*Did You Know That 61% of Low-Income Families Have No Books at Home for Their Children?

*Did You Know That 61% of Low-Income Families Have No Books at Home for Their Children?

**There is a Proven Correlation Between Number of Books in a Child's Home and Their Ability to Read and Achieve Academically

NOGGIN Kicks Off "Get Ready To Read," a New National Literacy Campaign, and Partners With First Book to Generate 1,000,000 Books for At-Risk Children

NOGGIN, First Book and Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey to Host Celebrity "Get Ready to Read Challenge" Event in NYC

NEW YORK, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- NOGGIN furthers its commitment to early literacy as the commercial-free, educational network for preschoolers kicks off a new literacy campaign entitled, "Get Ready To Read." As part of the new campaign, NOGGIN will partner with national nonprofit organization First Book to generate 1,000,000 books for at-risk children.

To kick off the campaign, NOGGIN will partner with First Book and Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey for the "Get Ready to Read Challenge," a celebrity-driven event in NYC in an attempt to generate books toward the 1,000,000 book goal, as well as celebrate the launch of Pinky Dinky Doo. Pinky Dinky Doo is NOGGIN's first series dedicated to enhancing early literacy which will premiere on Monday, April 10. The event will include: a reading by Pinky Dinky Doo author/creator Jim Jinkins to preschoolers; "Speed Read" challenges with celebrities, Jon Stewart, Alec Baldwin and Joan Allen to generate books for local preschoolers and a screening of the premiere episode of Pinky Dinky Doo.

NOGGIN will support the "Get Ready To Read" campaign on and off-air with the following elements: new "Story Time" interstitials and PSAs, a dedicated online web page at http://www.noggin.com/, a customizable affiliate program and inclusion in Club NOGGIN mall events to build early literacy skills and awareness, and help put books into the hands of preschoolers who need them most.

On April 10, NOGGIN will debut a new "Story Time" interstitial and a new PSA both featuring Chris Meloni (Law and Order: SVU) to support early literacy. "Story Time" is NOGGIN's on-air interstitial series that uses storytelling to help preschoolers develop language and critical thinking skills. Beginning May 1, the new "Story Time" and PSA will direct viewers to http://www.firstbook.org/NOGGIN, where they can "click" to generate free books to those in need, volunteer with First Book or join NOGGIN and First Book in their commitment to literacy. In addition, Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey will run a customized version of NOGGIN's new on-air PSA featuring Meloni.

NOGGIN's award-winning website (http://www.noggin.com/) will launch a dedicated "Get Ready to Read" web page which will include parent and child- directed educational content, including original games, printables and downloadable files. The site will feature information on First Book and a link to their site (http://www.firstbook.org/), where families can donate free books. The site will also feature a list of local "Get Ready to Read Challenge" events that will roll-out during the year.

To support the initiative, NOGGIN has created a new customizable affiliate program, "Get Ready to Read Challenge" in-a-box. NOGGIN will offer the program to cable affiliates nationwide who may sponsor their own local events throughout the year. The "Get Ready to Read Challenge" kits will include comprehensive marketing materials, a PSA to run as a cross-channel spot, and information on how to partner with local organizations to raise funds for books for kids at-risk in each area.

Beginning in June, Club NOGGIN will present activity tables which feature "Get Ready To Read" literacy-based tips for parents to keep their kids intellectually engaged while shopping. Club NOGGIN is the network's interactive educational in-mall experience for preschoolers which reaches consumers in over 80 GGP (General Growth Property) malls nationwide. The program features curricular themes like early literacy in their one-hour and 15-minute sessions where kids play educational games and participate in large group activities.

"NOGGIN 'is like preschool on TV,' and we believe it is important to support and build early literacy skills for our young audience on-air, online and through targeted outreach programs," said Angela Leaney, Senior Vice President, Brand Communications, NOGGIN. "First Book has changed the lives of countless children and their families across the country, and we are thrilled to be partnering with them on NOGGIN's first-ever pro-social approach to literacy."

"First Book's mission is a simple one: we strive to give children the tools they need for a literate future," said Kyle Zimmer, president and founder, First Book. "Our partnership with NOGGIN is a natural fit in that NOGGIN's educational programming reinforces the work that we do. We are proud to partner with them to give children access to many different avenues through which to pursue an education."

"Literacy is at the forefront of Time Warner Cable's charitable focus," said Harriet Novet, Vice President, Public Affairs, Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey. "We are thrilled to support NOGGIN's Get Ready To Read and to be donating over $500,000 in airtime and print promotion to help make this effort a success."

Pinky Dinky Doo will debut with a simulcast on NOGGIN and sister network Nick Jr. on Monday, April 10 (12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m., ET/PT) and will air regularly on NOGGIN weekdays at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. (ET). The 26-episode animated preschool series is a co-production with Sesame Workshop (the non- profit educational organization behind Sesame Street and Dragon Tales) and Cartoon Pizza's Jim Jinkins and David Campbell (Stanley and JoJo's Circus). Pinky Dinky Doo is about a pink-haired, seven-year-old girl whose brain expands to enormous proportions when she has a great big idea -- but only in her imagination, of course! Pinky solves everyday problems by thinking big and uncovering an idea that saves the day. Pinky Dinky Doo harnesses the power of television to promote reading and imaginative storytelling by inviting children to participate in funny and fantastic stories, games, and songs that support critical early literacy skills.

The curricular framework for "Get Ready To Read," mirrors the educational goals of Pinky Dinky Doo, which serve to celebrate the power of inventing stories, introduce the basic elements of narrative, provide effective listening comprehension strategies and expand vocabulary. Jim Jinkins will also appear in a Pinky Dinky Doo spot addressing the key educational merits of the series to parents.

First Book is a national nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. First Book has distributed more than 40 million new books to children in need in hundreds of communities nationwide. For more information about First Book, please visit http://www.firstbook.org/.

Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey serves over 1.4 million customers in four NYC boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and western Brooklyn), Mt. Vernon, Hudson Valley (Orange, Sullivan, Ulster Counties and parts of Dutchess, Greene and Delaware Counties) and Bergen and Hudson Counties, New Jersey. Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey has led the telecommunications industry in bringing exciting, innovative services to customers including digital phone, high speed internet access through four ISPs, digital video recorders and Video On Demand. Visit http://www.timewarnercable.com/nyandnj/.

NOGGIN, the commercial-free, educational network for preschoolers owned by Nickelodeon, currently reaches 48 million households via cable, digital cable and satellite TV. NOGGIN, which airs from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (ET), is like preschool on TV, with educational programming both on-air and online at http://www.noggin.com/. NOGGIN and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

* 61% of the low-income families had no books at all at home for their
children. -- McQuillan, Jeff. The Literacy Crisis: False Claims, Real
Solutions. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998.

**There is a proven correlation between number of books in a child's home
and their ability to read and achieve academically. -- McQuillan, Jeff.
The Literacy Crisis: False Claims, Real Solutions. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann, 1998.

Source: NOGGIN

CONTACT: Jodi Davis, +1-212-846-5981, Jodi.davis@noggin.com, or Sharyn
Traub, +1-212-846-6381, Sharyn.traub@noggin.com

Web site: http://www.noggin.com/
http://www.firstbook.org/NOGGIN
http://www.firstbook.org/
http://www.timewarnercable.com/nyandnj

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