What Is Read Across America Day?

Read Across America Day is a literacy awareness event sponsored by the National Education Association. It is held on or around the birthday of Dr. Seuss, Theodor Geisel, which is March 2. The event is designed to promote reading at all age levels, from early elementary aged kids to adults.

To celebrate Read Across America Day, schools, libraries, churches and community and civic centers are encouraged to hold reading-centered events. These are generally some form of read-a-thon, parent/child reading events, author visits and even carnivals and fairs. As long as the focus is on reading, any Read Across America Day celebration can have a significant impact on a community.

Here are five ideas that will ensure a successful Read Across America Day for your group:

1. Throw a pajama party. Invite parents and children to school, and serve a snack. Families can bring pillows and blankets and curl up to read a variety of books.
2. Invite a guest reader to a school assembly to read a book. Whether it's the mayor, an author or the principal in a Cat in the Hat hat, choose a book that will appeal to various ages and interests.
3. Host a book-lover's party. Invite families to come to the party dressed as their favorite book character. Award prizes for the most creative costumes, or simply hold a fashion show where the announcer reveals the person's favorite book character.
4. Pair up a read-a-thon with a school fundraiser. Have students ask for pledges for each page read (such as 5 cents per page). Then, hold an hour-long read-a-thon, where adult helpers sign off on pages read. The money collected can go to the school library and media center to purchase more books for all to enjoy. If the library doesn't yet have it, a Dr. Seuss collection makes an excellent purchase.
5. Hold a week-long school or community reading contest. Keep track of how many pages read on a giant paper thermometer that rises with each daily report. Continue the tradition year after year, and see if your group can break the previous year's record.

Most important, don't let the celebration of reading stop with Read Across America Day. The idea of these activities is to spark a love of reading so intense that kids and adults keep picking up books year-round.