A celebration of reading

Published 2:21 pm Wednesday, March 12, 2025

By Heath Harrison

Guests visit DBE for annual Seuss-themed day

DEERING — An annual tradition continued on Friday at Dawson-Bryant Elementary School as guest readers visited as part of Read Across America week.

Principal Monica Mahlmeister said, altogether, there were nearly 40 guests, who were given a book from the works of Dr. Seuss, for whose birthday the event is themed.

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After assembling in the school’s cafeteria, guests were greeted by pairs of students, dressed as the author’s characters, who took them to their assigned classrooms, where they read titles such as “The Cat in the Hat,” “The Lorax” and “Horton Hears a Who.”

The guests included regulars, such as Lawrence County Auditor Paul David Knipp, Ironton Municipal Judge Kevin Waldo and fitness and yoga instructor Viviane Khounlavong.

There were also newcomers, such as a group of Dawson-Bryant High School students and State Rep. Jason Stephens, the former Ohio Speaker of the House.

One returning for a second year was Jamie Lima, a Coal Grove native and graduate of the school district, who returned home last year with her husband, after working in the New York City area for 20 years.

“I kept up with the school on Facebook and social media,” she said, adding that she is a parent of a third grader at the school. “and it is special for me to be able to come back. Dawson-Bryant Elementary does such a wonderful job celebrating Read Across America week, getting the children excited about books and reading, and I am thrilled to be a part of the fun as a guest reader.”

Lima said she is passionate about children’s education, with her career spent in youth enrichment and music education.

And, since her visit last year, Lima has taken on a new position that is appropriate to the school’s event, now focusing on literacy.

She is the West Virginia director for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, working out of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. 

Lima said the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library book gifting program serves children across the Tri-State, providing free enrollment from birth to age five, delivering a home library of books promoting school readiness, long-term academic achievement and family engagement.

“Early literacy has such depth and positive impact setting children up for a lifetime of success,” she said.

One book per month is mailed to each child, personally addressed to them, and signed “Love, Dolly,” Lima said.

“The books provide something special and consistent for the children,” she said. “(The Dolly Parton Imagination Library) proudly serves foster families and grandfamilies, and nurtures positive interactions centered around books and reading aloud together, developing a healthy emotional and behavioral foundation during formative years.”

Enrollment in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is available statewide in Ohio, West Virginia and, most recently, Kentucky. To enroll a child, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com.

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