Hats Off to a Celebration of Reading

Oh, boy this is exciting. Look who’s visiting The Shady Pines Gazette news office!

Why it’s local author, Mary Jane McKittrick, here with me for a special celebration. I’m Zulah Talmadge and we’re saying happy birthday to Dr. Seuss.

This is an annual way for the National Education Association to remind kids about the importance of reading. Mary Jane wrote our Boomer and Halley books and is the founder of Shady Pines Story Town.

As you can imagine, when you have her and a whole town full of cartoon characters who love to tell stories, this kind of event is a big deal for all of us.

The Real Dr. Seuss

Why this date? Well, March 2, 1904 was the day Theodor Seuss Geisel was born. He changed his name to Dr. Seuss when he started writing and illustrating children’s books.

To quote Dr. Seuss: ‘The more you read, the more things you’ll know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go!’

Believe it or not, Dr. Seuss wrote more than 60 books, and managed to sell 600 million copies worldwide. His work was translated into over 20 languages by the time he died on September 12, 1991.

Dr. Suess’ birthday inspired “Read Across America Day.” Organizers across the country believe reading is a “path to literacy for many young Americans,” saying it “begins with timeless traditions: being read to at bedtime, gathering in classrooms for story time, and attending events at local libraries with family and friends.” 

Reading Closer To Home

It’s interesting that our first family of Shady Pines, the Sanders, believes in reading to their kids everyday. Of course their children are four-legged since they never had kids of their own.

It doesn’t matter. Harold and Edna are devoted to Boomerang, the dog, and Halley’s Comet, the cat, just the same. 

Did you know that Dr. Seuss never had children either? When people asked him how he could write books for kids if he never had any of his own he would just say:“You have ’em; I’ll entertain ’em.”  

Nowadays March 2nd reading programs include more than just Dr. Suess’ books. In recent years there have been people who have been upset about some of the stuff in those books. FIND OUT WHY

Fun Activities

In our small Southern town we always stress the importance of kindness and caring for one another. We also like to have a good time when we do things together.

That’s why over at the Shady Pines Community Center we hear that Director Rita Maleno has some activities planned that will be a lot of fun.

For instance, if you are a fan of Dr. Seuss books then you might have read, Green Eggs and Ham. But do you know how to make them?

Rita told us we can share the recipe with you. Are you ready? Here it is: RECIPE FOR GREEN EGGS and HAM

Whatever you do to mark Dr. Seuss’ birthday and honor a day dedicated to reading, take it from us.

Encouraging reading and storytelling is a great way to inspire imagination and even to build character in kids.

(THE MAKING of SHADY PINES STORY TOWN)

We should know because we have the characters to prove it!

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