Read Across America

Read Across America Day 2014 is right around the corner! Grab your favorite Seuss tale and get set for some ridiculous, rhyming fun!

Read Across America, normally celebrated on March 2 in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, is a reading awareness program that calls for every child in every community around the country to celebrate reading. This year, Read Across America Day is Monday, March 3, 2014.

Many of Dr. Seuss' books are text heavy, so be sure to pick a book that will keep your crowd engaged until the end. Take advantage of Dr. Seuss' rollicking, zany style when reading aloud: whisper and shout, speed up and slow down and emphasize rhyme and rhythm.

If your audience ranges from three to eight years old, try these Seuss books:

Green Eggs and Ham
Trying something new can be a little scary. Ask the kids what they think makes Sam-I-Am change his mind. For a snack, green hard-boiled eggs are always a winner!

If I Ran the Zoo 
What weird animals can the kids come up with? Encourage them draw pictures, make up names and introduce their animal creation to everyone else.

Fox in Socks 
Be sure to practice reading this collection of rhymes and tongue twisters before your Read-Aloud. As you are reading, get the kids into the act by encouraging them to say the rhymes and tongue twisters with you. This one is especially fun:

"When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle beetles battle with their paddles in a puddle on a noodle-eating poodle, THIS is what they call...a tweetle beetle noodle poodle bottled paddled muddled duddled fuddled wuddled fox in socks, sir!"

If THAT won't get them to laugh, then NOTHING will!

If the group at your Read-Aloud trends older (say eight years old and up) try learning about the man who was Dr. Seuss. Read The Boy on Fairfield Street to see how Theodor Geisel became Dr. Seuss. 

For the more advanced readers in your group, you could try reading one of Seuss' more complex books like The Lorax or The Sneetches. After reading, discuss the undertones of social change in the stories.

The Seussville website's Read Across America page has fun activities and printable props to help you plan your event. If you want more interactive activities, try these carnival-style Seuss games from the obSEUSSed blog. Check out these Seuss-related blog posts on Belle of the Book for even more ideas.

The fact that Read Across America Day is a national effort to celebrate reading may appeal to kids--so make sure they know about it, and know that they're part of something BIG. 


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