Bridgeport 1st graders gifted book

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) -- To encourage reading, all first graders in Bridgeport got a copy of a children's book about the first day of school.

The book is called "Miss Mingo and the First Day of School" and the author, Jamie Harper, was on hand to read it to students at Discovery Magnet School.

"It's basically about the first day of school and how the teacher, who is a flamingo, tries to bring them all together and make them more comfortable by having them share something special about themselves, which is actually a real fact about the animal, so it's both fiction and non-fiction," Harper said.

It was a big hit with the kids, each of whom had a favorite part.

"Miss Flamingo on her first day of school," said one first grader at Discovery Magnet School.

"It was when they went in the tub," said a classmate.

More than 2,400 copies were specially ordered for the city's first graders. The effort was funded by the Bridgeport Education Fund.

"A lot of our kids come from very humble backgrounds and they'll probably read this book all year round and read it again," Mayor Bill Finch said. "It's a fun book."

After the book reading, the kids rushed back to their desks to turn the pages themselves.

"I like reading because the pictures sometimes are funny," one student said.

"You get to imagine you were in the book and you're doing the stuff that the picture does," said another.