CLARK, NJ — Students at Valley Road School in Clark celebrated Read Across America Day with a visit from children’s author Alan Katz. His books include “Take Me Out of the Bathtub,” “Got Your Nose” and “Awesome Achievers in Science,” among many others.
He shared examples of his work and discussed his career as an author. He encouraged students to write everyday, as everyone is an author and emphasized the importance of revising and the role the illustrator plays in creating a book. Katz also spoke about his career as a television writer having worked on such shows as “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” “Pinkalicious” and two Disney shows, “Raw Toonage” and “Goof Troop.”
The assembly, organized by Valley Road teacher Nicole Reagan and PTA President Darlene Alicea, was sponsored by the PTA as part of the school’s reading program. Every grade level was given a specific number of books to read and instructed to record their work in a log each month. They were visited by Katz to celebrate Read Across America Day. Students also earned other rewards including a dance party.
Valley Road Principal Joe Beltramba said, “I’d like to thank the PTA, Mrs. Alicea and Mrs. Reagan for all of their hard work to bring us such an engaging assembly. The students really enjoyed learning and laughing with Mr. Katz. He brought reading and writing to life for the students.”
In addition to the author’s visit, students were also visited by the Cat in the Hat along with Thing 1 and Thing 2 and the Carl H. Kumpf Middle School National Junior Honor Society that read to the classes.
According to the National Education Association, “Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of the beloved children’s author, Dr. Seuss.” For more information on Katz, visit alankatzbooks.com/.
Photos Courtesy of Christine Casale Broski