The girls and boys in the Hannig Family Children’s Center had a surprise visitor on April 18. It wasn’t the cat in the hat. It was a state legislator in a hat. Mario Scavello , who represents legislative district 176, stopped by to share the joy of reading with the children as they celebrated the “Week of the Young Child.” He also got to share a bowl of soup. “The children had read a story called “Stone Soup” earlier in the week,” explains head teacher Faye Freer , “so we made soup, and invited Mr. Scavello to stay for lunch.” A good time was had by all. Each child got to take home a copy of “Up, Down and Around” - the book Representative Scavello read. And there weren’t really stones in the soup.

As part of the Week of the Young Child, the Northampton Community College Library provided story time sessions at both the Main and Monroe campuses. Children from both Reibman Hall and Hannig Family Children’s Centers and those in the family literacy program were given copies of the book "Up Down and Around" as a gift from the library to encourage reading. This book, written by Katherine Ayers and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcot,t is the 2008 selection for the statewide program called One Book, Every Young Child.