What is Read Across America?
Celebrated annually on March 2nd, Read Across America is a day for teachers and educators to celebrate the importance of reading. The National Education Association (NEA) started the Read Across America initiative in 1998 with the hope of motivating children to read. Since then, it has been the largest celebration of reading this country has ever seen. For 2023, the Read Across America initiative seeks to “create and celebrate a nation of diverse readers” and offers twelve months of book recommendations and classroom tips. The choice of March 2nd each year is to honor the birthday of the beloved children’s author. Dr. Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss).
SuperBooks and Read Across America
As a children’s book author and former primary school teacher, I have always felt a special connection to the Read Across America initiative. It helps that March 2nd happens to be my birthday too. I have ways believed that being born on that day is why I can write so easily in rhyme. As I have said in previous blog posts, using rhyming words helps children expand their vocabulary quickly. That is why several books in the SuperBooks program feature intentional rhyming patterns.
I also believe in a very important quote from Dr. Seuss’s books: “why fit in when you were born to stand out”? With SuperBooks, new readers can have fun with colorful illustrations and a diverse set of characters that is unique to our program.
Read Across America — Indulge in Good Books
Though Read Across America is really only noted as one day, we encourage you to celebrate all month. If you have more advanced children, encourage them to read at a higher level and challenge themselves. Sometimes the best way to see the world and open yourself to new adventures is to sit down and read a book. You can let your imagination take you on many journeys. Letting your students or your kids know the pleasure of reading is something they will take with them far into their futures.
The purpose is to get kids excited about reading. So, grab a chair, get comfy, and bring out the books for your child/student to read. Show them that reading can be a lot of fun.