“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.”

Across the nation and the county, programs are planned this week to celebrate the National Education Association’s Read Across America event.

The annual motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss. Most educators celebrate the entire week.

The event has its roots in an NEA task force meeting in 1997. The group decided to create a day to celebrate reading.

“We hold pep rallies to get kids excited about football,” the thinking went. “We assemble to remember that Character Counts. Why don’t we do something to get kids excited about reading?”

Indeed, why not?

Because no matter the course before a child, the path is more easily navigated when that child has strong reading skills.

Motivating children to read is an important factor in student achievement and creating lifelong successful readers. Research has shown that children who are motivated and spend more time reading do better in school.

If there is a child in your life, take five minutes to read to him or listen to her read. Talk to your children about the importance of reading. And most importantly, set a good example yourself. Whether you read books, the newspaper, or magazines, you’ll make a favorable impression.