SAN BENITO — “Look! Look! I am invited to a party.”
How can the petite voice of a 5-year-old resonate with such warmth, excitement and expression?
By reading a book she loves.
Isabela Pierce, a pre-kindergarten student at Sullivan Elementary School, read 200 books this year within a two-month period beginning in January. Those books earned her 100 points under the Accelerated Reading Program.
Lupita Garza, assistant principal, said Isabela or “Bela” is the youngest child to have ever participated in the program at Sullivan Elementary.
“We are very excited to have her here on our campus,” she said. “She’s really encouraging all of our students to read. We use her as our role model to the fourth- and fifth-grade students. She’s very joyful. She’s eager to learn.”
Although Bela’s looking forward to taking a field trip with other Sullivan students who earned 100 points, that’s really just a detail. Her drive for reading is motivated by an intense passion for reading.
In fact, the very word “reading” seems to fail when referring to what Isabela can do with a book.
“Cool. It is cool,” she read without hesitation. “Will you go with me? I have never been to a party. I love parties. Zip. Zap.”
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