Michelle Obama celebrates Read Across America Day (2010). Image credit: Official White House image
Today, March 2, is Read Across America Day, in honor of Dr. Seuss‘s birthday. (Really—here’s the official presidential proclamation.) Funded by the NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education, the event’s goal is simple: to motivate children to read. Says the event’s website:
The First Lady and NEA President Dennis Van Roekel welcome a star-studded lineup of readers and 400 local schoolchildren to the Library of Congress today for the national kickoff of NEA’s Read Across America. Who’s grabbed a hat to read with the Cat? Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Jessica Alba, Superbowl champion Donald Driver, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi and chefs Carla Hall and Mike Isabella, designer Camila Alves and actors Bridget Moynahan, Jeffrey Ray Valdez, and Mehcad Brooks, along with journalists Norah O’Donnell and Luke Russert.
In addition, Cat-a-Vans are visiting schools, providing books and encouraging reading. Want to participate? Visit the Read Across America website for ideas and resources, pledge to read in the upcoming year, or donate to the organization.
Reading this on March 3—or later? No worries; celebrate reading anyway by creating a reading event, sharing reading-related activities, or just… reading. After all, Read Across America hopes to “[provide] NEA members, parents, caregivers, and children the resources and activities they need to keep reading on the calendar 365 days a year.”
