Third- and fourth-graders at Harrison Elementary have accepted a challenge from Kentucky’s first lady, Jane Beshear, to each read 10 books during their summer break and come back primed for another great year of school.
“To be smarter, you’ve got to be able to read and read well,” Beshear reminded the youngsters during a half-hour assembly Tuesday afternoon.
Promoting literacy is one of her priorities as she visits schools around the state. “The governor and I are never without a book,” Beshear said, noting her plans to take a bagful on vacation.
She encouraged the Harrison students to appreciate how books can open up their world as they read about traveling to the moon, to Africa or to Washington, D.C., and dream about being an NBA player or even president someday.
“Reading gives me a chance to take the time to be somebody else or be in another place,” said Beshear, whose daily schedule is always packed. “And even if it’s just a fun book, it makes me smarter. I always find new words, and it makes me think.”
The first lady brought along boxes of free books to hand out to the youngsters, including “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” “On the Banks of Plum Creek,” “Runaway Ralph,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Sophie the Awesome,” “Rain Forests” (a Magic Tree House research guide) and “Stink, the Incredible Shrinking Kid.” Principal Tammie Franks also secured donations from community partners so every student in the school could take home a new book.
“Children in poverty can achieve at high levels, but because of the lack of access to materials, they do regress over the summer,” Franks said, noting that roughly 98 percent of kids at Harrison receive free-or-reduced price lunches. “Our children need access to lots and lots of books.”