PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy reads “Amelia Bedelia 4 Mayor” to Julie O’Shea’s class of second-graders.
BY BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — Mayor Judith Flanigan Kennedy visited the Sewell-Anderson Elementary School to read a story to Julie O’Shea’s second grade class Thursday afternoon.
The children gathered around and Kennedy read “Amelia Bedelia 4 Mayor” by Herman Parish, a story about a girl named Amelia who is encouraged to run for mayor after her employer complains about the mayor never doing what he is supposed to do.
In the story, Amelia intends to physically run to town hall, rather than run for the position, but soon finds herself on a political campaign. The Amelia Bedelia books are known for the main character’s literal-mindedness and quirky puns.
“I like the Amelia Bedelia books because they have these puns,” Kennedy said. “I stop and ask them ‘do you know what that means?’ and explain it to them.
“This particular book is good because she is running for mayor,” she said.
Kennedy also engaged in a discussion with the children about what her job is like, what some of her responsibilities are, and what the students want to become when they get older.
The second-graders told Kennedy that they want to become everything from artists to firefighters to sled-dog mushers.
Kennedy asked the students if they knew who is running for president. The students eagerly raised their hands to list off each candidate.
Kennedy said she enjoys visiting Lynn schools and finds it important for children to see adults having an interest in reading.
“I read to the students a couple of times a month at different schools across the city,” Kennedy said. “They need to see that the adults in their lives are lifelong readers. It doesn’t matter if they’re teachers, business people, elected officials, athletes. We’re all required to read.”
Before Kennedy arrived at the school, the 21 seven- and eight-year-olds excitedly asked O’Shea a slew of questions, she said.
“They loved it,” O’Shea said. “They were all excited. They wanted to know what the mayor looks like, the jobs she does. We had her picture pulled up on our SMART Board.
“They kept asking ‘how much longer’ and looking at the clock and saying ‘she will be here (soon),” she said. “It was like we had a celebrity coming in. They asked a lot of questions about a woman being the mayor of the city.”
Also in attendance was Brant Duncan, president of the Lynn Teachers Union, who informed the class that each child would be going home with a copy of “Amelia Bedelia 4 Mayor.”
The books will be provided by the Lynn Teachers Union and the Mayor’s office.
“We have been purchasing books through First Book, a national nonprofit,” Duncan said. “I was flipping through this particular book and showed it to the mayor and she loved it too.”
“She did a wonderful job,” O’Shea said. “I’m very pleased she picked our class. It’s an honor for our mayor to come read to our students.”
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.