Celebrating Young Readers Week With Books & Pizza
November 10-14 is National Young Readers Week, an annual event to encourage children to read! It was co-founded by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Pizza Hut! I think there is no greater incentive for anything than pizza, but the program also gets celebrities, both national and local, to read to children in order to reinforce the positive example of reading.
But back to pizza! Here are some events you can hold during National Young Readers Week to encourage young readers everywhere!
READ BEFORE SCHOOL: Before you take your children off to school or send them on their way in the morning, why not share a story with them? You can read a quick tale to them while they’re enjoying breakfast. Just make sure that breakfast is pizza!
Pair with: “Hi, Pizza Man!“by Virginia Walter, in which a child anxiously awaits the mysterious pizza delivery person or kitty or dog or duck or dinosaur
READ BEFORE BED: It’s important to set a good routine as well as a good example, so you can read a story with your child before they drift off to sleep. You can even leave a little late night snack for them in case they get hungry during the night.
Pair with: Pete’s a Pizza by William Steig, in which a boy allows his father to make him into a pizza
READ A LIBRARY: Libraries are a great place to read because there is so much reading going on! Sometimes there are even programs where the librarian will read to you! This is also a great opportunity for those local celebrities to stop by, as long as they remember to bring pizza, and as long as they bring enough for everyone, and also as long as your local library allows food inside. Otherwise, save the pizza until you can enjoy it outside.
Pair with: The Princess and the Pizza by Mary Jane Auch, in which a princess becomes a pizza entrepreneur
READ AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE: Bookstores have lots of great events and programs too. Maybe a local author wrote a great book about pizza? Invite them to share their tale and also pizza.
Pair with: Curious George and the Pizza by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey, in which a curious monkey gets pizza
THROW A PIZZA PARTY: What better way to celebrate National Young Readers Week than to invite your friends over for a pizza party! You should provide the books and tell them to bring the pizza.
Pair with: Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri, in which Raccoon decides to throw himself a secret pizza party
