President Obama Reads ‘Where the Wild Things Are’

He reads the entire book out loud to a group of kids at the White House Easter Egg Roll.  Watch him.  He wings it.  He improvises.  He throws himself completely into what he is doing for these kids.  He knows they can’t all see the pictures so he describes and even performs them.  I know just how difficult this performance really is.  There are few people who can pull this off.  We have a president who is actually an intelligent person and who enjoys reading and talking to people.  I think this is a very good video for Children’s Book Week.

Children’s Book Week is May 11 – 17

It’s Children’s Book Week from May 11 – 17, 2009.  It covers everything from picture books for very young readers to teen fiction.  As part of the celebration, the Children’s Book Council is going to list the Children’s Choice Book Awards on May 13.  The award is given to books selected by children as their favorites of the year.  You can print out the official Children’s Book Week bookmark.

This event has been celebrated since 1919 in schools, libraries, and bookstores.  You can celebrate at home by reading to young children each day of the week, buying your kids some wonderful new books, printing out posters for their walls, encouraging them to enter online writing contests, and just letting them know that time spent reading is worth much more than time spent watching television.