A whale of a tale or two

Christine Carrillo

First-, second- and third-grade students at John R. Peterson

Elementary School in Huntington Beach rush to the school’s Whale

Tales room four days a week anxious to show off their reading prowess

and get their hands on books, from the Berenstain Bears to Dr. Seuss.

Keeping close tabs on how many books the students have read and

how many more they need to read before reaching their individual

goals, the school’s six-year program has proven to be a positive

experience for students, teachers and parents.

After they check out one of the Whale Tales books, which are

separate from those in the school’s library, the students read it and

then go to one of the parents, grandparents or adult volunteers for a

little question and answer time.

“It’s enriching to the kids, and not just by reinforcing their

reading skills. It gives them a chance to relate to adults on a

different level,” said Crystal Kerins, one of the program’s

coordinators. “It’s good for the parents, too.”

Since the program consists of volunteers who read the books, write

the questions and test the students, the program’s success relies

heavily on the people willing to give their time.

And finding those people has been an enormous task lately.

Having to almost shut the program down on a few different

occasions, the program’s coordinators have gone into overdrive trying

to recruit more volunteers.

With children motivated to read books beyond what their curriculum

entails, which is partly because of the various prizes they receive

as their book checklist grows, the school is devoted to keeping the

Whale Tales program afloat.

Even the parent volunteers have been inspired to put forth their

best effort.

“What will happen to you if you read more?” Nora Herrick, a parent

volunteer, asked one of the students.

“You will learn more,” said first-grader Beau Rivera, who had just

completed Dr. Seuss’ “I Can Read With My Eyes Shut.”

Witnessing the pride on the students’ faces and helping them

develop their reading and comprehension skills has been the

motivation for all the adults involved in the program.

The students, however, have a different motivation.

“The big push is to read 50 books by May so they can go to the ice

cream party,” Kerins said.

* CHRISTINE CARRILLO is a news assistant with Times Community

News. She can be reached at (714) 965-7177 or by e-mail at

christine.carrillo@latimes.com.