The Seuss-A-Thon event in April, organized by parents Nani Daniels and Stefanie Nelson, featured community members reading books by Dr. Seuss, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birthday of this wizard of words. Community members such as Los Gatos Mayor Steve Glickman shared with students why reading is important and what they do for a living.

Eric Goodrich, a Los Gatos park ranger, read The Lorax to four different classrooms of fifth-graders.

"Part of our department's program is to reach out particularly to youth, because that's the next generation that is going to use our parks," Goodrich said.

Goodrich picked his book about chopping down bright-colored tufts of the truffula trees because it directly related to preserving the environment and his occupation.

"The Lorax is about pollution and lack of conservation, and we are in the opposite business," he said.

Fifth-grader Marcus Devarno asked Goodrich many questions about his job hours and responsibilities, and Marcus also gave an interpretation of the book's moral to the class.

"In the book, the Lorax got really greedy and took all the trees and found out there was nothing left," Marcus said.

After the book presentation and discussion with students, Goodrich said he hoped the children would remember not to litter, especially when they visit Los Gatos parks.

"I've always had a passion for Dr. Seuss personally, even as an adult," Goodrich said. "The author conveys a message that fits what we do. Our message is conservation and respect for Mother Nature."

Longtime Los Gatos community reader Ken Waldvogel, assistant fire chief with the Santa Clara County Fire Department, said reading Horton Hears a Who! to classrooms of first-graders gave him the opportunity to interact with children, which he wouldn't normally do often in his line of work. Waldvogel hoped that after the Seuss-A-Thon, students would develop a better understanding of career choices in the community while taking away some of Theodor "Ted" Seuss Geisel's whimsically related life lessons.

Nelson's second-grade daughter, Brittany, said she enjoys Dr. Seuss books including The Sneetches and The Cat in the Hat. But her all-time first choice is Green Eggs and Ham, which she said she'd also like to try eating one day. Brittany's class listened to community reader Scott Seaman, the chief of the Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Department, read McElligot's Pool during the Seuss-A-Thon.

"The police chief told us about everything on his suit, and said we could come visit his office sometime," Brittany said.

After Seaman read the book, Brittany and her classmates got to work drawing weird fish like those in the story.

The Seuss-A-Thon was sponsored by the Blossom Hill Home and School Club and tied into a book fair focused on literacy. Prior to the weeklong Seuss-A-Thon, the students were given a list of 54 books by Dr. Seuss and challenged to read every book on the list.