By STEVEN JUPITER
SUDBURY—Andrew Gradziel is no ordinary nine-year-old. While many other kids his age are playing video games, you’re more likely to find him buried in a book about military history. Homeschooled by his parents, Marianneanne and David, Andrew is passionate about reading.
“Readers are tomorrow’s leaders,” he asserts confidently in the family’s Sudbury home.
One to put his money where his mouth is, Andrew has invested a goodly chunk of his allowance ($48, to be exact) in a collection of kids’ books that he’s going to be giving away at a first-ever event he’s calling “Reading on the Road” at the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford on Monday, May 19 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Each child that attends the event can choose 2 free books from those Andrew has assembled.
“We’ve raided library book sales” to find books suitable for kids in grades K through 8, said Marianneanne. So far, they’ve gathered 3,500 books, of which Andrew collected 1,100 himself. The remainder came from donations, many from recruits training in the current class at the Police Academy.
Andrew’s father, David, oversees buildings and grounds at the Academy. He knew that each class of recruits takes on a community-service project and thought Andrew’s passion for literacy would appeal to them.
He was right.
David approached Academy Executive Director Christopher Brickell with the idea. Brickell was enthusiastic and asked Andrew to pitch the idea directly to the recruits. Andrew won them over with his trademarked “leadership” phrase, and the plan for the first Reading on the Road event was set in motion.
Andrew has already scheduled other reading events for this summer: he will hold another book fair at the Sudbury Community Center in July and will host read-alouds as well. Marianne posts the events on the Sudbury community page on Facebook.
Andrew built a library book box for the Sudbury Town Office last November. He volunteers to read at area nursing homes. He loves sharing his passion.
“When you read, it feels like you can go on an adventure,” he said. And many of the books he chooses for himself involve historic events like the sinking of the Titanic or the Revolutionary War.
His interest in American military history isn’t superficial: he was recently inducted into the Vermont chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution as its youngest member. His maternal ancestor William Slade of Connecticut fought in the War of Independence. He’s also a direct descendant of Ethan Allen’s brother Ira. And another ancestor was a drummer at the Battle of Lexington.
He also helps the reenactors set up at the Hubbardton Battlefield in July and participated in last weekend’s reenactment of the March to Fort Ticonderoga that began on the Sudbury Town Green. He’d like to be a military medic when he grows up.
His taste for adventure runs deep and he hopes to inspire other kids to find their passions through reading.
So, if you have young kids who love to read, stop by the Academy on the 19th and say hello to Andrew while you pick up a book or two.
