Best in Show

By Meg McCaffrey -- School Library Journal, 10/1/2004

The makers of Mark-My-Time hope their snazzy new bookmark becomes as commonplace in kids' backpacks as a calculator, cellphone, or Game Boy. Mark-My-Time, which was recently named the best new product at the 2004 BookExpo America, comes with its own digital timer to keep track of the amount of time students spend reading.

The 2" x 9" plastic product, which retails for $8.95, also has a stop-and-start function that operates much like a stopwatch. That way, users can keep track time of the total time they've spent reading—from one session to the next. The bookmark can also be programmed to count down from a predetermined number of minutes or hours, and then an alarm will sound. Mark-My-Time is powered by a watch battery and comes in three bright colors.

"You can get lost in a book and stop looking at your watch," says Maureen Farinella, who created the product. Kids can set the alarm to go off at half-hour intervals, for instance, to alert them that it's time to move on to another reading assignment, or children can use the bookmarks to keep reading logs. "This takes the responsibility from parents and puts it back to the kid," says Farinella.

The bookmarks were a big hit at McHenry (IL) Public Library, where they were offered to kids who signed up for the summer reading program. "They went like hot cakes," says Gwen Doolan, a young adult librarian. To order, visit www.mark-my-time.com or call (480) 786-4481.