Book Character Day
We are: Maryland City Elementary School
If you had a chance to walk down the halls of Maryland City Elementary School on March 8, you would have been greeted by Pete the Cat, Ling & Ting, Fancy Nancy, and lots of Cats in the Hat. On Book Character Day, students and staff are showing off costumes of their favorite characters on a day designed to spark conversations about books and reading.
“We’re always looking for ways to get kids together to talk and socialize between different grade levels,” says Media Specialist Robin Smith—dressed today as The Princess in Black—who has organized the event for the past three years to celebrate Read Across American month. During the morning, students from different grades come together in the cafeteria to see other students’ costumes and tell other students about their chosen book. Then, later this afternoon, students will meet their “book buddy,” a peer from a different grade level, to talk one-on-one about their books.
As part of Read Across America month, students could choose any book they wanted, in English or Spanish. Maryland City is proud of its multi-cultural community and encourages students to celebrate their home language. With the support of a grant from the 21st Century Education Foundation, Maryland City’s Media Center has been able to grow its Spanish book collection so that all students can find books they connect with.
Book Character Day invites the entire Maryland City community to get involved in the celebration. Parents can join the morning’s assembly and teachers are encouraged to dress up with their students. This year, the first grade team dressed up as the emotions from Inside Out, fourth grade teachers came dressed as characters from Arthur, and Principal Laura Cooke showed off her Fancy Nancy threads.
Saige, a second grade student sporting Little Red Riding Hood’s signature red cape, said that the day “is about people gathering around and asking questions about books and book characters. [I like the day] because it’s so fun and it’s all about books and I love books!”
