Today is Read Across America Day. The day was established by the National Education Association to help promote reading in classrooms and homes across America. Knoxville Children’s Library Holly Shelford tells KNIA/KRLS News that reading is crucial, as it is the building blocks for learning in many other areas of education.

As part of Read Across America day, Shelford says the Knoxville Public Library is holding a preschool “play and learn” day. Preschoolers will interact at stations learning some of the very basic reading skills. Many of these activities, Shelford says, can be imitated at home. Things such as “I Spy” games are simple ways for children to interact as well as start learning and understanding comprehension skills as well as the world around them. The “play and learn” will start at 10:30 this morning.

Read Across America day, by the way, coincides with Dr. Seuss’s brithday.