Statement made on 23 June 2009 by Senator Jane Cordy
Hon. Jane Cordy:
Honourable senators, today I wish to acknowledge the efforts of the libraries in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, that participated in the Family Literacy Day world record attempt.
The ABC Canada Literacy Foundation organized a nationwide attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for Most Children Reading with an Adult — Multiple Locations. The event took place over a 24-hour period between January 23 and 24 to promote Family Literacy Day.
The rules were simple. The readings had to be 30 minutes long with at least one adult reading aloud for every 35 kids, and everyone must read the same five Robert Munsch stories in this order: Pigs; Mortimer; Purple, Green and Yellow; Murmel, Murmel, Murmel; and Something Good. Anyone who has ever read a Robert Munsch book to a young person knows what fun these books are for both children and adults.
Library branches around Cape Breton participated in the event by hosting reading sessions with media volunteers, police volunteers and other community volunteers who read with the children. A number of the participating libraries held evening reading sessions, where the kids had fun treating the readings as bedtime stories and wore their pyjamas to the library.
The Cape Breton events had 365 children reading a book with an adult. The Nova Scotia events tallied 2,694.
Although the event was successful in surpassing the old record set in 2006, an organization in the United States set a new world record. Even though a new Guinness World Record was not set in Canada, the event was certainly a success. The idea was to get families reading together, and as evidenced by the 121,268 children participating in Canada, the event was a resounding success.
I congratulate not only the volunteers in Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, but those across Canada who know and understand the value of reading to children. What a fun way to celebrate Family Literacy Day.