Edutech startup Beanstack, Califa, and Bibliolabs offer California schools and public libraries tools to discuss important global issues and promote self acceptance among young readers.
This month, Beanstack is partnering with Califa and BiblioLabs for California schools and public libraries to offer The Skin You Live In book challenge for PreK–5 readers. This imaginative picture book provides parents and educators a wonderful way to explore race, inclusion, and other social and emotional concepts with young readers. Published by the Chicago Children’s Museum in 2005, The Skin You Live In uses striking, whimsical illustrations by David Lee Cscisko paired with author Michael Tyler’s playful language to discuss important global issues and promote self acceptance.
Beanstack, the software platform created by Zoobean, is the number one choice for reading challenges among librarians and readers alike. The web and mobile apps make it easy for administrators to set up and manage challenges, and even easier for more than six million readers on the platform to log and track their reading. From October 1–31st, 2021, The Skin You Live In will be available for all CA libraries on BliblioLab’s ebook platform, BiblioBoard, through Beanstack's reading challenge. #TheSkinYouLiveIn challenge will feature activities centered on the book’s overall themes, encouraging readers to earn badges for completing activities and logging their time spent reading.
“Califa is proud to be a partner for The Skin You Live In reading challenge with our friends from Zoobean and BiblioLabs. This team is an unstoppable trifecta that brings together the power of libraries to spark family and community conversations about race and leverages screen time reading ebooks in an interactive and positive way,” says Paula MacKinnon, Califa Group Executive Director. “Our statewide ebook platform uses geolocation to provide all Californians with access to always available ebooks – no hold lists - and makes a reading challenge program like The Skin You Live In possible, designed to help communities flex their reading muscles and learn a little bit along the way.”
Prizes will include signed copies of the print book, a custom, framed illustration, a live, interactive event with the author and illustrator, $500 cash for a party or other celebration event, and free courseware and programs from Califa for librarians.
For more information about The Skin You Live In book challenge, including prize details and how to join, visit the challenge website: https://landing.beanstack.com/the-skin-you-live-in-reading-challenge-by-califa-and-beanstack
Join the conversation: #TheSkinYouLiveIn #Beanstack #LibraryLove
ABOUT ZOOBEAN
Zoobean, Inc. builds products that help communities and individuals achieve reading goals by tracking reading and participating in reading challenges. The company’s flagship product, Beanstack, helps public libraries and school districts create, manage, and measure reading challenges. Zoobean’s Badge Books are sticker books that work hand in hand with the Beanstack mobile app. Zoobean’s investors include Kapor Capital, Mark Cuban, RevUp Capital, the AT&T Aspire Accelerator, and Amazon’s Alexa Fund. Its founders were previously Washington, DC’s teacher of the year and Google’s first head of K-12 education outreach.
ABOUT CALIFA
Califa Group is a nonprofit library membership consortium of more than 230 libraries and is the largest library network in California. Founded in 2004, Califa brokers and facilitates the procurement of library products; works closely with the California State Library in administering a number of statewide projects supported by federal Library Services and Technology Act funds, such as the enki Library ebook platform; administers national grant projects; offers Continuing Education training through the Infopeople project, and manages master contracts and pricing agreements with publishers and vendors. With years of experience and a network of professional contacts, Califa has demonstrated capacity and experience in grant program design, delivery, and management.
Our membership includes all sizes and types of libraries – academic, research, public, school, corporate, medical, law, and special. A Board of Directors, elected by and from the membership, governs Califa, which is based in San Francisco, CA.
ABOUT BIBLIOLABS
BiblioLabs, LLC is a hybrid software-media company dedicated to keeping libraries at the forefront of their communities in an increasingly digital age. BiblioLabs offers patrons unlimited, simultaneous-use access to multimedia content through BiblioBoard Library, and provides tools that empower libraries to thrive as influential centers for creative community engagement.