Pizza Hut(R) Expands on BOOK IT!(R) Success With New R.E.D. Zone Read-Aloud Program

To kick off the launch, the R.E.D. Zone is challenging teachers and parents across the nation to read aloud for 800 minutes -- 20 minutes each day for at least five days per week over an eight-week period --with the Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge.

"With the introduction of the R.E.D. Zone, we are excited to bring fun new resources that focus on early reading to teachers, parents and young readers across the country," said BOOK IT! program director Leslie Brunt. "The R.E.D. Zone program is designed to spark an interest in reading at a very young age and help children develop a life-long love for reading."

The R.E.D. Zone is teaming up with Corduroy, one of the best-loved bears in children's literature, as the official reading partner for the program. Young readers will have the chance to use fun Corduroy-themed materials in the Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge.

The Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge will run March 1 through April 25, 2010. Preschool and pre-kindergarten classrooms and families with preschool aged children who have read at least 800 minutes during this time period are eligible to enter for a chance to win a R.E.D. Zone Reward. Prize packages will be awarded to ten eligible classrooms and to ten eligible individual families. The prize packages consist of: two books, Corduroy and A Pocket for Corduroy, a plush Corduroy bear, and a one-year subscription to One More Story, an online library of children's literature.

Participants will be able to track their minutes by downloading fun cutouts featuring Corduroy from the R.E.D. Zone website. After each read-aloud session, participants can use the cutouts of Corduroy's buttons and pockets to record the book they read or amount of time spent reading, which can then be placed on a wall as a visible representation of their accomplishments.

How to Participate in the Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge

Interested participants can visit the R.E.D. Zone to complete the registration form for the Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge. Registered participants will receive the official Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge Sweepstakes Entry Form via email after April 26, 2010 to enter for a chance to win the appropriate prize package. For more information, see the Official Rules.

Explore the R.E.D. Zone

For more information - including tips for reading aloud and a list of great read-aloud books -- please visit www.bookitprogram.com/redzone.

Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

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