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City National Bank and San Angelo READS! Celebrate Kindergarten Book Giveaway

A man in glasses is sitting in a chair and reading a children's book to a group of young students, with a colorful poster promoting %22San Angelo Reads!%22 displayed in the background.
A man in glasses is reading a book to a group of children seated in front of him, with colorful artwork and a banner reading %22San Angelo Reads!%22 displayed in the background.
A man with glasses is sitting in a chair, holding a children's book and reading it.
A group of children sitting on the floor, listening attentively to a man standing in front of them, surrounded by colorful illustrations on the walls.
A group of children sitting on the floor in a room with superhero-themed decor listening to a man read a book.
A group of children sitting on the floor in a room with superhero-themed decor listening to a man read a book.
A group of children sitting on the floor in a room with superhero-themed decor listening to a man read a book.
A large group of children, both boys and girls, are gathered in a brightly colored indoor sports facility, with basketball hoops and mats visible in the background.
The image shows two people, an older man and a younger woman, holding a sign that says %22#SAISDReads We Love Reading!%22 in front of a display of comic book-style artwork.
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City National Bank and San Angelo READS! Celebrate Kindergarten Book Giveaway

Earlier this month, San Angelo READS! kicked off this year’s Read Alouds with a special visit from City National Bank President and CEO Wrey Montgomery, who read aloud to kindergarteners at Fort Concho Elementary. Students explored the five senses in a fun and memorable way through “You Can’t Taste a Pickle with Your Ear” by Harriet Ziefert, marking the first book giveaway of the year.

Children are naturally curious about how their bodies work – especially their five senses of seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, and tasting. "You Can’t Taste a Pickle with Your Ear" introduces these senses with clear explanations, gentle humor, playful verse, and simple diagrams, helping young readers explore and understand how their senses connect them to the world around them.

“It’s kind of a silly little book that basically went through the five normal senses and did it in a fun way,” said Mr. Montgomery. “They love the pictures in the book. They love the rhyming portion of it at that age. What a fabulous age to start reading.” 

Children are naturally curious about how their bodies work – especially their five senses of seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, and tasting. "You Can’t Taste a Pickle with Your Ear" introduces these senses with clear explanations, gentle humor, playful verse, and simple diagrams, helping young readers explore and understand how their senses connect them to the world around them.

“Reading is fundamental. It’s the foundation for your learning progress as you go through the school systems,” said Mr. Montgomery. We think it’s one of the cornerstones ... City National Bank, we were thrilled to be able to donate these books for every kindergartener in the district. I mean, we feel youth is so important in what we do. Gives our youth a chance to kind of get some stability to start the reading process. Makes us all better citizens going forward. Moms and dads get a chance to read this at night time to the kids. A lot of positive things that go from that. We’re overly blessed to be able to have that opportunity.”

SAISD recognizes the importance of early and continued exposure to reading, fostering a love of reading, and helping to provide access to books and reading materials. The District also appreciates City National Bank for their ongoing partnership and support of literacy, including providing every kindergarten student with a copy of "You Can’t Taste a Pickle with Your Ear.”

To stay up-to-date on San Angelo ISD, please visit the SAISD website at www.saisd.org and follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Keep Reading, San Angelo! #SAISDReads #SanAngeloREADS

About San Angelo READS!

The San Angelo READS! community-wide literacy initiative was founded by the District in 2020 to promote and encourage reading and the SAISD future-ready learner profile attributes among SAISD students and the greater San Angelo community. The goal of the literacy initiative is to increase awareness of the importance of literacy and to inspire a love for reading. This exciting initiative is driven by statistics which show how vitally important literacy is in providing all students with the opportunities to succeed at a young age. Children and teenagers who read for pleasure on a daily or weekly basis score better on reading and writing tests than infrequent or non-readers.

SAISD kicked off San Angelo READS! on December 9, 2020 with the inaugural San Angelo Reads! Day, a day when literacy was celebrated at every SAISD elementary campus with literacy fun like read-ins, unveiling book vending machines and a gift of a book to all SAISD third-graders compliments of the San Angelo Area Foundation. Inside and outside our classrooms, SAISD is committed to building literacy skills which create students who are prepared for future success, thus building a better tomorrow for our students and community.