Lake County Gazette

For this edition of Bookmarks, Mat Aubuchon, Executive Director of Learning Services for WPS, shared his book recommendations for young readers. Aubuchon is responsible for the district’s early literacy efforts and the initiative to provide reading support in every kindergarten classroom.

Aubuchon recommended two books: “Stanley’s Wild Ride” and “Stanley’s Party.” He wrote, “My family and I used to love to read books about an adventurous and mischievous dog named Stanley. His misadventures in both Stanley’s Wild Ride and Stanley’s Party made us laugh and laugh when my boys were young. These were favorites that we would routinely check out of the library whenever we would go as a family. The boys used to check these books out over and over.”

The Stanley series was written by Linda Bailey and illustrated by Bill Slaven. Bailey said the stories are based on her own dog: “Sophie was a goof and a clown, and she gave me at least half of my laugh-out-louds each day. After watching her for years, I turned her into Stanley — a book-dog who gets to do what Sophie only dreamed of doing. Have parties! Ride skateboards! Go to sea!”

Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 represents Lake County schools including elementary, middle, high schools, magnet programs, and an early learning center. More information about the district's composition can be found at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/. The district serves a diverse student population that is 79.5 percent Hispanic, 13.2 percent Black, 3.2 percent White, and 1.3 percent Asian according to state data (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). There are 1,014 teachers in the district with an average salary of $63,524; most are women (71.1 percent), with no teacher having more than ten absences per school year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In 2020, Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 spent $23,429 per student for a total expenditure of $359 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

Readers are encouraged to visit Bookmarks to share their favorite titles or recommend books for young readers.