Published: May 28, 2009 11:32 pm      

Visit to school speaks volumes

1st lady gives Catlettsburg Elementary pupils books to encourage summer reading

Catlettsburg — Kentucky’s first lady challenged students at Catlettsburg Elementary to read at least four books this summer, and she made it easy for them to get started.

Jane Beshear visited the school Thursday and gave every student in the school a book to take home, read and keep.

The volumes came from a stash of 500 Beshear got from Scholastic, the publisher of children’s books. She and 37 other spouses of U.S. governors were recruited by the company as ambassadors to promote summer reading and prevent the learning slide that usually comes when children are away from school all summer.

As ambassador, Beshear was given the choice of any school in the state as recipient for the books. She chose Catlettsburg in part because a previous scheduled visit to the school had to be canceled because of the winter ice storm.

Beshear swept into the school with her entourage just before noon and made her first visit to Kathy Cook’s first-grade class, accompanied by a metal cart loaded with books. After small talk with the children, she invited them up to choose one for their own.

By the time all the children had picked out a book, the air was thick with the buzz of children reading out loud to themselves.

“I read books every day and I like to read at night too,” said Destiny Woods, who likes books about horses, dogs and cats.

Blake Wells, who picked out a volume about horses, held it up and thanked Beshear, a horse enthusiast. “This is going to make me remember you” he said.

The ambassador program is meant to get children to read more, said Beshear, a former teacher.

The primary grades are “the perfect time to instill that love of reading,” Beshear said. “If they read four books this summer, they will come back better prepared for next year.”

All the books are approved for Accelerated Reader, a reading comprehension program, Cook said.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2652.