Salem Routt loves to read Dog Man books, but he never guessed his love for reading would lead to statewide recognition and a school assembly just for him.
The Shearer second grader’s design was chosen as the overall elementary winner out of 35,000 entries in the Hit the Books bookmark design contest sponsored by the Lexington Legends and IHOP.
Shearer staff and students had a blast at the school assembly to announce Salem as the winner with the Legends mascot and Salem’s family present.
“When they showed up at my school to reward me, I felt shocked and surprised,” said Salem. “My parents even came and that was a big surprise.”
The Legends and iHop partner to promote reading with the “Hit the Books” reading incentive program. The bookmark design contest invites students to create artwork that captures the spirit of reading and baseball.
"The act of designing a bookmark often involves thinking about books, favorite characters, or reading in general," said Assistant Principal Lindsey Campbell. "If a contest has a theme, such as this one does, it can prompt students to explore books related to that theme, leading to new reading experiences."
Salem’s entry was chosen out of more than 35,000 entries across the state.
“I was very surprised because it could have been anyone, but it was me,” he said.
When Shearer let its students know the school would be participating, Salem got to work.
“I designed the bookmark by looking up pictures of baseball diamonds and then creating my bookmark from that information,” he said.
Salem’s bookmark will be printed and distributed to elementary students in participating schools, encouraging them to read and participate in the "Hit the Books" program. When students read four books and the teacher signs off, they have a chance to be rewarded with Legends tickets.
“I enjoy reading comics, Dog Man books and many others,” Salem said. “Being a reader makes me happy.”
