Students celebrate Read Across America week
Dressed to look like the Cat in the Hat, Karin Kraeutler, the interlibrary loan librarian at Western Pocono Community Library, reads a Dr. Seuss book to 2-year-old Eliana McCutchan during a special Monday evening story time. She was there with her parents, Krystallyn and John McCutchan. March 2-6 is Read Across America week, and libraries and schools are hosting events to celebrate literacy and Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
Front, from left, Norah Golat, Livia Foder, Anna Smith and Connor Haines, all kindergarten students from Ms. Cassie Crawford’s class, gather for a photo with Meatball the duck, illustrator Felicia Parish, left, and author Meredith Lesney. Parish and Lesney visited Pleasant Valley Elementary on Monday to talk about their book “Spaghetti and Meatball.” Lesney is a librarian at Saucon Valley Middle School, and Parish is an art teacher there. March 2-6 is Read Across America week, and libraries and schools are hosting events to celebrate literacy and Dr. Seuss’ birthday. STACI L. GOWER/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
Do not expect to see the normal dress code attire this week at Pleasant Valley Elementary. You may even see Karin Kraeutler dressed as the Cat in the Hat during a visit to Western Pocono Community Library.
That’s because March 2-6 is Read Across America week, and schools and libraries across the nation are celebrating literacy and Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
In Monday’s presidential message posted on www.whitehouse.gov, President Donald Trump proclaimed: “In classrooms, libraries and homes around our country, literature provides children with the inspiration to learn and grow. On this Read Across America Day, we recall the motivational words of Dr. Seuss — an American icon of literature — and impart his wisdom on our Nation’s young people: “You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so … get on your way!”
Kraeutler, the interlibrary loan librarian, was dressed as one of Dr. Seuss’ famous characters, the Cat in the Hat, on Monday evening, during a special WPCL story time hour dedicated to Dr. Seuss books.
His many colorful, rhyming children’s books surrounded her on the stage.
Kraeutler was one of the many “celebrity guest speakers” who will read and lead activities this week. Others include local firefighters, ambulance medics, library staff and ShopRite staff.
On Monday at PVE, students made silly hats out of construction paper and tape and wore them to an assembly.
Author Meredith Lesney and illustrator Felicia Parish spoke about their book “Spaghetti and Meatball” to kindergarten and first-grade students during the first assembly, and second- and third-graders right after.
Meatball is a 3-year-old duck who is adopted and loves to eat spaghetti.
The story is based on Lesney, who is also adopted. Her cousin gave her a stuffed duck when she found her forever home. Lesney and Meatball share a birthday on Feb. 24.
“I play games, take Meatball for walks and eat lunch with him every day,” Lesney told the students.
He is very popular at Saucon Valley Middle School, where Lesney is a librarian and Parish is an art teacher. Parish and Lesney have been colleagues and friends for 16 years.
“My whole library has art projects of Meatball that students made in Ms. Parish’s class. He is part of our school. He is in the yearbook a lot,” Lesney said.
Parish showed the students various versions of Meatball that she drew before she got it right. In one drawing, he looked more like a flattened cardboard box.
“It’s OK to mess up. You are going to have mess-ups. It is OK. Drawing can be hard. Meatball is now very happy,” Parish said.
Lesney and Parish spoke about the writing and drawing process, asked trivia questions and answered students’ questions about Meatball.
“I like Meatball because he’s my favorite color, yellow,” said Norah Golat, a student in Ms. Cassie Crawford’s kindergarten class.
Golat’s classmate Anna Smith said she likes Meatball because “He eats a lot of spaghetti and meatballs.”
Read Across America spirit activities continue all week at PVE and at all the schools in the Pleasant Valley School District. Monday was red shirt day; Tuesday was silly socks day; Wednesday is favorite hat/striped shirt day; Thursday is college/team shirt day; and Friday is dress like your favorite book character.
“At PVE, our goal is to instill a love of reading in our students so that they carry it with them throughout their lives. The ability to read and the love of reading can take our students so far,” Assistant Principal Sabrina Albright said on behalf of the PVE administration. “For that reason, we utilize Read Across America Week as a way to model to students how much we all value reading. We not only model our love of reading as a staff, but we also bring in local college students, high school students, authors and storytellers to help spread the message.”
This week’s special events at PVE include Pleasant Valley staff members as guest readers on Wednesday, and on Thursday, the high school girls’ soccer and field hockey teams will read to classrooms.
“Having kids read and celebrating reading is very important. We want them to be lifelong readers,” Lesney said.
“Spaghetti and Meatball” is available on www.Amazon.com.
For more information about Read Across America activities, go to www.pvbears.org or call the library at 570-992-7934.
