Young Readers Focus of Annual Read Across America Celebration
On March 2,1998, the National Education Association (NEA) launched an annual celebration – a celebration of reading – and named that celebration “Read Across America Day.” The specific date chosen was intentional, as it marked the birthday of well-known children’s author, Theodor Seuss Giesel, more widely known as Dr. Seuss.
For 28 years, the Read Across America (RAA) program has been marked with enthusiasm and fun activities designed to encourage in young readers a love of reading. While the celebration was initially designated as a one-day event, it was expanded by the NEA into a week-long celebration. Read Across America Week for 2026 will be March 2nd-6th, with the theme, “Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers.”
With the primary goal of fostering literacy among young readers, the Read Across America program is not, however, limited to this one-week timeframe in March. The NEA has developed resources and activities for educators, parents, caregivers, and children themselves to keep reading throughout the year, including a monthly book selection, themed activities, and links to free materials.
SDHC is proud to advocate for and support the development of literacy and a love of reading across the lifespan. Our annual Young Readers One Book program provides a free book to every third-grade student in the state, with a total of 15,000 books delivered to every public, private, and tribal/BIE school at the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
For more information about SDHC’s Young Readers One Book program, visit https://sdhumanities.org/young-readers/. For more information about the Read Across America program, as well as access to the resources available from the NEA, visit https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/read-across-america