Local students read for the record

Melia Moore had the full attention of 20 kindergartners.

"I was nervous at first, but as I read I was more comfortable," said the 10-year-old. "They really liked the book."

Melia was one of 10 fifth-graders who read The Very Hungry Catepillar, by Eric Carle, to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten pupils at Sue Reynolds Elementary School on Oct. 8 during Jumpstart's Read for the Record campaign.

Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver and Richmond County school board member Alex Howard also read.

"You could tell the students really enjoyed having someone read to them," said the school's principal, Melissa Shepard. "It was nice to see them smiling and so excited about reading."

The Read for the Record campaign was a nationwide initiative to break the world record for the largest shared reading experience. It also promoted literacy and the importance of reading.

"We always encourage students to read, but this helped to stress the importance of taking the time to read to others and let others read to you," Dr. Shepard said.

Reading with others is something Melia, the second-oldest of five girls, already does with her sisters.

"I love to read, especially to my younger sisters," she said. "They like books about princesses, so I read those kind of books to them a lot."

All public elementary schools in Richmond County participated in the campaign.

Information is still being gathered from the participants, Jumpstart's director of public relations and marketing, Jodi Hullinger, wrote in an e-mail. A final total of participants, expected at the end of the month, will determine whether the world record was broken.