March 3, 2008

Read On!

Communities across the nation celebrate the joy of reading

By Vickie An

What's the one event that inspires librarians to dye their hair blue, teachers to eat fried worms, and principals to parachute out of a plane at 35,000 feet in the air? It's Read Across America Day, of course! The National Education Association (NEA) created the literacy campaign more than ten years ago to get kids energized about reading. Today, educators around the country will take on some wacky challenges to do just that.

KRISTEN HINES—AP A volunteer dressed as Dr. Seuss character Sam I Am reads Green Eggs and Ham to third graders in Starkville, Mississippi, in celebration of Read Across America Day on Monday.

"Children have many distractions like TV, video games and high-tech gadgets," says NEA President Reg Weaver. "(But) nothing rivals the power of reading the written word. When children open the pages of a good book, reading can ignite their imaginations and open the doors to a reading wonderland."

A Seuss-sational Celebration

Read Across America Day takes place each year around March 2 in honor of beloved author Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel's birthday. More than 45 million readers nationwide are expected to participate in the festivities, which include everything from eating a breakfast of green eggs and ham to holding Dr. Seuss-themed slumber parties.

Sports and entertainment celebrities are putting on Dr. Seuss's famous red-and-white stovepipe hat in support of reading too. Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba, The Bernie Mac Show's Camille Winbush and Kim Possible's Christy Carlson Romano are just a few stars taking part in read-ins this year.

To top off the celebration, at 2:36 p.m., students dropped everything to join in the nation's largest simultaneous read-aloud of Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat. That time was chosen because the author used 236 words to write the classic Cat's tale.

Driving the Need to Read

But the fun won't end there! The famous feline is hitting the road to bring the gift of reading to thousands of schoolchildren. Through March 7, three Cat-a-Van tours will travel 1,200 miles and visit more than 18 cities across the United States. The tours will provide an estimated 12,000 books and thousands of dollars to public school libraries in need through donations from the NEA's Books Across America program.

So, what are you waiting for? "Whether it's a thrilling mystery or a fantasy set in a land far, far away, find a nook and be in the company of your favorite book this Read Across America Day," says Weaver.

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