Elgin Community Library hosts Dr. Seuss reading, book giveaway

In honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, the Elgin Community Library went to Elgin, Fletcher and Sterling elementary schools to read and give away Dr. Seuss books to 201 first grade students.

Debbie Thomason, Dr. Seuss chairperson for the Friends of Elgin Community Library, said they’ve been doing this outreach program for 10 years.

“Since this is Dr. Seuss’s birthday week, we are going to all the classes and giving them all a book,” Thomason said. “We have a big annual book sale fundraiser from the library and this is one of the things that helps pay for (the books.)”

For some students, this is the only book they own.

“I read to Sterling and there were several kids that said ‘This is the only book they had, they didn’t have any books at home,’” Thomason said. “We usually don’t run into that in Elgin. Sometimes, when we were buying them, we couldn’t get enough of one title, so we had three different books that we were passing out and I tried to give them one that they don’t already have.”

Reading can help kids learn better, Thomason said.

“The more they read, the better they do in school,” Thomason said. “The younger they start reading and the more often they are read to, I think that really helps them in school if the parents are reading to them.”

Thomason read “What Pet Should I Get” to students from Ms. McClurg’s class in the Elgin Elementary Library. Students sat on the rug in the small Dr. Seuss themed room and were shocked to find out the book ended on a cliffhanger. After reading along, they got a copy of the book to take home and had the opportunity to check out more books.

“We feel this is a really important thing for first graders to have their own library book at home,” Thomason said.