive effects of Between the Lions. Initial assessment results from the pilot phase are guiding program refinement. Currently, no new Book Cubs sites are being started.

Between the Lions is a co-production of WGBH Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd. Between the Lions is funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Major support is also provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Park Foundation, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Charles H. Revson Foundation, and the Institute for Civil Society. National corporate sponsorship is provided by Cheerios® and eToys®.

© 2000 WGBH Educational Foundation and Sirius Thinking, Ltd. All rights reserved. Between the Lions, Get Wild about Reading, and the Between the Lions characters, names, and related indicia are trademarks of WGBH Educational Foundation.

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Interested in Book Cubs?
If you would like to place your organization's name on the list of potential Book Cubs sites, please send an email to specialliteracy@rif.org.

Although we do not currently know when or where we may establish new sites, we will begin any expansion effort by contacting organizations that have indicated interest.

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