HURON — How can one small girl with a messy room and a lot of attitude help children and families read together at home? By introducing a character who is fun, engaging and very relatable. Napolean Dynamite producer Sean Covel hopes to bring more reading into thousands of homes.
With the help of the Statewide Family Engagement Council and United Way Black Hills Reads, many schools across South Dakota distributed free books to first graders this week. First graders from Belle Fourche to Beresford, Yankton to Aberdeen and so many in between take home a shiny, new book to read with the “bigs” in their lives.
Rhonda Kludt, board member of the council said that she and others will be delivering the books to first grade students in the Huron School District, Holy Trinity Catholic School, James Valley Christian School and the area colony schools. She is joined on the council by Huronians Kim Olson and Htee Nah.
“Porter the Hoarder” is the creation of three South Dakota natives. Covel is originally from Edgemont. The illustrator, Rebecca Swift, is a famed make-up artist who grew up in Yankton, and the graphic artist, Laurel Antonmarchi, hails from Armour. About the book, Covel says “As South Dakotans, we are deeply proud that all of this began in our home state.”
