PHOTO BY BARB BARRETT Students from Ashkar Elementary School celebrate Dr. Seuss and his birthday with the acclaimed story "Horton Hears a Who!" Taken from a character in the book, Horton the Elephant, and standing behind the display are (left to right): Evan Stetts, Jacob Gottshall, Joseph Brown, Carsyn Stout, Cayliana Stout, Makayla Miller, Hayden Harmon and Caiden Puderbach.

HUGHESVILLE – It’s been a family tradition for many years to celebrate the birthday of well known children’s author, Dr. Seuss. On Thursday, February 26 the Parent Teacher Association at Ashkar Elementary school celebrated with a Dr. Seuss Book Bingo.

The student gymnasium was nearly filled to capacity. Families with their school aged children kept arriving until there were no more table spaces left. Hundreds of books lined the walls with donations from Scholastic and fundraisers held at the school.

Tina Miller, chair of the event, said that planning and support from the parents and teachers was outstanding. The event centered around the book, ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ written by Dr. Seuss in 1954 and has been very popular ever since.

Parents created a display for photo opportunities using the main character, Horton the Elephant. “The parents built it,” said school principal, Sherry Cowburn who couldn’t believe how many families came out in the cold weather to experience this family activity. “We do a different theme every year, and every child will leave with a free book tonight,” she said.

Amanda Emig was emcee throughout the evening, cheering on the students as they would win a bingo on their card, promoting them to keep playing for those free books.

PHOTO BY BARB BARRETT/The Luminary Ashkar principal, Sherry Cowburn (center) is playing Dr. Seuss Book Bingo with the students on Thursday night as they play to win a free book.

By the end of the evening, many of the children had up to four or five books to take home. Everybody was a winner. “It’s a family event,” said Miller and sponsored by ‘Children All Across America Can Read.’

March 2nd is ‘Read Across America Day’, and a gateway to encourage children and families to read together. Supported by the National Education Association, it is a way to build literacy and empower students to read.

Over 1,000 books were given away that night. They were collected throughout the school year, many of them from Scholastic Book sales and fairs.

The first bingo winner of the night was Gillian Way who also won a gift certificate to Hoopla’s and Zachary Gottshall was the “Cat In the Hat” for the evening.

PHOTO BY BARB BARRETT/The Luminary Sixth grade student, Zachary Gottshall scans the gymnasium during Dr. Seuss Book Bingo night. Over 1,000 books were given away and all children went home with at least two or three books to read.