Eastplain Elementary School in North Massapequa, has earned one of four grand prizes in the Scholastic Book Fairs' national "Enter The Kingdom of Reading" contest, winning a visit from award-winning author Pam Muoz Ryan and a $2,500 gift certificate from Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company. The semi-annual competition encourages schools to create contests, design book displays, host activities and develop themed events, all aimed at getting kids to read. More than 3,000 schools participated in the contest.

During the Scholastic Book Fair held last November, Eastplain School volunteers launched an imaginative marketing campaign, inviting area celebrities and dignitaries to decorate paper bricks, which

the school used to build a royal castle in their school library. Magic Johnson, Governor George Pataki and many others donated "bricks" to help transform Eastplain's library into a kingdom of reading. The school also created a royal reading throne that traveled from classroom to classroom during story time.

"Book Fairs plays an important role in helping fulfill our company's 85-year mission to ensure that every child has access to fun-to-read, affordable books that will encourage a love of reading," said Boyko, a spokesman from Scholastic. "From the way these schools have embraced the contest, it's evident we're accomplishing our goal, to connect young minds with the excitement of books and the thrill of reading."