How cool is that? The Governor of Michigan reading my book! In honor of “Read Aloud Month” and “National Nutrition Month”, Governor Rick Snyder visited Traverse Heights Elementary School in Traverse City, Michigan and read “Discover the MAGIC of Rainbows” to the students and their parents.
As often happens when reading to kids, chaos broke out just as he was getting ready to read. A cute little girl sitting right in front of him stood up, looked up in the bleachers cried out loudly, “MOM…I DON’T HAVE MY BOOK!” She took off and ran up in the bleachers to get the book given to her by the Traverse City Area Public Schools. It started a mass exodus of kids who had also had forgotten to bring their books for the reading.
Governor Snyder handled it in good humor, like a seasoned father. He grinned, leaned back and waited for the kids to regroup. I suspect he knew on an intuitive level that being Governor in this setting was less important than being the Reader.
From a personal perspective as the author and illustrator, it was great to see the expressions on kid’s faces when they got the book and then as he read it. Kids don’t mask their emotions and the look of joy when they received the book was priceless. They paid rapt attention as he read, a good sign that the message of eating a rainbow diet was being well-received.
My hope is that kids start looking at their plate and recognize the value of the colors represented by fruit and vegetables. If they do, change can happen. A good healthy diet including fresh fruits and vegetables along with exercise can be the cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle reversing the trends of childhood obesity and diabetes.
The special day was sponsored, among others, by the “Michigan Land Use Institute”, a strong proponent of farm to table and local food economies. We all know the best source of food is grown by farmers in your own locale because it is picked fresh and at the peak of goodness. Produce grown for nutrition is a lot better for you than produce grown for shipping.
EAT A RAINBOW!!!