The International Reading Association Conference in San Antonio this year may not have had the big attendance numbers of the best shows from yesteryear, but it was still a terrific opportunity for us to connect face-to-face with educators to discuss their classroom needs and to tell them about our new products (and some of the old favorites too!). We met teachers from all around the country and all over the world for that matter. For those of you who entered our raffle for a chance to win our newest series - Story World Real World - we've announced the winner below (read to the bottom)! First, here are the four things we learned at IRA:
1. Everybody still loves Mrs. Wishy-Washy! Regardless of city, state or country, teachers everywhere unanimously expressed their great enthusiasm for the wonderful storytelling of Joy Cowley & her Mrs. Wishy-Washy brand of stories! It is always fun to see teachers who are as excited about Mrs. Wishy-Washy as their students must be. I can't tell you how many educators stopped by our booth just to take their photo with Mrs. Wishy-Washy like our very own Randy Padua did here:
Or, like Mrs. Wishy-Washy Fan, Kt, who posted this photo and message on our Facebook page:
2. Our newest series - Story World Real World - by Alan Trussell-Cullen was a hit! We received wonderful feedback about the uniqueness and timeliness of this series, which bridges traditional literature to informational texts. With most schools gearing up to address Common Core, Story World Real World offers an excellent way to meet the CCSS reading requirements for narrative and informational text by using traditional tales to introduce informational topics. Note: the series is available for pre-sale now and will ship in May!
3. The blood, sweat & tears were not in vain. It took us more than twelve hours from start to finish to assemble our 20 x 20 booth space, but in the end, it turned out to be one the best we have ever had. We have set the bar high for 2014 in New Orleans! Here are a few photos of the space:
4. It's better to give than receive. We had over 500 people enter the raffle for a chance to win a complete set of Story World Real World... (Learn more about the series here.)... and the winner is:
Kathy Spiel, ELA Coordinator from Apple Valley USD (Apple Valley, CA)
Congratulations to Kathy! We hope your students will love these books! For those of you who entered and did not win, we appreciate your visit to our booth and to thank you for your time, please claim a FREE SHIPPING code here (offer will expire 6/30).
We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans next year, or at a local conference near you! If there is anything we can do to be helpful, never hesitate to ask us! Thank you for being a part of the Hameray family!
Cheers,
Kevin Yuen
President