Okafor Hosts Reading Timeout At Irwin Avenue Elementary

What do you get when a 6-10 basketball superstar, a local children’s author and a Big Red Dog drop by a school for a visit?

You get an afternoon full of fun and adventure.

Such was the case at Irwin Avenue Elementary on Monday, March 13, as Bobcats forward Emeka Okafor, author Kimberly P. Johnson and Clifford the Big Red Dog hosted a Reading Timeout in conjunction with Scholastic.

With more than 500 students gathered in the school’s gymnasium, Johnson introduced Clifford and then Okafor to a deafening ovation.

Okafor captured the children’s attention as he and Johnson selected two lucky students to join him at the front of the room as guest readers. Together the trio read the book J is for Jumpshot: A Basketball Alphabet to the student body.

The book takes the reader on an adventure as they explore the game of basketball letter by letter.

Seeing Okafor read this book to them is something that will have a definite impact on the students at Irwin Elementary.

“Our kids will remember,” said Irwin Avenue Principal Judy Fahl as she talked about the event. “Seeing him read out loud was very special to the kids. Any time we model those types of behavior to the kids, they learn that it’s okay to be a reader, especially when they see Emeka doing it. They think of the NBA as only being basketball players; they don’t think about them being readers.”

Following the reading of the story, Okafor fielded questions from several students, giving him the opportunity to further impart the importance of reading and education to the kids.

Okafor knows how critical it is to teach important lessons to kids when they are young.

“It’s all about getting them early,” he said. “Kids just soak up everything. Their minds are like sponges.”

“It was really important for the Bobcats to come out, especially Emeka Okafor,” remarked Laura Carroll, Field Services Manager for Scholastic Book Fairs. “The kids just went berserk. Just to have him here was really special for the school. They really loved seeing one of their heroes come talk to them about reading. Nothing excites the kids more about reading than to see their heroes such as sports figures like Emeka Okafor or their parents, brothers or sister reading.”

In addition to the reading timeout, Okafor is also featured in another project by Scholastic, a book titled Hardwood Heroes.

“Hardwood Heroes is a great book that we feature in the book fairs right now,” explained Carroll. “It has Emeka Okafor on the cover, as well as some other NBA stars. What’s terrific about it is it’s a great book for kids to read to learn about some their favorite stars, and it’s also great for kids who are reluctant readers to get them interested in reading and encourages them to pick up other books.”

Okafor also hopes his visit will encourage the kids to become better readers.

“It was fun,” he said. “I liked coming out and encouraging kids to read and help them better themselves and establish good habits early.”