Celebrities Pass the Word: Kids Need to Read

Squirming on the rug of the Moorpark Library, 40 children strained to hear the fate of Betsy, the blue frog.

Reading in a dramatic voice, choreographer Patsy Swayze narrated the tale of “Hop Jump,” in which Betsy teaches other frogs to dance.

“Thank you for listening to me,” Swayze told her audience at the end of her reading, part of a countywide celebration of literacy and libraries. “And read lots of books, maybe next time you can read to me.”

Along with Swayze, the mother of movie star Patrick Swayze, other celebrities and political leaders appeared at branches throughout the county to call attention to National Library Week.

In Ventura, Mayor Tom Buford read “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown at the H.P. Wright Library. And in Port Hueneme, local anchorman Dan Green read Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, The Things You Can Think.”

At the Moorpark Library, 4-year-old Korey Reynolds said his favorite story of the morning was read by Moorpark Mayor Paul Lawrason.

“I liked ‘Silly Sally,’ he said, “because they all walked upside down.”

Library officials hope the event will raise public awareness about the resources available at county libraries and about the plight of funding for the libraries.

Among those who attended Wednesday’s story hour were a dozen youngsters from the United Methodist Rainbow Children’s Center in Moorpark.

Directors at the center had wanted to take their day-care pupils for a field trip to the library earlier in the year. But the library staff no longer has time for field trips because of cutbacks in hours.

Moorpark Library Director Sara Ellinwood said she hopes the readings by celebrities will inspire the children to check out their own library books.

“Kids are the most important thing to our library,” she said. “They become future library users,” she said.