A program to get children excited about reading conducted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and their foundation will begin Saturday at the Los Angeles Central Library.
Books will be distributed to families for their children, former Dodgers Billy Ashley, Dennis Powell, Al Ferrara and the Dodger character will pose for pictures, and arts and crafts activities will be conducted beginning at noon in the library’s second-floor rotunda.
LA Reads will include the Dodgers’ “Reading Champions” challenge, which will be held through August, rewarding students from first through eight grades who read more than 30 minutes per day with monthly opportunities to be on the field at Dodger Stadium.
Dodger players, coaches, wives, executives and alumni will be reading to children at libraries, schools and nonprofit program sites throughout the baseball season.
“We believe that books and baseball are a perfect fit,” said Claire von Schilling, executive vice president, corporate communications of Penguin Random House, which is providing books for the program.
“In the same way that team sports help children learn to work and play together, books bring together young readers everywhere, expanding their worlds and opening their hearts and minds.”
—City News Service