Inspiring Words: Al Roker
This TV personality is passionate about helping kids love reading.
You probably know Al Roker best as the Today show weatherman with the sunny disposition, but there's much more to this TV talent than forecasting rain or shine. Roker is a published author, a cartoonist, and the face of "Al's Book Club For Kids," a project in which he teams up with Scholastic. Roker's hope is that the book club, now in its second year, will get kids excited about reading, especially during the summer months when some kids simply stop reading, causing literacy skills to slip. "If they read one book more than they might have," he says, "we 're successful."
Roker has loved books since he was a kid. With his mother's encouragement and his own membership in a summer book club, the Cleveland, OH, native launched a valuable pastime. "Reading's made me a smarter, more rounded person," he says. Roker's childhood passion comes full circle with his own three children: His 5-year-old son loves to snuggle up with Mom and Dad and a book, while his 10-year-old daughter enjoys writing her own stories. Roker's 20-year-old daughter, a culinary arts major, devours cookbooks. "I hope she writes them someday," he says.
In his day job, Roker is all over the map, so to speak, pointing out bands of showers and high-pressure systems. But the 10-time Emmy Award winner is on solid ground when it comes to knowing what makes books cool for kids: "It lets you be someone else without leaving the comfort of your chair, rug, or parent's lap."
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