Giddy up and get to the Zoo on Tuesday, April 7 for Read Across Oklahoma 2009: Reading Round-Up. Children 11 and under can mosey around grounds from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and visit different animal information stations where they will learn fun facts and receive a souvenir sticker. Plus, the first 1,000 children 11 and under to attend the event will receive a free book courtesy of Target!

Hold on partner, there's more! Approximately 1,500 preschoolers will travel to the Zoo for Read Across Oklahoma as part of the Ready to Learn program, an initiative of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA). With Target's sponsorship, these little cowboys and cowgirls will be provided an extraordinary day of learning. While at the Zoo, they will enjoy animal information stations, take a class picture with popular PBS characters and Bullseye, the Target dog, eat lunch and attend a live story telling production of Cowboy Camp by Edmond author Tammi Sauer. With assistance from Capitol Hill High School's drama students, Kelley Riha from Metropolitan Library System, and the author herself, Cowboy Camp will come to life for these students through this fun and interactive story time.

Each preschooler in the Ready to learn program will leave the Zoo with a complimentary copy of Cowboy Camp to take home and enjoy, courtesy of Target, Oklahoma Department of Libraries, and the Krueger Charitable Foundation! Student volunteers from Metro Tech and Capitol Hill High School's  Family Community and Career Leaders of America (FCCLA) Chapter will be on hand to assist the preschoolers on their adventure!

The Ready to Learn initiative is a unique collaboration bewteen the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and OETA that promotes literacy and helps build the foundation for a lifetime of learning. Specifically, Ready to Learn targets preschool children who may bt at-risk for low literacy. Studies have shown that instilling a love of reading at an early age increases a child's lifetime capacity to learn.

Event sponsors include OETA, Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Target, Capitol Hill High School/FCCLA, Metro Tech, Krueger Charitable Foundation, Metropolitan Library System, Chesapeake Energy, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, OZS ZooFriends, and the Zoo. Please join us at the Zoo to celebrate Read Across Oklahoma or to celebrate the day by reading to your child or by visiting the library.

Visit the Oklahoma City zoo, the state's #1 attraction and one of the top three family friendly zoos in the nation. The wild is calling! Located at NE 52nd at Martin Luther King Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK, 73111, in the heart of Oklahoma City's Adventure District, the Zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. From April through September, the Zoo will remain open until 8 p.m. on Saturdays with exhibit buildings and Dinosaurs Unearthed closing at 7:45 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults and $4 for children ages three to 11 and seniors age 65 and older. Children two and under are free. For more information, call (405) 424-3344 or visit www.okczoo.com.

-okczoo-