Dr. Seuss at Dutchess Day School

MILLBROOK — The three-day celebration of books and reading at the Dutchess Day School (DDS) was an enormous success, according to its organizers.

The DDS gym was transformed into a festive, funny, Dr. Seuss land by the mothers of the schools’ students with balloons, feathers, paint and imagination. One wall was covered with hundreds of colorful books made from recycled cereal boxes, and everywhere there were banners reminding students of the importance of reading. One such encouragement read, “Oh, the places you will go,� to quote Dr. Seuss. The annual book fair, which was open to the entire community, began Thursday, Dec. 3 and ended Saturday, Dec. 5.

On Friday a panel of four parent authors addressed the DDS student body and took questions from seventh-graders. Asked what inspired them to write, James Sheldon, a playwright, said, “mythology.â€� Jennifer Donnelly, author of the Rose Trilogy, said, “old English phraseologyâ€� and Susanna Hill simply replied, “everyday life.â€�   

A special author’s table featured the books of each parent author with their book recommendations for their child’s grade. Donnelly recommended “Where the Wild Things Areâ€� to first-graders. Hill, whose daughter is in the seventh grade, suggested Nancy Drew books.  Carole Maso, the author of “The Art Lover,â€� recommended Oscar Wilde’s book of short stories, “The Happy Prince,â€� and Sheldon’s pick was Edith Hamilton’s classic, “Mythology.â€�

The fair was crowded on Saturday morning when Suzanne McGovern, a friend of the school, read aloud from her book, “Gator and Pete,� about a real horse who lives on a happy horse farm in Pine Plains.

Seventh- and eighth-graders set up a booth by the cash register to sell bags of Costa Rican coffee to help fund their spring break trip to Costa Rica. About 16 students accompanied by parents and teachers will spend 10 days in Costa Rica living with local families, learning about sea turtles and the ecology of Costa Rica, and traveling by zip wire through the jungle canopy.

More than 200 people purchased books at the fair, which was held in conjunction with Merritt Books of Millbrook. In addition to books for sale, there were activities like the fish toss, face painting (where Carlos Berroa, a corrections officer from Westchester, painstakingly created Grinches and Loraxes on young faces) and a balloon lady who fashioned Seuss head gear.

All of the elaborate Dr. Seuss-inspired decorations were saved after the event to be donated to the children’s reading area at the new Pine Plains Library.

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