This is a public service announcement brought to you by the folks at LAT34.

Did you know there are roughly 250,000 words in the English dictionary?  Well I know approximately 463 of those words and I have books to thank for accumulating such a vast vocabulary over the years.  Reading is an integral part of learning and a key component of grasping the essence of the deep and profound ideas expressed on this very WEBSITE.  Unfortunately for me, TV sort of took away a big chunk of my time leaving fewer opportunities to read books.  Then that veered me into less intelligent programming growing up such as ALF, OUT OF THIS WORLD, and SISTER SISTER.  It’s true.  I really was into Sister Sister.

Don’t let yourselves fall into this same trap.  Reading is power.  Click this MUSIC.

Capstone, a leading publisher of children’s books and digital products and services, is sponsoring a new writing contest for students in grades 3-7 inspired by its action-adventure, sci-fi book series Tony Hawk’s 900 Revolution. In the book series, a mysterious force shatters Tony Hawk’s skateboard and scatters the pieces across the globe just at the moment he finally captures the Holy Grail of skateboarding and lands the first-ever 900. A talented group of teens unite in a quest to bring the board – and its power – back together again.

The “Join the Revolution” contest invites students to share why they should be chosen as the next member of the Revolution team to find the remaining pieces of Tony Hawk’s shattered skateboard. Aspiring young authors are encouraged to create a unique and inspiring character who could be critical to the team’s success.

The top five entries will be posted on www.TonyHawkReadingRevolution.com where students will be able to vote for their favorite character. The winning character will appear as part of the Revolution in a Tony Hawk’s 900 Revolution book. The winner will also receive a trip to Tony Hawk’s Stand Up for Skateparks 2012 event in Beverly Hills and a VIP pass to meet Tony Hawk in person.

“With an awesome prize like this, we anticipate truly imaginative and original characters from our student authors. Not only will the winning character appear in one of our books, but the winner will get to meet Tony Hawk in person. The competition could be fierce, but students will vote and ultimately decide who they want to read about,” said Ashley Andersen Zantop, Capstone Group Publisher and General Manager.

The top five entries will receive a Tony Hawk autographed book, and the top 50 entrants will receive two books from the series, one copy for themselves and one copy for their school library.

The “Join the Revolution” contest runs through March 31, 2012. For the official contest rules and entry form, visit TONYHAWKREVOLUTION.