Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Read to Your Bunny Author Visits Boone April 19

When you take time to read to a child, you’ll discover “it is the most important twenty minutes of your day,” says beloved writer and illustrator Rosemary Wells:

Twenty old-favorite minutes.

Twenty minutes brand-new.

Read to your bunny often. And . . . Your bunny will read to you!

The author of the popular picture books featuring bunnies Max and Ruby, Emily’s 100 Days of School and dozens of other books, Wells will visit Boone on Thursday, April 19.

Organizer Dr. Connie Green said that Wells will speak twice on the 19th, for college students and educators in the morning at ASU and for parents, teachers and community members in the afternoon at Boone United Methodist Church. All presentations are free and open to the public.

In the afternoon, community members are invited to the Boone United Methodist Church for a short program for children at 3:00 and then a speech for parents and teachers from 3:30 to 5:00. Wells will read one of her stories to the children, and local favorite Lisa Baldwin will celebrate books and music with her infectious Learning through Song program.

The ASU Teaching Fellows will provide free childcare at the church for a limited number of children while their parents attend Wells’ speech. Parents must register for the childcare by Wednesday, April 18. Call The Children’s Playhouse at 828-263-0011 to sign up.

Sponsors of Wells’s visit are The Beulah Campbell Endowment, Belk Library, the Department of Language, Reading and Exceptionalities, the Reich College of Education, all of Appalachian State University. The Children’s Council of Watauga County, Friends of the Watauga County Library and Watauga County Schools provided additional funding. Watauga County children’s librarian Judith Winecoff extends special thanks to Boone United Methodist Church for providing the space for the author’s Thursday afternoon speech. The Children’s Playhouse also assisted in organizing this event.

Want To Go?

Date: Thursday, April 19
Time: 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Location: Boone United Methodist Church
Cost: Free

First Book – Watauga County Promotes Local Literacy

First Book – Watauga County will publicize its work at Rosemary Wells’s afternoon presentation on Thursday, April 19. First Book is an award-winning international nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. First Book – Watauga County, a local advisory board for the national organization, was started in December 2005 and in the last year has presented 2,508 books to 222 low-income children living in Watauga County.

“We will honor the Children’s Council of Watauga County for fully funding First Book-Watauga County last year as part of their federally funded Project CHILD initiative,” First Book advisory board member Kathy Parham explained, “and we want to recognize new donations for this year from the Helen M. Clabough Foundation and the Watauga Literacy Association.” These donations will allow First Book to give home libraries of six books to more than 130 low-income children in the county next year.

“We are very grateful for these donations, but they will only allow us to reach about half the low-income preschoolers in the county. To get books to the rest of the kids, we will need to raise more funds,” Parham noted.

Readers interested in donating to First Book or in donating their time to read to children in childcare settings are encouraged to contact Parham at The Children’s Playhouse, 828-263-0011 or email Kathy@goPlayhouse.org.