Rollins, Phanatic entertain school kids

01/26/2006
PHILADELPHIA -- Jimmy Rollins helped the Phillie Phanatic travel to Japan, Australia, Mexico and Holland on Thursday, and return in time for lunch.
Such was the whirlwind morning for the Phanatic and Rollins at the latest stop of the Phillies Winter Tour Caravan. The duo stopped by the Isaac A. Sheppard School in Philadelphia to read "The Phillie Phanatic's Phantastic Journey" to an assembly of 300 first- through fourth-graders.
The school was selected as one of the winners of the Phillies' Be a Phanatic About Reading Program, in which 73,000 students from 3,000 classrooms participated. The amount of time spent reading was chronicled -- at least 15 minutes a night and in some cases up to an hour -- and the Phanatic plans to visit the top 30 schools.
Teacher Andrea Kohn's third-grade class, Room 301, was responsible for Thursday's visit. Rollins read the story, which shuttles the Phanatic around the world in search of baseball and other cultural experiences, while the Phanatic acted out scenes.
"It's always special to see the smiles on the kids' faces, especially at this age," Rollins said. "I remember one time when Rickey Henderson came to speak to us. I got a real kick out of it. I really enjoy doing these things."
Of course, Rollins didn't get away with just reading the story. The Phanatic made sure to keep him involved, having him wear a sombrero in Mexico and wooden shoes in Holland. Rollins, also a showman, happily obliged.
"I couldn't walk around Holland in those," said Rollins, jokingly wincing. "But that's the thing. You get to interact with these kids at their place as a human being, not just as a baseball player. They get to see us in regular clothes, and we get to play around and be funny."
The fun also included the Phanatic's typical brand of crowd-pleasing interaction, dancing and singing with the children. After the assembly, Rollins read to a kindergarten class.
This is the second year for the Phanatic's program that encourages children to improve literacy skills. Separately, Rollins in 2002 started the J-Roll's Readers Club, which is run by Philadelphia Reads.
"Phantastic Journey" is the third in a series of four books by Tom Burgoyne, a "close friend" of the Phanatic. A fifth book is on the way.
"The Phanatic wants to emphasize that reading in fun," Burgoyne said. "These books are a great way to describe the life and times of the Phanatic. It also lets us spend the day interacting with kids, which is perfect, because the Phanatic doesn't plan on growing up."

Source: http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/