National Eye Care Month
Read more about how the eye works, eye problems and eye safety so you can be an effective advocate for yourself or others. The National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes on Health, provides educational packets for a unique science program called VISION, intended for use in the classroom by teachers and/or guest speakers. Find more information about this program at: www.nei.nih.gov/education/visionschool/index.asp

National Hobby Month
Enjoy Reading as a hobby! Beat the winter blahs this month by cultivating a new hobby or family activity. Whether its learning a new game to play with your child, picking up that project that has been waiting for a rainy (or snowy) day or finding a new volunteer opportunity, now is a great time to get involved in something new. You can find links to information about new hobbies and interests at: www.cyfernet.org/hottopic/hobbymonth.html

January 4
The inventor of the braille code was born on this day in 1809. Read a biography of Louis Braille and a background of the development of the braille code at: www.afb.org/braillebug/louis_braille_bio.asp

January 17
Inventor and early American leader Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706. The Library Company, the country's first subscription library, was founded by Franklin and friends in November, 1731. You can find a brief biographical sketch of Benjamin Franklin at: www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/index.htm

January 4 - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (born in 1933).
Author of Shiloh and The Fear Place. Both of these books were previous Braille Bug Reading Club selections. Check the Braille Bug Reading Club website for information on finding these titles in braille. You can also read about the author at: www.simonsays.com/content/index.cfm?sid=510

January 5 - Lynne Cherry.
Author of A River Ran Wild, and more.
www.lynnecherry.com/

January 12 - Jack London (1875-1916).
Author of The Call of the Wild, In A Far Country, and more
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/London

January 17 - Robert Cormier (1925-2000).
Author of The Chocolate War, I Am the Cheese, Frenchtown Summer and other young adult novels.
www.teenreads.com/authors/au-cormier-robert.asp

January 18 - A.A. Milne (1882-1956)
Author of Winnie the Pooh
www.pooh-corner.com

January 28 - Vera Williams
Author of Lucky Song, Something Special for Me, "More More More," Said the Baby and others.
www.harperchildrens.com/catalog/author_xml.asp?authorid=19040
www.bookwire.com/bookwire/MeettheAuthor/Interview_Vera_Williams.htm
www.parents-choice.org/full_abstract.cfm?art_id=16&the_page=reading_list

January 29 - Rosemary Wells
Author of The Fog Comes on Little Pig Feet, Timothy's Tales from Hilltop School, Lassie Come Home and other stories.
www.rosemarywells.com

January 30 - Lloyd Alexander
Author of The Cat Who Wished to be a Man, The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, Border Hawk and more.
http://friend.ly.net/users/jorban/biographies/alexanderlloyd/index.html