Special guests help Gurnee school celebrate National Reading Day

Everybody loves to be read to, and it was no different for fourth- and fifth-grade students at Woodland Intermediate School last week.

Members of the police and fire departments, school principals and medical professionals took time out to read to students at the Gurnee school as part of National Reading Day Tuesday, Jan. 23.

"We r/a> the 'Diary of a Worm' because the kids really wanted it. It's fun to teach to kids that we still have to read and do math and science in our jobs. I think it is important that they know that just because we are done with school that learning doesn't stop," said Katie Hammond, fire inspector with the Gurnee Fire Department. "I think that they enjoyed someone from the community come in to read to them."

The students moved in close and listened intently as readers from the community read to them from books like "Iggy Peck, Architect" by Andrea Beaty, "Read All About It" by Laura Bush and Jenna Bush and "The Mitten" by Jan Brett.

"I love how people that work in other places like the fire department can came in to read to me," said Nicole Weintroub after listening to Hammond read "Diary of a Worm" by Doreen Cronin.

"It was about a worm that had a diary and each day he wrote something different about his day. I like to read and my favorite book is 'Smile' by Raina Telgemeier."