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Local celebrities read at Watson book fair
By SARAH FOOR
Watson Elementary students attending the school’s Feb. 16 book fair heard from some familiar voices during the reading portion of the event.
After stashing their book bags with new books, posters and school supplies, the students listened as local celebrities read stories aloud.
“Our Watson Guest Readers Night is a relaxed event,” explained PTA Book Fair co-chair Tammy Ferguson.
“The kids get to meet some local celebrities and shop the book fair with their parents, without having to deal with the busyness of the fair during school hours.”
The event’s guest readers included D.A.R.E. officer Jeff Toth, Watson principal Shelia Palombo, WHOT’s A.C. McCollough and Kelly Stevens, and WKBN reporter Teresa Weakly.
“We wanted the readers to be familiar, whether that is because they see them in the hallways of our school, hear them on the radio, or see them on the local news,” shared event planner Chris Zeigler.
Each reader shared a bit of their personality with their book selection and story telling.
During Palombo’s story time, she moved from a provided chair down onto the floor of the school’s all-purpose room.
“I’m used to sitting on the ground, I taught kindergarten for 10 years,” she explained to her students before reading “Froggy’s First Kiss” by Jonathan London.
Radio personality Stevens read three books and had some help reading “Biscuit” with her kids, Carter and Zoe Fink. McCollough and Weakly both had a soft spot for Dr. Seuss, and read “The Cat in the Hat” and “Horton Hears a Who,” respectively, to the students.
“We’re well on our way to our goal,” shared Ferguson. “We’re going to buy many more copies of the ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ series, which the kids are always fighting over in our library.”