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NC first lady Kristin Cooper hosts family reading session, sets priorities

North Carolina's first lady Kristin Cooper hosted a special story time for children and families as part of the Wake Up and Read initiative.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina's first lady Kristin Cooper hosted a special story time for children and families as part of the Wake Up and Read initiative. Until March 4, books will be collected at various locations throughout Wake County. The goal is to inspire, equip and empower children to read.

Cooper said she and her husband, Governor Roy Cooper, always talked about the importance of reading to their children, and she wants to continue passing that message along to other kids.

"I think that teaching children a love of reading is very important, and Roy and I always read to our girls as they were growing up," she said.

She said she plans to focus on issues that involve children, particularly childhood poverty. Cooper said this a precursor to what will be one of her primary concerns as her husband takes on the leadership role for North Carolina. She said she wants children to have equal opportunities to succeed.

"There's so many children growing up in homes who don't have that chance, who aren't exposed to books and instilling in kids at an early age a love of books I think is one of the most valuable things that you can do to ensure their future success," Cooper said. "I think that there's nothing that's more important to that goal than being educated and being literate."

Governor Roy Cooper's campaign focused largely on education. And on his official website, education is listed as one of five primary issues he'll focus on. Within his education plan, Cooper said he wants more funding for Pre-K programs and a childcare tax credit.

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