School Marks Read Across America Day With Green Hair and Ham

Faye Sarfan had a brown mop top. Now it’s green--a sheen of green, not brown, her crown on top.

Sarfan, principal of Augusta Mayo Elementary School, promised she would dye her hair green if her students read 700,000 pages before Thursday, designated by the National Education Assn. as Read Across America day. The annual event marks youth literacy and coincides with the birthday of Theodor Geisel--Dr. Seuss, the creator of the Cat in the Hat, the Grinch and Sam-I-Am.

Mayo students responded by reading 800,000 pages, and Sarfan made good on her word. Seated on the school stage, she giggled as her hairdresser applied the goop.

“Yeah, it’s worth it seeing her hair green,” third-grader William Franks said when it was all over. “It’s tight.”

Throughout Los Angeles County, students and teachers in dozens of schools donned the red and white Cat in the Hat hats and read aloud from their favorite Dr. Seuss books.

In the Cahuenga Pass, Valley View Elementary Principal Linda Williams cracked open “Yertle the Turtle.” She said it was her favorite because she has pet turtles.

In Northridge, librarian Jeannie Varnuska figured that if anyone could get Andasol Avenue Elementary students hooked on reading, it would be the Dr. Seuss characters themselves.

So on Tuesday, she dressed as Daisy May, complete with a daisy sprouting from her scalp. On Wednesday, she was an elephant. By Thursday, she was in a cat suit and bright red tie.

All 552 Andasol students contributed patches of construction paper for a 60-foot long “quilt” showing the books they have read this year. Students who completed at least 25 Dr. Seuss books received a green eggs and ham breakfast on Thursday.