Joplin, Mo. – Dr. Seuss once said: “You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.”

Thursday morning, Freeman President and Chief Executive Officer Paula Baker, Chief Financial Officer Steve Graddy, and Dr. Adam Fahrenholtz, Freeman’s Medical Director of Hospitalist Services, read their favorite Dr. Seuss book to a group of 30 preschool children at the Freeman Learning Center in Joplin. They were joined by the Cat in the Hat, a popular Dr. Seuss character who appears regularly in programming on Ozarks Public Television’s PBS Kids.

Stories shared included Green Eggs and Ham, read by Paula Baker; One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent, read by Steve Graddy, and Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!, read by Dr. Fahrenholtz.

The event was organized by Freeman Health System and the Ozarks Public Television to help promote reading skills and develop the kids’ love of reading, which is fundamental to learning.