Read to succeed. Read to achieve.

Reading was indeed in the books for Parkside Education Center pupils who recently celebrated Read Across America Day.The event was so popular that many of the pupils looked like they came straight out of the pages of a Dr. Seuss book, according to Holly Sell, Title I Reading Specialist."We had a great day celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss and NEA's Read Across America Day," Sell said. "Many of our students came dressed as characters from their favorite books."Sell said the students listened to guest reader Bette Stoute, a retired Palmerton Area School District teacher, who read to students along with her animal puppet friends."I think the chicken puppet was a favorite for most of the kids," she said. "Mrs. Stout also visits and reads with her puppets at the Palmerton Library."Teri Delich, a retired Allentown School District teacher who resides in Palmerton, served as the other guest reader, Sell said."Teri Delich showed us the magic of reading," she said. "Dressed as the character Strega Nona (Nona, meaning grandmother in Italian), (Delich) let us experience that magic as she read to us."In addition, Sell said students read with buddies; some kindergarten pupils were paired with preschoolers from Charley Brown Pre-K, while others were paired with first-graders and other kindergarteners. First-and sixth-graders were paired to ensure kids of all ages were able to share the joy of reading together.Sell said the final activity of the day was to enjoy a Dr. Seuss-inspired snack: Cookies decorated as the hat from "The Cat in the Hat," as well as some that were colored eggs from "Green Eggs and Ham."The goal of the program, Sell said, was, "To inspire our children to love reading as much as I do. I was ecstatic to see the looks on our students' faces during our guest readers.""Their faces were filled with broad smiles," she said. "They were enjoying books and experiencing the fun in reading. It was an awesome day, and I hope our love of reading became contagious today."Sell said that as a mother and a teacher, she finds it extremely rewarding to get lost in a good book with kids."Becoming a confident and skilled reader is a necessity in today's world," she said. "So, my hope is that everyone will shut off the television a few minutes early each night and get lost in a book with their child."