Read-Across-America, guest readers come to CDC Published March 9, 2007 By Amy Oliver 1st SOW Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- "I will pick up the hook. You will see something new. Two things. And I call them Thing One and Thing Two - Have no fear, little fish,' said the Cat in the Hat. 'These things are good things.' And he gave them a pat." This year marks the 10th anniversary of the national reading celebration, Read-Across-America. It also marks the 50th birthday of Dr. Seuss' "Cat in the Hat." For the fourth year, the Hurlburt Field Child Development Center participated in the nationwide program March 2, with guest readers and a book fair. "The purpose of the event is to promote reading, not only by the child but together with parents," said Lisa LaConte, CDC director. "The number one thing parents can do to prepare their child for success in school is to read with them beginning in infancy." Parents and invited guests visited the CDC throughout the day and read books to the children. Ms. Alexis Tibbetts, Okaloosa County superintendent of schools, read "Oh the Places You'll Go," a classic Dr. Seuss story peppered with life lessons, to a group of four-year-olds. "Boys and girls, the most important thing you can do when you go to school next year is learn to read," Ms. Tibbetts told the pre-kindergartners. The children hung on Ms. Tibbetts' words as she explained all of the challenges experienced by the story's main character, often relating them to life experiences of the four-year-olds. "He just appeals to all age groups," Ms. Tibbetts said.