Oh, the stories that were told

Angelique Flores

A Dr. Seuss tale was brought to life at Moiola Elementary School in

Fountain Valley on Friday.

One class cooked green eggs and ham. All the staff from the principal

to the janitor donned the tall, red and white, striped “Cat in the Hat”

hats. Some even blackened their noses and painted whiskers on their

cheeks, and adults were reading silly words like “Hop hop hop, I am a

Yop.”

The community came together to commemorate the celebrated author’s

birthday and the fourth annual Read Across America, themed “Oh, The

Places You’ll Go.”

“I like Dr. Seuss’ books because if he can’t find a word to rhyme, he

makes up silly words like ‘humpa-lumpa’ to make it rhyme,” said

7-year-old Breanna Callihan, whose class heard a story read by Fountain

Valley Mayor Larry Crandall.

Community members including high school principals, district officials

and newspaper reporters visited each classroom to read their favorite Dr.

Seuss books to the students. School officials hope the event helped

illustrate the value of reading at any age in any profession to the

children.

“Sometimes some children don’t understand why we want them to read,”

Principal Diane O’Donnell said. “It’s important for children to see that

in real life you can use reading.”

While the little ones liked the funny words and colorful pictures of

the outlandish storybooks, the older students appreciated the imagination

and inspirational messages.

Thirteen-year-old Katie Ryan liked the “weird pictures” while

Christine Mulholland, 14, related to the ups and downs and pursuit of

achieving your dreams in “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.”

“That story is cool because it’s about life,” said Tiffany Schultz,

13.

Whether or not anyone really has a “wocket in their pocket” in real

life, adults and children alike were able to appreciate the fun stories

and the importance of reading together.