Big Red Dog to bungy for literary awareness

The much-loved children’s book and television character Clifford the Big Red
Dog is set to bungy-jump off the Auckland Harbour Bridge and do the Sky Tower
SkyWalk as part of a campaign to raise awareness about global literacy.

From a flash mob in Malaysia to Clifford ascending the Empire State Building,
staff from Scholastic offices around the world will be spreading the word about A
Child’s Right to Read on Friday 22 October.

Scholastic, a leading children’s book publisher, will take Clifford and Geronimo
Stilton onto the landmarks, streets and water of Auckland to distribute
information about A Child’s Right to Read and to encourage everyone to read
every day.

Endorsed by celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker and Whoopi Goldberg, the
Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life. campaign is a global literacy call to action.

It is underpinned by the Reading Bill of Rights, which includes eight beliefs
that affirm every child’s right to read and what that means in the 21st century,
from access to books and great stories to the ability to analyse, interpret and
understand information in the digital age.

Scholastic New Zealand’s General Manager Neil Welham said “as we mark our
90th anniversary and begin the second decade of the 21st Century, Scholastic is
looking forward rather than back, recognising that the children learning to read
today will be the parents and the citizens of tomorrow. More and better reading
will mean a better life for these children and a better future for our society.”