Promotional Information

ADS: targeted in B&T and Ingram educator catalogs.
AWARDS: entered for CBC and ALSC Notables, Reluctant Reader, etc.
EVENTS: held nationwide to launch in recognition of National STEM/STEAM Day November 8.
ONLINE: promotion on dozens of affiliate social media channels and local news media.
PROMOTIONS: DRCs and feature on Edelweiss; giveaways on LibraryThing and Goodreads .
REVIEWS: Targeted in regional, national trade, and special interest media like Scholastic Teacher.
TRADESHOWS: Galleys and giveaways at BookExpo, ALA, regional retailer and library shows, kid expos.
REGIONAL PROMOTIONS BY FRANCHISEES IN THESE LOCATIONS: AZ: Phoenix, Northeast Valley; Chandler
CA: Irvine; San Diego Coastal; Santa Cruz-San Jose; Fremont / Bay Area; San Diego North Central
CO: Denver- Aurora; Denver
FL: Miami; Southwest Orlando; North Tampa; First Coast; Palm Beach County; Broward County; St. Petersburg
GA: Buckhead Sandy Springs; Peachtree City/Newnan; Cherokee & Milton; Oahu
ID: Treasure Valley
KS: Overland Park – Olathe
LA: Shreveport Bossier; New Orleans; Houma-Thibodaux
MD: Greater Annapolis/Eastern Shore; Bel Air-White Marsh
MI: Oakland County East; Oakland County West; Northwest Michigan
MT: Southwest
NV Reno Sparks
NM: Albuquerque North
NJ: Rockland / NE Bergen
NY: Niagara Frontier
NY: CNY; Rockland / NE Bergen; Central & Northern Westchester; Long Island; Staten Island
NC: South Charlotte; Pikesville
OH: Summit/Medina County; Cleveland East; Canfield-Northeast Ohio; Dayton South
PA: Central PA
SC: Upstate; South Carolina
TX: Boerne; Houston NE; West Plano-North Dallas
UT: Salt Lake City
VA: Greater Alexandria; Midlothian
WI: Southeast Wisconsin
INTERNATIONAL: Bogota, Colombia; Puerto Rico

About the Author

Sharon Duke Estroff is founder and creator of the Challenge Island, a STEAM program created for children’s education and enrichment to teach twenty-first-century skills through project-based learning. Sharon is also an author and an award-winning elementary school teacher, parenting and education expert, speaker, and freelance writer with work published in numerous publications, including Scholastic, Parent and Child, Woman’s Day, and Good Housekeeping magazines. She continues her passion in children’s education and running the Challenge Island program from her home in Atlanta, Georgia. Joel Ross is a writer and author of children’s books and adult books, including The Fog Diver, which received the Cybils Award and named to the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List. Joel lives in Santa Barbara, California. Mónica de Rivas is a children’s book illustrator who has published her work internationally, from Europe to North America to Asia. Ever since she was a young girl, she loved drawing, reading, and writing stories. She studied illustration at the School of Art and Design San Telmo, Malaga, and specializes in digital illustration. Mónica currently lives in Spain.

Reviews

One of Children's Book Council's Hot off the Press picks for November 2021"From bridge-building, to learning facts about sharks, to doing art or math, it’s a full-STEAM ahead adventure!"
--A Net in TimePraise for Challenge Island:"One thing that makes Challenge Island stand out is what it lacks. You'll find no screens or digital devices in a Challenge Island after-school class, camp or family night. Instead, kids working together in collaborative teams, are encouraged to use imagination, teamwork, and problem-solving skills to come up with creative solutions to challenges using a treasure-chest full of low-tech art supplies."
--Entrepreneur Magazine "Challenge Island engages kids in virtual STEAM activities they'll actually enjoy. Kids can learn to make slime, cast spells, play sports, blast off (virtually) into space, and more. In its in-person form, Challenge Island has consistently ranked as a top franchise in Entrepreneur Magazine, and the program won a Parents' Choice Award in 2018. Each camp is taught live by certified instructors, with class materials available for shipping or pickup. Kids interact with each other throughout the experience during collaborative projects or sharing sessions. Some classes are available in Spanish, too."
--Insider, on Challenge Island camps"As schools continue to transition to more virtual learning, teachers and parents have to be creative with how they keep young children engaged and entertained. Challenge Island, an internationally known STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) program, is now offering virtual resources."
--NPR, on Challenge Island camps"The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a serious wrench into most summer camp plans for kids. Thankfully, there are still options for kids and parents to keep busy and active while maintaining safe social distancing through virtual summer camps. These programs will keep your children happy while we all work through the COVID-19 crisis. For summer classes for kids or even fun summer school for kid ideas, here's the best virtual summer camp ideas for kids K-12. . . Challenge Island (Entrepreneur Magazine's top-ranked STEAM enrichment program for 2018, 2019 and 2020) rolled out 'Home Island' virtual camps, allowing kids to experience all the magic of Challenge Island's wildly popular summer camps from the safety and comfort of home."
--Parade Magazine, on Challenge Island camps