News Release

Readers Revving Up
for the Seussentennial

"Mrs. Dr. Seuss" Joins
NEA’s Read Across America Celebration

Washington, D.C. – Grab your coat and grab your hat -– the red and white striped one –- pick up a book, and join the crowd that is making its way to the sunny Seussian side of the street on March 2.  That’s the date to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the birthday of the late great Dr. Seuss and the nation’s largest reading party -– NEA’s Read Across America -– an annual extravaganza that attracts millions to honor the joy -– and importance -– of reading.

This year’s Read Across America Day celebration aims to bring the nation under one hat – the red and white stovepipe made famous by the Cat in the Hat.  Cowboys, coal miners, baseball players, pilots and park rangers will be among those swapping their trademark chapeaus on March 2.

Leading the reading parade for the 7^th Read Across America Day will be Dr. Seuss’s widow Audrey Geisel ("Mrs. Dr. Seuss"), who will serve as Honorary Chair of this year’s event. 

Mrs. Geisel, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises and the Dr. Seuss Foundation, has made protecting the integrity of the original Dr. Seuss books, their characters and their invaluable contributions to children’s literacy her mission for more than a decade. She wants to ensure that her husband’s work is used in only "the most appropriate, artistic formats" and is pleased with the success of NEA’s Read Across America.  

"Parents want their children to have the same delights that they have experienced reading Dr. Seuss," said Mrs. Geisel.  "It’s wonderful to have educators, librarians, parents, and others use the occasion of Ted’s birthday to remind the nation of the fun reading can bring to readers of all ages." 

For more about Mrs. Geisel and the celebration of the Seussentennial, visit the Seussentennial Web site. 

A sampling of events planned for NEA’s Read Across America include:

The Saturn blimp will take off from Florida’s Orlando Executive Airport from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., on February 19 in salute of NEA’s Read Across America.  On one trip the blimp will fly over Catalina Elementary School where students (in hats, of course) will be lined up spelling out NEA’s Read Across America.  (NFL Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood, NEA Executive Committee Member Becky Pringle and the Cat in the Hat will also take a ride for reading.)

In Santa Clarita, Calif., at the Fair Oaks Ranch Community School, 2,000 readers will be celebrating Read Across America in hopes of breaking the Guiness Book of World Records. The cast of "General Hospital," local politicians, and other celebrities will be among the gigantic cast of readers. (February 28, Noon – 2 p.m.)

Park rangers at Mt. Rushmore, S.D., will swap their usual headgear for the Seuss chapeau and read to area schoolchildren.  (March 1, 10 a.m., South Dakota First Lady Jean Rounds and NEA Executive Committee Member Marsha Smith will participate.)

Performers in Las Vegas will trade their spangled hats for the hat of the Cat and read to children at Fife Elementary School.  (March 1, 10 a.m., NEA Executive Committee Member Mike Billirakis will be on hand for this event.)

In Emporia, Kans., Teen Reading Wranglers will host a reading rodeo, substituting their Stetsons for the hat made famous by Dr. Seuss. (March 1, 1:30 p.m. , NEA Executive Committee Member Carolyn Crowder will represent NEA at this event.)

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will read to students from McKinley Elementary School from Arlington, Va. in the U.S. Supreme Court Library.  (March 1, 1:30 p.m. )

Coal miners at the Beckley, W.Va., Exhibition Coal Mine will dig into books and exchange their usual lantern helmets for red and white striped ones.  (March 2, 10 a.m., NEA Executive Committee Member Mark Cebulski will be present for this event.)

The Center for Puppetry Arts Theater in Atlanta, GA, will entertain area children with a hat-filled celebration on March 2 at 1:30 p.m. (NEA Secretary-Treasurer Lily Eskelsen will be on hand for the fun.)

Basketball players for the Phoenix Suns are suiting up for reading along with former players and the Governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano on the practice court at America West Arena (March 2, 9:00 a.m. )

Baseball caps will be traded for stovepipes at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on March 2 at 11 a.m.; 250 kids will join Dodger players, firefighters, a chef, and a sheriff – all of whom will wear the Cat’s hat on this special day.  At Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla., Dodgers players Shawn Green, Paul Lo Duca, Dave Roberts and Alex Cora will break from spring training to swap their caps for Cat hats and read with 150 kids at 11 a.m. on March 2 .

Books on Broadway in New York, will feature guest readers Bill Irwin (Sesame Street’s Mr. Noodle) and Steve Blanchard (the Beast of Beauty and the Beast) at the Signature Theatre.  (March 2, 10 a.m., NEA Executive Committee Member Michael Marks will participate in this event.)

The Boys & Girls Club of Franklin, Tenn., will host Wynonna Judd as one of its celebrity readers at Johnson Elementary School to applaud the success of its month-long "The Family That Reads Is the Family That Succeeds" program.  (March 2, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. )

Check out events taking place in your state.

Since the first celebration of NEA’s Read Across America in 1998, the event has become a national tradition that annually attracts young and old alike in communities across the nation.  Last year more than 45 million adults and children participated in reading events that ranged from green eggs and ham breakfasts and pajama parties to reading extravaganzas featuring politicians, pundits, sports celebrities, and stars of television and movies.

Feb. 18, 2004

For more information:
NEA Public Relations, 202-822-7200

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.