First Lady Haslam Encourages Participation in Reading Campaign

Mrs. Haslam participates in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record Campaign in Nashville

NASHVILLE – First Lady Crissy Haslam sat down with 70 Pre-K students at Napier Enhanced Option Elementary in Nashville today to read Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney.  Haslam is a proponent for early childhood literacy and was invited to preview Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign.  The event sponsored by Jumpstart and Pearson Foundation aims to set a new world record for the most people reading the same book on the same day.  The official day to “Read for the Record” is Thursday, October 6.

“Programs like Read for the Record are an inventive way to raise awareness about the importance of reading to children at an early age,” Haslam said.  “Tomorrow more than two million readers will pick up the same book I read today and share it with children all over the world.”

An estimated two million readers will participate in this year’s event.  The millions of record-breakers who take part each year come from all walks of life: students and parents, teachers and superintendents, mayors and legislators, and many others who are interested in celebrating reading and getting young people off to a good start toward a lifetime of learning. In recent years, celebrity participants have included Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Bill Cosby, Patti LaBelle, Justin Bieber, and LL Cool J.

In conjunction with the annual Read for the Record event, the Pearson Foundation’s “We Give Books” campaign donated more than 200,000 copies of Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney and also made the book available digitally for the day of the event.

“This is a great opportunity to encourage children and families to read together, while also sharing books with those who might not have access to them,” said Mrs. Haslam.