WEST DES MOINES – Read Across Iowa kicked off this week with dozens of events around the state and a live, virtual read aloud of the book “My Family’s Soybean Farm” by the author, Katie Oltoff. Read Across Iowa is a month-long celebration of the joys of reading to students of all ages, making all children feel valued and welcomed. Agriculturally themed Read Across Iowa events feature books and materials about agriculture that will appeal to all readers.

To help educators and parents celebrate, more than 850 packets of books were distributed. The kit included books like “My Family’s Soybean Farm,” “Full of Beans: Henry Ford Grows a Car,” “Carlos and the Cornfield,” “Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic,” and “Las Calabacitas de Zora” (Zora’s Zucchini). The kit also included read aloud tips, parent tips and more. The books and materials are estimated to impact more than 10,000 Iowa students. Research shows that reading to children and having books in the home is one of the strongest predictors of school success. Children who read and listen to books hear a greater variety of words – up to 50% more – leading to a better vocabulary than those who watch media.

“I truly appreciate the books and the topic,” said Kristi Tjelle Waller of Council Bluffs Community School District. “I grew up with many farmers in my family and my father managed grain elevators across Iowa. I am so excited to share these with my students during March.”

As a part of the program, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach offices and local Agriculture in the Classroom coordinators have been assisting local educators in participating in the celebrations. As one example, ISU Extension and Outreach Clay County and Clay County Farm Bureau organized a StoryWalk in Spencer. A StoryWalk is a fun, physically-distanced activity that places a children’s story — a deconstructed book, page by page — along a walking route in the community. Along the way, families will engage in literacy activities while learning about the subject of the book. Cedar County and Dubuque County will also be hosting StoryWalk events. Counties all over the state are hosting read alouds.

Other activities for the month of celebrations will include live, virtual read alouds from some of the books’ authors. Katherine Pryor will read her book on March 10 and Peggy Thomas will read her book on March 23, which is also National Ag Day. In the Loess Hills region of the state more than 20 classrooms have signed up to have a farmer come in and read one of the books to their class. The students will be able to ask questions and learn more about local agriculture.

Read Across Iowa is organized as a collaborative effort between the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa 4-H Youth Development, and the Iowa State Education Association. Some books and materials were provided by donations and grants from Dollar General, GROWMARK, the National Education Association, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, and other partners of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation.

To learn more about this program and how you can get involved, visit IowaAgLiteracy.org.