Students read to children at Scottdale Fall Festival

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Caitlyn Slezak in Features // 0 Comments

As the leaves begin to change and music can be heard through the streets of Scottdale, it can only mean one thing, the Scottdale Fall Festival returned. To add to the lovely feel of fall, one Southmoreland High School student decided to bring her own festive joy to the community by reading to children.

Sophomore Elle Kenney came up with a creative way to share her love of books with younger children.

On Sept. 16, Elle hosted “Fall in Love with a Good Book” where she and her friends set up booths and read various children’s books to children. To bring the books more to life, Kenney and her friends even dressed up as different characters from the books they read.

“I feel that the costumes really helped immerse the kids into the story and made it more enjoyable for all of us!” said Kenney.

Although the booths were only open for a few hours, many children stopped by for a listen and a snack. All the kids left with a bigger appreciation for books and a huge smile on their face.

“At one point, while we were walking around, a little girl pointed at us and said, ‘Hey, those are the girls that read to us!’ to her dad,” said Elle. She was happy to make their day and make them excited about books.

Kenney plans to open the books again at next year’s Scottdale Fall Festival and is already working on ways to bring her booths to different events throughout the year.