Salt Lake students help set a new reading record

SALT LAKE CITY — Four-year-old Oscar Heredia helped set a world record Thursday.

He sat in the middle of about 30 children at Mountain View Elementary School with his own copy of the book "The Snowy Day" in hand and listened intently as state Sen. Luz Robles, D-Salt Lake, read the book out loud.

Around Utah and around the nation, millions of children took part in trying to have the most people reading the same book on the same day.

The campaign, called Read for the Record, is put on by Jumpstart each year to help improve and raise awareness about childhood literacy.

Last year, the record was 2.1 million children reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" on the same day; this year over 3 million participated.

In Salt Lake City, each kindergartner and preschooler was given a copy of the book and then listened as it was read to them on Thursday. Amy Corroon, wife of Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, read "The Snowy Day" at Escalante Elementary in the morning, and Jeanette Herbert, wife of Gov. Gary Herbert, read it to Edison Elementary students a little later.

Thursday night, young students from Mountain View Elementary School gathered for Family Literacy Night to hear Robles read it.

Five-year-old Noah Starr said his favorite part of the book was when the main character, Peter, had snow fall on top of his head, while 7-year-old Loto Langi said his favorite part was when Peter decided not to throw snowballs with the older boys.

"Reading teaches me things," Loto said while cutting out a snowflake with his dad and sister after reading the story.

Other students helped dye ice while more made their own pictures from the book using pom-poms, glitter, markers and confetti.

Robyn Giovacchino, early childhood specialist for the Salt Lake City School District, said she hopes to encourage parents to not only read with their children but to do activities about the books they read with their kids and to read and re-read the same books.

"Reading helps develop the whole child," Giovacchini said, adding that even fine motor skills can improve when children help to turn the pages of the books. She said parents should start reading to their children when they are babies. Research has shown that children who start behind in literacy often remain behind.

"The most important predictor of academic success is vocabulary, and by reading to our kids, we bring in vocabulary we wouldn't normally use in conversations with our younger ones," she said. "Reading is a vital part of a child's development."

e-mail: slenz@desnews.com