LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKBN) – Students at Liberty’s Blott-Guy Elementary School welcomed a special guest for story time Friday.

Kindergarteners at Blott-Guy Elementary were happy to welcome Scrappy, the mascot for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. It was an exciting way to end this year’s Right to Read Week.

“It’s definitely fulfilling to be here and be able to share that experience. Get them exposed to baseball and being able to apply it to education as well, so it’s definitely fun,” said Mahoning Valley General Manager Heather Sahli.

Scrappy sat among the children as they listened to Peggy Parish’s “Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia.”
A fitting story for the mascot of the Valley’s MLB Draft League Team and one that the students enjoyed.

Rhiannon Bartlett said she liked the book so much, “Because it’s silly,” she said.

Kindergarten teacher Fran Klanica said books are great for learning language and listening skills.

“Books are great for enriching vocabulary and children’s comprehension and being able to give them language experiences and listening skills that they’ll need to further their education in school,” Klanica said.

Scrappy’s visit also served as a kickoff for the mascot’s Scholars Reading Club, which encourages kids to read.

“Kids can read five books. They get a bookmark. Their teacher can mark it off that they read, then they can redeem that at the Scrappers Box Office for a free ticket to a game this summer,” Sahli said.

Ja’Corey Shade said he likes reading “100%!”