He came. He read. He inspired!Each Haverford elementary school welcomed Dan Gutman this spring – thanks to a little help from their friends at the HTSD Education Foundation.
For Haverford’s five elementary school librarians, it’s all about reading. That’s why they decided to invite children’s book author Dan Gutman to their schools this past spring. With help from their parent-teacher organizations and the Haverford Education Foundation, the librarians pulled it off and about 2500 elementary school students are very happy they did.
Kindergartners to fifth graders devoured Gutman’s books in anticipation of his visits. There are 86 Gutman books to choose from so it wasn’t too hard to find the perfect, usually funny read for just about every student.
Boys and girls alike read 30, 40 and even 50 books. Even before Gutman arrived students were thrilled with Gutman classics such as “I Hate School” and glorious picture book “Casey Back at Bat.” But when he came to Chestnutwold, Gutman confessed to his favorite audience of third and fourth graders that he didn’t like to read when he was their age. It was really a big surprise to his mom when he announced he wanted to write books for a living! Go figure.
It was his growing interest in sports that convinced Gutman to read, so it follows that he has written a lot of books about the topic – especially baseball. “Honus and Me,” the story of the most famous baseball card of a star of the game named Honus Wagner, was one of the first books he wrote. It tells the story of a boy who finds a very old baseball card, circa 1909, and then travels back in time to meet the baseball player himself.
“Kids just can’t get enough of them,” Manoa Elementary School librarian Maria Hernandez says of Gutman’s books, adding “they appeal to many kinds of students.” Hernandez was instrumental in arranging these visits. “His books are entertaining and they also tie into the curriculum.” For example, reading the book “The Kid Who Ran for President” and “The Kid Who Became President” tied right into this presidential election year. He has also written books about the Great Depression and the Civil War.
Jayne Dambman, Chestnutwold librarian, has lost count of the number of Dan Gutman books that were checked out of the library beginning in February in anticipation of his arrival. “One student has read 50 books,” she said. That’s the bottom line for all the schools – making sure students enjoy reading now and in the future.
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Haverford Township School District Education Foundation PO Box 788, Havertown PA 19083 (610) 853-5900 ext. 4555 info@haverfordedfoundation.org
