Ravens Mascot Poe Helps Kids Get Ready For Back To School
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- While the Ravens get ready for their football season to start, mascot Poe is helping students prepare to go back to school.
Poe is hosting six pop-up story times for families at the Baltimore County Public Library branches to promote literacy. His second event was held at the Cockeysville branch Wednesday morning.
Since the energetic mascot only whistles, he acts out the stories while they are read aloud. Poe's clever moves off the field captivated the young fans who were excited to see the mascot up-close.
"It just makes it exciting to see someone they are a fan of, engaged in reading, excited about reading, it gets them excited about reading too," said parent Erin Jackson who brought her two young children to the library.
Encouraging reading is an important mission for both the library and the Ravens, especially during the summer months when school is out.
"So important that these kids have someone such as Poe encouraging them to read because it's going to help them throughout their lives, not just now but as they grow and get older," said Ravens Events Coordinator Jordyn Johnson.
Literacy is an essential skill for all ages. The Baltimore County Public Library holds special reading events for families all year and hopes to expand their partnership with the Ravens' beyond the summer.
"Reading is so important, it teaches empathy, it teaches kindness, and it helps illustrate one's world if you will, it should be a part of everyone's day and we here at the library like to talk about that and act on that whenever we can," said Baltimore County Public Library spokesperson Erica Palmisano.
After Poe acted out the stories, he spent time signing autographs and taking selfies with his fans.
"It just gets the kids back familiar with Poe again, gets them ready and excited and kind of acts like a literacy pep-rally so to speak for the season, gets them ready for school, school kicks off at the same time as the season so it gets them ready to go," said Ravens' Events Coordinator Jordyn Johnson.
A win-win for the young Ravens flock, preparing to go back to school and getting pumped up for their birds to return.
Poe has four more pop-up storytimes planned in Baltimore County:
- Monday, July 30 Randallstown branch 1:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Aug. 8 North point branch 10:45 a.m.
- Wednesday, Aug. 15 Reisterstown branch 11:45 a.m.
- Wednesday, Aug. 22 Arbutus branch 10:45 a.m.
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