Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! You would have been 115 years old today! And in honor of your birthday, we celebrate Read Across America Day, a celebration of reading and literacy to encourage our children to pick up books and enjoy!
I was lucky enough to participate in the Read Across American celebration at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt (the incredible place that I work) which we celebrated on Thursday. When the email came through asking for staff and faculty volunteers to read books to children, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity. As we all know, I love books. And I love the chance to share that love with others, especially kids.
I will admit that I signed up with no frame of reference for what I would be doing. I just knew I would be reading in a 30 minute time slot. I imagined a flock of children huddled around me as a read a classic book, excitedly kneeling closer and closer to get a glimpse of the pictures. But when I showed up at 2:30 PM there were no children. Imagine my surprise when I walked into Seacrest Studios, the radio studio within our hospital donated by the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, and was told I would be broadcasting to all the rooms in the hospital!
I scurried over to the stack of books from which I was to choose: Hop on Pop, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, Where the Wild Things Are…
And what did I choose? Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!
I didn’t realize how short the book was until 10 minutes later, I was done reading! It went by in a flash. And although there weren’t any kids in the studio with me, I hope I put a smile on their faces and the faces of their families from the comfort of their rooms.
What are you doing to celebrate Read Across America Day?
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