World record attempt made for Family Literacy Day

Twenty-five little Jasperites contributed to the national world record attempt for the most children reading with an adult in multiple locations last Friday, as a prelude to Family Literacy Day.

Though results won’t be available for a few weeks, the current Guinness World Record was set by the US, with 78,791 children reading in 2006. Before the event, more than 190,000 Canadians had signed up to take part.

The official book for the record attempt was Munschworks 2, a compilation of stories by author Robert Munsch, which was read at the Jasper daycare by childcare worker Jessica Alleyne. 

Witness Ginette Marcoux-Frigon officiated Jasper’s entry by watching to ensure all of the recorded children were present and paying attention to the story. Organizers across the country could hold the event any time within a 24-hour period starting at 12 p.m. MST on Jan. 23. Readings in Jasper were held at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. that day.

Family Literacy Day is a national awareness initiative created by ABC Canada and Honda Canada in 1999 and held on January 27 each year to promote the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.

According to the ABC Canada Literacy Foundation, 42 per cent of adult Canadians have low literacy skills that do not enable them to cope with the demands of everyday life and work, and of those 42 per cent, 15 per cent function at the lowest level where individuals may, for example, be unable to read the dosage instructions on a medicine bottle.

Locally, the event was a joint venture by the Jasper children’s centre and Parent Link.