By Pvt. Anastasia Rakowsky

Military children and their parents enjoy story time. | Photo credit DVIDS/Pvt. Anastasia Rakowsky

Parents and their children were invited to the Fort Drum USO on Dec. 9th for a special reading of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” book by Dr. Seuss.

(Fun fact, did you know that Dr. Seuss was in the Army?)

The story was read by Maj. Gen. Brian J. Mennes as part of the USO’s ongoing Story Time Program.

USO Fort Drum Story Time is a monthly reading program geared to children, between the ages of four to seven, and their parents. The program, which has been going on for three years, provides an excellent chance for children to socialize with others, learn about reading and experience a new, classic book each month.

Children participating in the event receive a free snack, listen to book reading by a rotating cast of special guests and participate in a craft based on the book after the reading. This month, participants got to decorate their own Christmas cookies, sit around a Christmas tree and take home their very own copy of Dr. Seuss’s classic holiday book.

Photo credit DVIDS/Pvt. Anastasia Rakowsky

Military children and their parents enjoy story time.

“We try to bring in different leaders from around base to read,” said Sydney Schlosser, a USO staff member for two and a half years.

“It was fun to share one of my favorite childhood stories with these children.”

Military children enjoy story time. | Photo credit DVIDS/Pvt. Anastasia Rakowsky

Tickets for the event are made available on the first of the month at 9 a.m. on USO Fort Drum’s Facebook page, where 50 families can sign up on a first-come, first-serve basis. Ticketholders can participate in either the 3:30 p.m. or the 5:30 p.m. session. Each family also receives a copy of the book of the month to take home.

-This story originally appeared on DVIDS.net. It has been edited for USO.org