Set a Record at County Libraries

SAN BERNARDINO>> The San Bernardino County Library invites the public to join in the 11th anniversary of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record on Thursday, Oct. 27. The event will have a special reading at all branch libraries of Julia Sarcone-Roach’s "The Bear Ate Your Sandwich," as the county libraries attempt to help Jumpstart’s Read for the Record once again set the world record for the most people reading the same book on the same day. Each of the 32 San Bernardino County branch libraries will be conducting a reading of the book and the public is encouraged to check with their local branch for their event’s specific time. Jumpstart’s Read for the Record initiative works to raise awareness of the importance of early childhood preparation for kindergarten. According to a press release, the Read for the Record event helps to shed light on the need for reading to and with young children and how important such activities are to a child’s educational success. According to the Jumpstart website, Read for the Record is a national campaign that was launched more than a decade ago to address the educational inequities that leave many children unprepared for kindergarten. Last year, more than 2.2 million children and adults from around the world read "Not Norman: A Goldfish Story" written by Kelly Bennett and illustrated by Noah Z. Jones. In 2013, Jumpstart broke the world reading record by reading with 2,462,860 children and adults. The press release states the San Bernardino County Library sees this event as a kindred spirit to the Countywide Vision’s literacy program, Vision2Read, which works to focus attention on the importance of early childhood reading as an integral factor to future success and to support every child from cradle to career. Visit www.sbclib.org for more information.