March 5 was “Read Across America Day.” The featured book for the week was the new Dr. Seuss’ book, “What Pet Should I Get?” which was published in July.

At Bacon District Elementary School, this book was shared with each class during their library time. In the book, a brother and sister get to go to a pet store to choose a pet.

After looking at many different animals, they must decide on only one pet to take home. Dr. Seuss’ ending encouraged the children to reach their own conclusion to the story.

As a follow-up activity, Allyson Watkins, the librarian, invited Joanne Catron, lead special education teacher for Charlotte County and exotic pet lover, to visit some library classes on Thursday, March 10. Catron and her daughter, Annie, brought their mystery pet.

First, Watkins made a list of pets, which the students named. Catron was asked if her mystery pet was on the list.

After she said no, the children had to ask questions about the pet in order to make a logical prediction as to the identity of the mystery guest.

Some of the questions that the children asked were the size and the color of the pet, the type of animal and what the animal ate. After the predications were made, Catron and Annie introduced their pet, Dragon, the bearded tail dragon.

Then she allowed the students to touch Dragon.

“It is always a wonderful learning experience for our students when individuals from our community can share their knowledge,” said Watkins.