And, to help them use it, WAN-IFRA is offering newspapers advice on how to promote the serial, as well as companion materials to build reading comprehension and writing skills.

All the materials are available at the "Celebrating Literacy" site at www.wan-press.org/nie/articles.php?..., part of WAN-IFRA’s Young Readership Development activities. Newspapers have until the end of the year to use the story, which is available in English and Spanish but can be translated into any language.

“The Legend of the Pony’s Tears”, written and donated by author Mary Maden and illustrated by Vicki Wallace, is the fourth annual story to be offered by WAN-IFRA for publication on or around International Literacy Day. Newspapers in 26 countries, with a combined circulation of 4 million, published last year’s story.

This year’s story targets upper primary school students and follows a Native American boy named Little Wolf as he faces hardships, which he survives with the help of woodland creatures and the wild pony he has befriended.

"Besides offering a thoughtful, multicultural story, the series offers a newspaper lots of openings to connect with youth," said Aralynn McMane, Executive Director of Young Readership Development at WAN-IFRA.

Newspapers in many countries have developed partnerships and promotions with local advertisers around the stories. For example, The Philippines Daily Inquirer worked with Bench, a local home furnishings store, to provide nearly 2,000 copies each week to 16 school classes. Newspapers have also developed digital promotions, such as celebrities reading the story for a podcast or video.

To accompany the story, the Paris-based Sardine Features is offering a free set of sidebars and photos about wolves, eagles and cougars, concentrating on the crucial biodiversity that real woodland creatures provide.

Full details available here.

In addition to providing suggestions on how to promote the story, WAN-IFRA is inviting newspaper professionals to share their promotional ideas in a discussion group on the World Young Network online community. To join the network, please go to www.wan-press.org/nie/wyrn.php.

WAN-IFRA, based in Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, with subsidiaries in Singapore, India, Spain, France and Sweden, is the global organisation of the world’s newspapers and news publishers. It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. The organisation was created by the merger of the World Association of Newspapers and IFRA, the research and service organisation for the news publishing industry.

Learn more about WAN-IFRA at www.wan-ifra.org or through the WAN-IFRA Magazine.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN-IFRA, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: larry.kilman@wan-ifra.org.