Read To Children

Actress Jada Pinkett, called away by Universal for a shoot, has canceled her appearance at the Walters Art Gallery on Sunday. She was going to read to children as part of "Lasting Impressions," a celebration of black history featuring an exhibit of children's book illustrations.The reading probably won't be rescheduled, the Walters says, but today at 2 p.m., pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson will read. Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke will be on hand at 2 p.m. March 30 for another free reading.

Georgianna H. Price, an outgoing and friendly librarian who enjoyed sharing her love of reading with children, died of congestive heart failure July 4 at University of Maryland Medical Center. The longtime Columbia resident was 72. She was born Georgianna Hunter in Brooklyn, N.Y., the daughter of a college chemistry professor, and graduated from high school in Hampton, Va. In 1955, she married Army officer George B. Price, who during a 28-year career attained the rank of brigadier general and moved his family numerous times.

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills, and to assist with related projects. Among them: The Gateway at Admiral Oaks, 430 Captain's Circle, Annapolis, is seeking volunteers to tutor and read to children in grades one through eight at its after-school Homework Club from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. Information: Rick Gross or Kathie Cronin, 410-280-2172. If your school or organization would like to be included in this listing, call Sundial at 410-783- 1800 and enter code 6130.

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills, and to assist with related projects. Among them: The Gateway at Admiral Oaks, 430 Captain's Circle, Annapolis, is seeking volunteers to tutor and read to children in grades one through eight at its after-school Homework Club from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. Information: Rick Gross or Kathie Cronin, 410-280-2172. If your school or organization would like to be included in this listing, call Sundial at 410-783- 1800 and enter code 6130.

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills. Among them: Corpus Christi Community Center, 703 Whitelock St., Baltimore, which operates a three-day-a-week tutoring program for children ages 8 to 12. Volunteers are needed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Contact: Mariano DiDonato, 410-521-5822. Garrett Heights Elementary School, 2800 Ailsa Ave., Baltimore, for tutoring or to read to children in grades two, three and four for a summer school program to begin June 28. Hours will be 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.

Breaking the news to parents that a child has a reading disability is hardly an easy job. But even more painful, remembers William Balant, a retired reading specialist who worked in Montgomery County schools, was the parents' reaction: tears and guilt."

AN EASTER tradition continued at St. Stephen's Reformed Episcopal Church in Eldersburg on Sunday when the Sunday School program presented its annual Easter play. Children have performed a play at Easter and Christmas for more than a dozen years.Under the direction of teachers Frances Frey and Suzette Godman, 14 youngsters presented "Easter Praise Parade." The play told the Easter story through a group of neighborhood children planning and preparing to hold a parade through their town.Emily Riddle, Stephanie Carney, Jill Bankard, Brooke Laur and Brian Crouse had the primary roles.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush confessed yesterday to having said "a bad word . . . a really naughty word" in front of a lady.The elementary school children to whom the president made the admission didn't judge him too harshly, though.One of them presented him with a green bookmark in the treelike shape of Mr. Bush's least favorite vegetable, prompting him to wrinkle his nose and ask how many liked broccoli. At least half raised their hands.It all happened at the White House, where Mr. Bush read fairy tales and poems yesterday to 15 first- and second-graders from Zachary Taylor Elementary School in nearby Arlington, Va., as part of Read Aloud Day, a nationwide program to encourage adults to read to children.

At Agape House in Southwest Baltimore, summer camp is over, the games are finished and the field trips done. But for children at area elementary schools, the fun that accompanies learning will continue at an after-school reading program run by the Carrollton Avenue organization. Agape House, a faith-based community outreach organization, offers the reading program to children younger than 6 in conjunction with the Southwestern Consortium of Baltimore's Success By 6, a public-private partnership that works to prepare young children for school.

A $59,000 grant in Baltimore County is expected to make it easier for parents and caregivers to give their preschoolers a head start on reading and will also provide them with activities through the county public library system. The federal grant will be used by Baltimore County Public Library for a volunteer-based program called "Baby Boosters" that will reach out to preschoolers, their parents and caregivers in the community. The project is part of a statewide move by public and private organizations to ensure that all children are ready to learn reading by age 5. "Once kids are school age, there are a lot of things for them to do when it comes to reading," said Kathy Coster, marketing and programming manager for the county library.

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills. Among them: Corpus Christi Community Center, 703 Whitelock St., Baltimore, which operates a three-day-a-week tutoring program for children ages 8 to 12. Volunteers are needed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Contact: Mariano DiDonato, 410-521-5822. Garrett Heights Elementary School, 2800 Ailsa Ave., Baltimore, for tutoring or to read to children in grades two, three and four for a summer school program to begin June 28. Hours will be 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.

The Cat in the Hat cheered Thursday morning as each of the 27 third-graders at Bentalou Elementary School -- on command -- tore through green paper on individually wrapped gifts to find three books that each could take home to their own library. By logging more than 500 books read in little more than a month, pupils at the West Baltimore school won $1,000 for books from Saturn Corp., in a contest intended to help celebrate the nationwide "Read Across America" day festivities. Held each year on March 2, Dr. Seuss' birthday, Read Across America day is sponsored by the National Education Association to encourage adults to read to children.

Breaking the news to parents that a child has a reading disability is hardly an easy job. But even more painful, remembers William Balant, a retired reading specialist who worked in Montgomery County schools, was the parents' reaction: tears and guilt."

AN EASTER tradition continued at St. Stephen's Reformed Episcopal Church in Eldersburg on Sunday when the Sunday School program presented its annual Easter play. Children have performed a play at Easter and Christmas for more than a dozen years.Under the direction of teachers Frances Frey and Suzette Godman, 14 youngsters presented "Easter Praise Parade." The play told the Easter story through a group of neighborhood children planning and preparing to hold a parade through their town.Emily Riddle, Stephanie Carney, Jill Bankard, Brooke Laur and Brian Crouse had the primary roles.