Every year Adam Leitman Bailey travels to underserved schools to motivate, donate, read, and gift books.  This year for Read Across America Day, Mr. Bailey could not refuse an invite from another school that reminded him of his own childhood.  After presenting the school’s principal with a very generous donation check, he was introduced to the first of two first grade classes he would be reading to, or more accurately what I would call entertaining.  

​As soon as Mr. Bailey walked through the door he immediately lit up the room—the children sprang to their feet and I knew that Mr. Bailey was hopeful at least one of these students would fall in love with reading today. His book of choice—his own multi-award winning, Home, and he read that book like a sermon in a church with his pupils, the students, stampering and clamoring with every word.  He understood the students and they understood him.  He gave it his all and the students appreciated it. The teacher looked on this whirlwind of a read, ending with the students voting on their favorite home to live in. Each student was then presented with an autographed book personalized by Mr. Bailey to each individual child, including their name and a greeting.

​As Mr. Bailey, left for his next assigned reading class, Enrico called out, “can you come back again?”  Bailey held the door and turned his head back and said, “I hope so but I know that, that book and all of the books in this classroom and the library will have adventures in them to keep you excited for many years to come.