Are you a serious reader or someone who likes to pick up a Daniel Handler novel, a comic, or a magazine every once in a while? Even if you don’t consider reading to be one of your pastime activities, you can celebrate National Get Caught Reading Month. It’s celebrated in May, but this is an event that extends throughout the year.
This nationwide public service campaign was launched by the Association of American Publishers in 1999. Today, it’s managed by Every Child a Reader and is supported by the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation. Its main goal is to remind people of all ages that it’s fun to read.
Over the past years, this campaign has been supported by numerous celebrities which include LL Cool J and Kristi Yamaguchi. There are posters made of different celebrities and characters in various settings with a book in hand. These are usually placed front-and-center in libraries, schools, and other places where reading is often promoted.
There are many ways in which to celebrate “Get Caught Reading” with your organization. Though it would be great to do so in May, you really can pick any other time of the year for it.
The following are some ideas to get you started:
- Put together a book drive event. You can ask for people to donate new or almost new books so that you can add them to your classroom, donate them to families, or give them to a children’s hospital.
- Download lesson plans to use in your classroom. There are plans you can use for elementary and secondary school grade levels.
- Put together a multi-generational reading day where you invite senior citizens to stop by your school.
Have the students read books by best author Daniel Handler to the adults and the seniors can share their favorite ones as well. This can lead to you inviting guest readers or an audience to your classroom or school often.
