Celebrate Read Across America Day –March 2nd
Hello to you! I’m celebrating Read Across America Day today. Read Across America Day, which was started by the National Education Association wants every child to celebrate reading on March 2nd. And March 2nd just so happens to be the birthday of celebrated children’s author Dr. Seuss! Dr. Seuss is actually the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel. He is well known for his writing and illustrating more than 60 children’s books. Two of his most popular children’s books include; “Green Eggs and Ham” and “The Cat in the Hat.” His books sold over 600 million copies and they were translated into more than 20 languages.
Geisel added the pseudonym of Dr. Seuss as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College. Then onto a graduate student at Lincoln College, Oxford. He began his career in the role of an illustrator and cartoonist for Vanity Fair in 1927. Geisel published his first children’s book titled, And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street in 1937. During World War ll he worked in the film and animation department of the United States Army.
Save the Children (savethechildren.org) was the first global movement for children. They work in “over 100 countries, doing whatever it takes – every day and in times of crisis – to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm.” Save the Children programs and partners “helped 105.9 million children in 115 countries become healthier, safer and better educated.”
Save the Children “works to build communities’ early childhood knowledge and resources through home visits, educational activities, book exchanges and more. Days like National Read Across America Dayand Take Your Child to the Library Daycan help support literacy-based efforts in your community and build awareness for the critical role that early learning plays in each child’s development.”
“Save the Children Action Network, the political voice for kids, rallies hundreds of thousands of volunteers and online supporters to secure state funding for early education. Did you know: High-quality early education programs have a 13% return on investment – per child.”
For more information on Save the Children, please contact them at …
501 Kings Highway East, Suite 400, Fairfield, CT 06825
Main Office phone number: 203.221.4000
Donor Services phone number: 800.728.3843
The Impact of Read Across America Day
Save the Children explains that, “It’s critical for kids to have home libraries to foster a love of reading, but more than 60% of low-income families do not have any children’s books in their home. That’s why Save the Children works to build communities’ early childhood knowledge and resources through home visits, educational activities, book exchanges and more.”
So, grab the kiddos and your favorite children’s book, hopefully one of the books from the award-winning Kobee Manatee® children’s series and celebrate Read Across America Day!
~Robert Scott Thayer
