PORT TOWNSEND — Even with all the distractions, kids still love to read, the Blue Heron Middle School librarian says.
“These days it is hard to get kids to pick up a physical book,” said Cheryl Brady.
“But they are reading on their phones and their iPads and their computers, and there is probably more reading going on than in years past.”
Reading is celebrated this week with the Read Across America campaign sponsored by the National Education Association and is celebrated with varying degrees of enthusiasm depending on the individual school, Brady said.
Brady dressed up as the “Cat in the Hat” for the occasion, and books by Dr. Seuss were part of the program.
“We want to get kids to read, and using Dr. Seuss’ birthday is incorporated into this,” she said.
Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, was born March 2, 1904, and died in 1991.
But the day was about more than just one author.
At Blue Heron, several classes were read to, followed by a book giveaway in which the kids were given a choice of books to take home.
About 200 books were given away and were purchased by Title 1 funds, Brady said.
Ann Healy-Raymond, who was hired in September as the Port Townsend School District-wide librarian, said that some children like to read more than others.
Something that is often determined by their first interaction with a book.
“Some kids develop a love of reading at an early age while others discover the magic later on,” she said.
“They always remember the books that made them readers, which is in some cases the first book they read on their own, and in others, something their parents read to them.”
Healy-Raymond said that kids often develop a strong interest about a specific topic, such as dinosaurs, and want to read everything they can find about the subject.
“We get the kids to talk about the places in their mind where they wouldn’t have been able to go without a book,” Healy-Raymond said.
“While there are a lot of things that are competing for their attention, we teach them how being alone with a book and their thoughts is very special.”
_________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
