Lansing - Students whispered "the mayor is here" and "look, it's the mayor" as Tony Benavides walked into a classroom at Gunnisonville Elementary School.
The excited third-graders from Marion Norwood and Erin Sermak's class were anticipating a book reading by Lansing's mayor.
Benavides came to the elementary school, 1454 E. Clark Road, as part of a "March is Reading Month" celebration.
Elementary schools around the Lansing area have a variety of guest readers coming in throughout the month.
Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III visited in early March for the kickoff of the reading month and Gov. Jennifer Granholm also read to an elementary school.
"Reading is an important subject all the time and we are constantly teaching that in schools but March is set aside to give reading a little bit more attention," said Lansing Public Schools spokesman Mark Mayes.
Benavides agreed the reading month is an asset to area schools.
"We want to make sure we stay in touch with all the students," Benavides said. "The ability to read is the foundation for students' success in school and in life."
Stumbling over Benavides' name, the students spouted off questions for the mayor.
Benavides smiled as he replied with a "yes" before proceeding with introducing the book he was about to read to about 30 students, "The Woman who Outshone the Sun" by Alejandro Cruz Martinez.
The story about a Hispanic woman reflected Benavides' own culture. As he read, he explained what certain words meant and told personal anecdotes to add to the student's understanding of the book.
"I took a position during my State of the City address that I would champion for education and children," he said. "I am committed to do anything I can to promote and establish the importance of reading and writing to our kids."
The children asked for pictures with the mayor and questioned him about how many kids he has and how old he is.
Each one of the students had written Benavides a personal letter after he had to cancel his last visit to the school.
The kids were very excited and were looking forward to meeting him, Norwood said.
"Mr. Benavides coming here has a great impact on the kids," Norwood said. "It's important for the children to be lifelong readers. They often don't realize they need to read and write for all professions"
