BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.-- You've likely read a lot of things throughout your day today. One in seven adults in Palm Beach County has a tough time doing just that because they lack basic literacy skills.
The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County is hoping to curb that problem by teaching the young.
It got a little help from WPTV General Manager Lloyd Bucher and WPTV morning anchor Mike Trim.
“Who wants to read a book about dinosaurs?” Trim asked a group of three to five-year-olds from local daycare facilities.
Trim read “Digger the Dinosaur,” while Bucher read “Ferdinand."
The Scripps-Howard Foundation is donating thousands of books to children nationwide, including to the Literacy Coalition headquarters in Boynton Beach.
Bucher said: “The Scripps Foundation is so proud to partner with the Literacy Coalition and I just can’t wait for next year to do it again. It’s so nice to see the smiling faces on the kids and man, are they smart.”
In Palm Beach County the Literacy Coalition says 44 percent of third graders read below grade level.
Literacy Coalition CEO Kristin Calder said getting kids to read early is important: “They get so enthusiastic about the story and what’s going to happen next and trying to predict what’s next and trying to predict and so many skills that are predictors for their own success for school and in life so it’s so fantastic for them to be part of a day like this."