Rep. Kitty Rhoades reads "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" to a group of attentive children in the Senate Parlor.

By Sarah Jancich

A lucky group of children put on red and white stovepipe hats Wednesday (June 13, 2001) and spent a day of summer vacation reading with a favorite Dr. Seuss character.

The children gathered in the Senate Parlor at the State Capitol to listen as the Cat joined with four legislators and other special guests to read books aloud. The event illustrated the value of having small classes in which teachers can communicate on a more personal level with their students.

The event was part of the Great Schools Lobby Day, in which public school advocates came to the Capitol to promote funding for quality education. One of their key messages was support for full funding of the SAGE (Student Achievement Guarantee in Education) class-size reduction program.

The children clearly enjoyed listening to the Dr. Seuss stories, and the readers appreciated the intimacy involved in reading to a small group of children.

• Sen. Kimberly Plache of Racine read Dr. Seuss' "Hop on Pop" to the children.
• Sen. Richard Grobschmidt of South Milwaukee read "The Cat in the Hat," which some of the children said was their favorite book.
• Rep. Kitty Rhoades of Hudson dropped by the reading circle in time to share "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom," a story about the alphabet, with the children.
• Sen. Jon Erpenbach of Middleton captivated the kids with "One Fish Two Fish."

After each story, the politicians gave the book to one of the children, who also looked forward to the juice and cookie reception that followed the readings.

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Posted June 14, 2001