To ensure he didn't stumble over any words, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker practiced reading aloud The Very Hungry Caterpillar , a classic children's book by Eric Carle , in the car on his way to Edison Elementary School last week.
Slated to read the 225-word children's book to students Thursday night, the father and grandfather --- who says he read to his children "just about every night" when they were growing up -- got another chance to share a story with young readers thanks to Jumpstart's fourth annual Read for the Record Campaign.
The program encourages children throughout the world to read Carle's book, first published in 1969, on the same day -- last Thursday -- in hopes of breaking a Guinness Book of World Records mark of most children reading a single book on a given day. Thursday marked Carle's 80th birthday.
Sitting in a rocking chair with children scattered around his feet, Becker recited the story of a caterpillar, who eats an apple on Monday, but remains hungry, three plums on Tuesday, but still isn't full, and so on. The book teaches days of the week, counting, and the life-cycle of caterpillars. When the protagonist finally gets its fill, it builds a cocoon around itself, and emerges a few weeks later as a butterfly.
"So, if you see a caterpillar," quipped Becker after shutting the book, "make sure you give him a piece of chocolate cake -- that's the moral of that story."
Every Salt Lake City School District kindergartner and each of the district's roughly 500 pre-school students received a copy of the colorful book.
"Not all of our families are able to provide a lot of books, or even any kind of material -- even Crayons can be sparse," said Early Childhood Supervisor Ann Cook, who mentions it was touching to watch students leave school at the end of the day, clutching their new books to their chests.
The Salt Lake City School District organized the event, which coincided with the district's Parents as Teachers Family Literacy Night. Parents as Teachers is a program sponsored by the district aimed at families with children 5 and younger.
Educators visit families' homes monthly to work with parents and teach them how to better teach their children and prepare them for school. PAT offers regular meetings and assistance to parents.
"It's based on the premise that parents are the best teachers of their children," Cook said. "It's voluntary and free, and we have trained people go into the homes."
Fidelity Investments donated $10,500 to purchase thousands of copies of "The Hungry Caterpillar," which the district obtained at a discounted price of $3.50 apiece. The Pearson Foundation and the Italian American Civic League also chipped in.
"It's a way to focus on literacy," said Cook of the Read for the Record Campaign. "It's a focus on books, and it's a focus on being excited about books."
