Today’s teachers and parents face a challenge relatively unknown to earlier generations: how to wean young people from mobile devices and video games long enough to show them the pure joy of sitting down with a captivating, un-put-down-able book.
One proven way to engage and encourage kids is to invite beloved children’s authors to visit elementary and middle schools. Case in point:
Earlier this month, Captain Underpants author Dav Pilkey—who is also Scholastic’s Summer Reading Global Ambassador—spent quality time with students at elementary schools in Robstown, Texas. At these venues, special school-wide assemblies were arranged to give more than 3,000 students—many of them disadvantaged and scholastically challenged—maximum exposure to Dav’s hopeful, encouraging message.
At San Pedro Elementary, Dav was welcomed by the high school Mariachi band while elementary school cheerleaders celebrated his arrival from the sidelines. He was delighted to discover that every single door, window and wall at San Pedro Elementary was covered with art inspired by his books, Captain Underpants and the new Dog Man series. “There were hand-colored and cut out paper capes and colorful underwear as far as the eye could see!”
At Lotspeich School, Dav’s sole special request was granted: Tex-Mex food was brought in for everyone to enjoy, including homemade tortillas and tamales. One of Lotspeich’s staffers even drove to Mexico to buy special candies for the occasion.
During the school assemblies, Dav’s message became crystal clear: He let the students know that he faced daunting challenges in school, too. Saddled with ADHD, dyslexia, and behavioral problems, reading was a real chore for him as a second grader and beyond. But he quickly discovered a love for reading and storytelling and started writing and illustrating his own stories. This new interest offered him renewed hope and a way forward in school, and ultimately, a long, successful career as a children’s book writer.
Following each assembly, Dav arranged for every student to receive his newest book from their Scholastic Book Fairs free of charge, plus one other book of their own choosing. Then he sat down to answer their questions and to sign any of the books they had received or bought during the Book Fair. One young student burst into tears of gratitude, letting Dav know that she had never been able to afford the books she wanted so badly.
Literacy and developing a love of reading is absolutely crucial for young kids. If they fall in love with reading early on, they can achieve anything they set their minds to later. Reading for pleasure (and later for knowledge and information) is exactly the leg up they’ll need to succeed as teenagers and adults. The power of choosing your own books and reading for fun is a life-changing thing.
Thanks to Dav, many of these children’s lives have been changed forever by his appearance, attention, kindness, and encouragement. They have at least two new books now to call their own. And now they know that they, too—just like Dav—can overcome hardships and succeed in spite of the challenges they face.
Written by Robin Hoffman and Jennifer Lee, Scholastic Book Fairs
Images: Rachel Denny Clow/Corpus Christi Caller-Times
