: Drop Everything and Read Day

April 12, the birthday of beloved children’s book author Beverly Cleary, has been declared National Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Day! Participating in D.E.A.R. Day is a wonderful way to encourage children to read more.

Here are a few celebration suggestions for your family, school, and PTA:

• Invite special guests—a football player, police officer, doctor, chef, construction worker, etc.—to drop everything related to their jobs to come read to classes or at a school assembly. Add excitement with sirens or whistles to signal the D.E.A.R. time.
• At home, read to your children or have your children read to you. Invite family and friends to join you.
• Visit a local library, bookstore, or community center for a storytelling or poetry event.
• Donate books to a book drive, child-care center, community center, or hospital.

PTA has partnered with the National Education Association (NEA); the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association; Reading Rockets; First Book; the Newspaper Association of America Foundation; and HarperCollins Children’s Books to establish D.E.A.R. Day as a nationwide initiative to encourage families to make time to read together.

More information about the event, including planning resources, is available at www.dropeverythingandread.com.

Third Party Resources

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