Sydney Greatti, a marketing director with Chick-fil-A, reads a Dr. Seuss book to kindergartners at Avoca Elementary School Thursday morning as the Chick-fil-A cow acts out parts of the story during Read Across America Day.
Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier
Major Tim Eads of the Bristol Tennessee Police Department reads a Dr. Suess book to second-graders at Avoca Elementary School early Thursday morning as a part of Read Across America Day.
Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier
Bristol Tennessee Police Department Chief Blaine Wade reads a Dr. Suess book to kindergartners at Avoca Elementary School early Thursday morning as a part of Read Across America Day.
Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier
Bristol Tennessee Police Department Chief Blaine Wade reads a Dr. Suess book to kindergartners at Avoca Elementary School early Thursday morning as a part of Read Across America Day.
Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier
Jon King, a King University basketball player, talks with kindergartners before reading a Dr. Seuss book to them during Read Across America Day at Avoca Elementary School Thursday morning.
Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier
Jeremy Stout, the Steele Creek Park naturalist, holds a plastic owl skull and the book he read to students Thursday morning at Avoca Elementary School for Read Across America Day.
Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier
Briley Price, an Avoca Elementary School sixth-grader, talks about her love of reading following the Read Across America Day readings at the school Thursday morning.
Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier
James Bowling, an Avoca Elementary School fifth-grader, talks about his love of reading following the Read Across America Day readings at the school Thursday morning.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Meghann Webb’s kindergarten class was stunned when the Chick-Fil-A cow walked through the door at Avoca Elementary School Thursday morning — and not because he brought breakfast.
The black and white, 7-foot-tall Holstein was there to interpret the classic Dr. Suess book, “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?” to celebrate the birth of the beloved children’s author as part of the annual Read Across America Day.
The roomful of children interacted with Sidney Greatti, the marketing manager for the food chain. As she read, the cow jumped up and down, stomped its feet and brought the pages of the book to life.
Webb said Dr. Suess books are a treasure trove of rhyming words that make learning fun.
“Dr. Suess is such an important part of kindergarten life,” Webb said. “Reading his books helps the kids to recognize word families — which is very important at this age — and having the cow interpret really engages them.”
Bristol Tennessee Police Detective Maj. Tim Eads read to the second grade and Jeremy Stout, the manager of the Nature Center at Steele Creek Park, read to a third-grade class.
Stout, who read “The Barn Owls,” brought the skull of a bird for an impromptu show and tell.
“I enjoy reading to the kids,” he said. “I usually bring a book about a nature and something from the Nature Center for a visual. The kids seem to really enjoy it.”
Sixth-grader Briley Price and fifth-grader James Bowling said the day wasn’t just for the little kids.
Price said participating in the reading day made her realize just how important reading is.
“Reading isn’t always easy,” she said. “But life isn’t always easy either — we’ll always have to do things that are hard. We’ll need to read more in college and in any job we have — so we just need to do it.”
Bowling said reading is not just important — it’s enjoyable.
“We’ll be reading our whole life — so sometimes it’s fun to have someone else read to you,” he said.
» Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
» He published his first children's book, “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” under the name of Dr. Seuss in 1937.
» “The Cat in the Hat” and “Green Eggs and Ham” were some of his most famous works.
» Dr. Suess published over 60 books throughout his career.
» Dr. Seuss, died on September 24, 1991, at the age of 87, in La Jolla, California.
» Sixteen of his books are on Publishers Weekly's list of the "100 Top-Selling Hardcover Children's Books of All-Time."
» In February 2015, Random House Children’s Books announced it plans to publish a new Dr. Seuss book entitled “What Pet Should I Get?” after the manuscript and sketches were found by the author’s widow in the couple’s home.
Information from Suessville.com
Quotes from Dr. Seuss
» “Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”
» “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
» “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
» “If you never did you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.”
» “From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.”
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Sydney Greatti, a marketing director with Chick-fil-A, reads a Dr. Seuss book to kindergartners at Avoca Elementary School Thursday morning as the Chick-fil-A cow acts out parts of the story during Read Across America Day.
Major Tim Eads of the Bristol Tennessee Police Department reads a Dr. Suess book to second-graders at Avoca Elementary School early Thursday morning as a part of Read Across America Day.
Bristol Tennessee Police Department Chief Blaine Wade reads a Dr. Suess book to kindergartners at Avoca Elementary School early Thursday morning as a part of Read Across America Day.
Bristol Tennessee Police Department Chief Blaine Wade reads a Dr. Suess book to kindergartners at Avoca Elementary School early Thursday morning as a part of Read Across America Day.
Bristol Tennessee Police Department Chief Blaine Wade reads a Dr. Suess book to kindergartners at Avoca Elementary School early Thursday morning as a part of Read Across America Day.
Jon King, a King University basketball player, talks with kindergartners before reading a Dr. Seuss book to them during Read Across America Day at Avoca Elementary School Thursday morning.
Jeremy Stout, the Steele Creek Park naturalist, holds a plastic owl skull and the book he read to students Thursday morning at Avoca Elementary School for Read Across America Day.
Briley Price, an Avoca Elementary School sixth-grader, talks about her love of reading following the Read Across America Day readings at the school Thursday morning.
James Bowling, an Avoca Elementary School fifth-grader, talks about his love of reading following the Read Across America Day readings at the school Thursday morning.