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Famous Twin promotes reading at Blue Heron Elementary
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| Morneau shares a story with Blue Heron students. In his own time, he said he enjoys baseball-themed books. |
Twins first baseman Justin Morneau and some Blue Heron students admire his birthday cake.
By Ann Fay Contributing Writer
LINO LAKES — Cheers and applause greeted Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau May 13 when he stopped by Blue Heron Elementary School in Lino Lakes to talk about the value of reading, demonstrate his reading skills and discuss his second choice of career — teaching.
Students and staff dressed in Twins shirts and hats. Homemade signs and pictures decorated the walls to welcome the Twins' star player. And some classes greeted the Twins slugger with the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and finished his visit with "Happy Birthday" in recognition of his 27th birthday on May 15. Before leaving the school, he was presented with a birthday cake to take back to the ballpark.
Morneau is the spokesman for the Twins Reading program co-sponsored by the Twins and Cub Foods, and this is his first year visiting schools to promote the subject of reading.
"Blue Heron was the first school chosen to have a Twins player actually come to the school to read to the students," said Principal Dan Melde. "It's great for the students to have a hero or role model come in and read. We hope it will spark an interest in reading to learn and reading just for fun."
Third-graders listened to Morneau read the Parents' Choice Award-winning book "Mudball" by Matt Tavares. It's a story about former Minneapolis Millers player, Andy Oyler and his game-winning hit, which was lost in the mud only a few feet from home plate. After the last page was read, Morneau told the children about his early reading experiences.
"My mom had me pick out a book and she would read to me every night at bedtime," he said. "My favorite was ‘Curious George.' Sometimes I would go to the library and she'd let me pick out a book."
Asked what he reads today, he said he enjoys baseball-themed books, including biographies about Ty Cobb and Cal Ripken, Jr. He also mentioned that he might have ended up as a teacher.
"My mom and my grandpa were teachers, and that's what I would have done," he noted.
Morneau then toured the school, spending time talking to different classes about the benefits and joys of reading.
"Put down the Nintendo and pick up a book once in awhile," he advised. "I learned a lot about baseball history and the guys who played before me by reading books."
He answered questions about growing up in Canada, playing for the Twins, and playing his most memorable game.
"It was the last game of the 2006 season," he said. "We beat the White Sox, 2-1, but it seemed like all 42,000 fans stayed to watch the Kansas City Royals beat (potential Twins opponents) the Detroit Tigers. We won the division and ran around the stadium with all the fans cheering. It was a great day."
After several students asked what he most enjoys about being a Twins player, he described a typical day in his life.
"I get to play baseball every day," he said. "When we have a 7 p.m. game, I usually ride to the stadium with my friend Joe Mauer. We arrive at the ballpark around 1 p.m. and get in some early batting practice to get ready for the game. We are at the ballpark 10 or 12 hours a day. It's really great."
Morneau's visit coincides with another regular reading program at the school. Two years ago, media specialist Kate Eelkema started the "Boys and Books" program, through which male students from Centennial High School come to the elementary classes to read and talk to the students about the importance of reading.
"We started this program to bring positive, male role models into the school to read to younger students," Eelkema said. "Young boys in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade tend to lose interest in reading. By having high school boys come in and read we are hoping to keep them interested in books. Justin Morneau's visit fits right in with this program."
Morneau ended his visit by autographing two books for the school. One will be kept in a special place in the library and the other one will be used as a special prize to be given away by Principal Melde.
Students and staff dressed in Twins shirts and hats. Homemade signs and pictures decorated the walls to welcome the Twins' star player. And some classes greeted the Twins slugger with the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and finished his visit with "Happy Birthday" in recognition of his 27th birthday on May 15. Before leaving the school, he was presented with a birthday cake to take back to the ballpark.
Morneau is the spokesman for the Twins Reading program co-sponsored by the Twins and Cub Foods, and this is his first year visiting schools to promote the subject of reading.
"Blue Heron was the first school chosen to have a Twins player actually come to the school to read to the students," said Principal Dan Melde. "It's great for the students to have a hero or role model come in and read. We hope it will spark an interest in reading to learn and reading just for fun."
Third-graders listened to Morneau read the Parents' Choice Award-winning book "Mudball" by Matt Tavares. It's a story about former Minneapolis Millers player, Andy Oyler and his game-winning hit, which was lost in the mud only a few feet from home plate. After the last page was read, Morneau told the children about his early reading experiences.
"My mom had me pick out a book and she would read to me every night at bedtime," he said. "My favorite was ‘Curious George.' Sometimes I would go to the library and she'd let me pick out a book."
Asked what he reads today, he said he enjoys baseball-themed books, including biographies about Ty Cobb and Cal Ripken, Jr. He also mentioned that he might have ended up as a teacher.
"My mom and my grandpa were teachers, and that's what I would have done," he noted.
Morneau then toured the school, spending time talking to different classes about the benefits and joys of reading.
"Put down the Nintendo and pick up a book once in awhile," he advised. "I learned a lot about baseball history and the guys who played before me by reading books."
He answered questions about growing up in Canada, playing for the Twins, and playing his most memorable game.
"It was the last game of the 2006 season," he said. "We beat the White Sox, 2-1, but it seemed like all 42,000 fans stayed to watch the Kansas City Royals beat (potential Twins opponents) the Detroit Tigers. We won the division and ran around the stadium with all the fans cheering. It was a great day."
After several students asked what he most enjoys about being a Twins player, he described a typical day in his life.
"I get to play baseball every day," he said. "When we have a 7 p.m. game, I usually ride to the stadium with my friend Joe Mauer. We arrive at the ballpark around 1 p.m. and get in some early batting practice to get ready for the game. We are at the ballpark 10 or 12 hours a day. It's really great."
Morneau's visit coincides with another regular reading program at the school. Two years ago, media specialist Kate Eelkema started the "Boys and Books" program, through which male students from Centennial High School come to the elementary classes to read and talk to the students about the importance of reading.
"We started this program to bring positive, male role models into the school to read to younger students," Eelkema said. "Young boys in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade tend to lose interest in reading. By having high school boys come in and read we are hoping to keep them interested in books. Justin Morneau's visit fits right in with this program."
Morneau ended his visit by autographing two books for the school. One will be kept in a special place in the library and the other one will be used as a special prize to be given away by Principal Melde.
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