x
Breaking News
More () »

Love of reading lands Knoxville 1st grader a dinner at governor's mansion

Hannah logged at least 2,000 minutes of reading this summer! She read so much that she and other elementary school readers got to attend a special dinner at the governor's mansion.

Monday was 6-year-old Hannah Spradling's first day of first grade at Cedar Bluff Elementary School.

She may be young, but she's read a lot of books.

"Maybe 100?" guessed Hannah.

It's something she really loves to do.

"They're really fun to read and they can help me learn," she said.

Hannah read enough this summer to get special recognition from Governor Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam.

"[He said] that I was special," said Hannah.

Hannah logged at least 2,000 minutes of reading this summer.

She was competing in the First Lady's Statewide Summer Reading Competition.

When she hit her goal, Hannah was chosen in a lottery as one of 100 elementary school readers statewide to go to a special dinner at the governor's mansion.

"I couldn't believe it," said Hannah's mom Lauren. "I knew that we had a chance of going and I knew she was young and I didn't know how that factored in, but we were pretty shocked and really excited."

Hannah and her mom made the trip to Nashville for the Sunday night dinner.

They dined with the governor, first lady and 99 other young readers.

"It was really fancy, and there's a room called the sunroom which was really cool, too," said Hannah. "And they laid the red rug down."

It's all part of the first lady's push for kids to start reading early on.

Hannah's mom said the the dinner helped her daughter see where reading can take you.

"She normally is pretty shy and pretty drawn back," said Lauren. "But knowing I think everyone there was a reader like she was, she's really come out of her shell more with this."

A former English teacher, Lauren started reading with her kids at a young age and hopes other parents will do the same.

"She can only progress," said Lauren. "She won't go backwards in reading. There's never going to be a time where she regrets reading a book."

Hannah wants to be in the top 100 readers again next summer.

That competition is open to all elementary school students in Tennessee.

Before You Leave, Check This Out