The Cat in the Hat Celebrates a Seussical Birthday

Saturday March 2, 2014, the Colton Public Library held a birthday party for none other than the famed author Dr. Seuss. Coinciding with the annual Read Across America Day, the party was held by the Friends of the Colton Library. Although heavy rain pelted the grounds outside, approximately 50 children and parents came to join the birthday celebration. After a short greeting to the crowd from Children’s Activities Coordinator Christine Juedes, library volunteers Adrianne Sandoval and Stephanie Becerril read two of the doctor’s classic tales, Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat, respectively. Once the stories were over, the children played games themed towards the storybook characters, including throwing blocks decorated with fruit at a bin marked ‘Throw the Fruit to the Bar-ba-loot!' and lining up for a version of Pin the Tale on the Donkey called 'Pin the Hat on the Cat' where they had to match up the hat on the Cat in the Hat character. The big hit of the party was the Thing 1 and Thing 2 cut out picture area, where the children scrambled to have their picture taken with their siblings or friends as one of the crazy "Things" from the Cat in the Hat book. After game time, cake and ice cream was served by Friends of the Library President Linda Tripp, Secretary Pam Chavez and library volunteer Cydney Chavez. Valerie, Jenny and Emily Rivas had come to the library with their caregiver Rachel Loupe of Colton. “Once I saw the announcement about the Dr. Seuss party at 2 p.m.,” said Loupe, “I just knew we had to stay and have some fun!” Avionna Johnson, 6, was posing for pictures by her dad Bobby Hunter, and was brought to the event by her grandmother Theresa Porter of Colton. “I can tell you this,” said Johnson, “I am having a good day! I loved the Pin the Hat on the Cat, and I loved throwing the fruit.” She said she comes to the library often and hopes to be a cowgirl when she grows up. For 8-year-old Jasmine Almazan, she was thrilled to have come to the library for this occasion, pointing out her aunt standing nearby with 16 books she had picked up to read. “I come to the library about every 2 weeks, and I get a lot of books,” said Almazan. “The library is cool. My favorite stories are the Judy B. Jones series.” Juedes had announced to the children that Saturday marked the beginning of the Colton Library’s In–N- Out Reading program. For children ages 4-12, if they read 5 books by April 12, they can get a free In-N-Out hamburger. She also announced that in mid-April a musician will be coming to the library and would bring at least 10 instruments for the children to learn about.