Celebrating Read Across America Day

March 2nd is Dr. Seuss's birthday, but it's also National Read Across America Day, a holiday that celebrates the joys of reading! The day also brings awareness to the importance of literacy and advocates the National Education Association's (NEA) mission of motivating kids to read more.

About Read Across America

The National Education Association (NEA) implemented the year-round program, "Read Across America" with a goal of bringing the joy of reading to students by motivating them to read. The program offers invaluable resources to help children feel included and a part of the literary world, such as text excerpts for close readings, tips and tricks for parents when reading to children, read-along videos, and online books.

Read Across America does not only focus on reading fun at home, but also in the classroom: teachers are able to plan a Read Across America event to bring to their class from a list of selections found on their website.

Read Across America continues to partner with various literary and educational organizations around the country, including Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Colorin Colorado, First Book, the International Literacy Association, KidLitTV, Little Free Library, the National Center for Families Learning, the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, and more.

Celebrating National Read Across America Day

Want to celebrate National Read Across America Day at home or school? Visit an event hosting a guest reader or speaker, or even plan a character parade where children can dress up as their favorite book character! You can also schedule a week of book themed days, reward reading accomplishments, have a read-aloud party, and more.

---

By Caroline Boden, Intern

Caroline Boden is a senior at the University of Houston and will graduate May 2020 with a Bachelors of Arts in print journalism and a minor in marketing. After graduation, she wants to pursue a career in book publishing. Before Night Heron Media, she interned with Bright Sky Publishing.

When she's not interning for Night Heron, she's either in class, working for the Center for Student Involvement at UH or helping with a nonprofit devoted to raising money for pediatric hospitals. Some of her favorite reads are of the thriller or crime genres; however, her favorite genre to edit is children's books.