This Thursday, March 9, 2023,  the 2nd Annual Lonoke Reads 2023 began in the Gina Cox Center at 5 pm for students in all schools! Lonoke Reads is a huge reading event that takes place from March 9th to April 4th where students, teachers, parents, and more can read one book together at the same time and then discuss it over a few weeks. “Our goal is to inspire community conversations about literature,” reads one of Lonoke Reads’ flyers. This kick-off night for the event invited the community for games, activities, free food, and the reading of the first chapter of this year’s book. The book of choice for 2023 is Frindle by Andrew Clements and it is about a boy who changes his town by what he learned in English class.

During the night, Lonoke invited a few guest readers to excite the students. The guest speakers were Craig O’Neil from THV11 News, Miss Arkansas Ebony Mitchell, and Arkansas Teacher of the Year Jessica Saum. Along with this excitement, there were games and more fun activities at the gym. Lonoke High School Students helped to run events like the bouncy house, face-painting, and more games. Businesses and community members also ran tables of games and information for the younger students to enjoy.

After reading the first chapter together, students are expected to follow along with a reading schedule at home to ensure everyone is reading at the same pace and can converse about the book. The paper schedule was sent home during the kick-off night, but an online version can be accessed at the Lonoke Schools Website.  Community members are invited to join in on the daily reading and literature conversations to build literacy in Lonoke!