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 always believed that being born on that day is why I can write so easily in rhyme. As I have said in previous posts, using rhyming words helps children expand their vocabulary quickly. That is why several books in the SuperBooks program feature intentional rhyming patterns.

Dr. Seuss revolutionized first grade reading in 1958, the very year I started teaching  in a first grade classroom, by publishing The Cat in the Hat. Before that, if a beginning reader wanted to read for fun, they had to revert to an old basal reader. Shortly after, I developed SuperBooks to bridge the gap between simple basal readers and more complicated picture books.

I also believe in a very important quote from Dr. Seuss’s books: “why fit in when you were born to stand out”? I developed the SuperBooks program to stand out from the crowd. With SuperBooks, new readers can have fun with colorful illustrations and diverse characters that are unique to the program. I often receive testimonials from young readers and educators highlighting the unique value of SuperBooks compared to competitors. The purpose of Read Across America is to get kids excited about reading, and knowing that I wrote books that children are excited to read over and over again is the greatest joy.

Read Across America — Celebrate Good Books

Though Read Across America is 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. Letting your students or your kids know the pleasure of reading is something they will take with them far into their futures. SuperBooks is proud to celebrate March as the month of reading and get involved by bringing books to children of all ages. Reserve the day, March 2nd, 2023, to read something great!