Chef Mario Batali promotes literacy for kids at new library inside Acelero Spring Valley learning center

“There is no such thing as a child who hates to read,” said Jessica Halling, director of the Acelero Spring Valley Learning Center. “There are only children who have not found the right book.”

With the recent opening of a new Books for Kids/Mario Batali Foundation Library at the 2845 Mohawk St. learning center, children will have a greater opportunity to seek out the right book.

Celebrity chef Mario Batali — sporting a pair of his signature orange Crocs — was joined by Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Congresswoman Dina Titus, and Amanda Hirsh, executive director of Books for Kids, at the library’s March 29 opening.

Batali marked the occasion by reading the Dr. Seuss classic “Green Eggs and Ham” to preschoolers at the center.

Throughout the reading, little voices whispered, “Is that Mario?”

“I’m Mario, you silly goose; it’s me,” Batali responded.

He added that the moral of “Green Eggs and Ham” is to dare to try.

“Sometimes you think you don’t like something, and then you try it,” he said. “Whether it’s a shirt or mowing the lawn or having some green eggs and ham or your favorite cupcake with raspberries, it’s always worth it to try something.”

The new 161-square-foot library is designed to allow kids to try something new. It holds nearly 1,000 books, many for bilingual readers. The bright, colorful room also features reading nooks and a clock bearing the suggestion “Time to Read.”

Batali said the library — the third he has helped open in Southern Nevada — is about more than books; it’s about where they can take you.

“Literacy is confidence,” Batali said. “Literacy is the ability to understand. Literacy is the building block to logic and also for creativity.”

Batali said that in a time when almost everything is being read on cellphones and tablets, “It’s nice to have a place to go where you know you can find pages to touch, to smell, to live in, to be a part of. And that’s what we’re really all about. It’s about creating a comfortable place to explore your own mind, develop your creativity, become something valuable not only to yourself but to your family and also to society.”

Batali said the center is about providing kids with the freedom to explore books.

“There is no cookie cutter for intelligence,” he said. “There is no way or recipe to follow exactly. It’s allowing them to free themselves in their own minds in a place like this.”

If there were a recipe for success, Halling is convinced reading would be a major ingredient.

“Parents and guardians that read to their children are setting their preschool children up for a lifetime of stronger language skills, communication skills and strong academic success,” she said. “Access to a library within the school will bring books to families and students in ways that not have been available before.”

Titus said the center is in the heart of District 1, the area she represents, and as an educator, she can appreciate the impact the library will have.

“I know how important it is that children have books that they can hold and take home and learn to love and have their worlds expanded by reading them,” she said.

For more information about the Acelero Spring Valley Learning Center, visit alcc.acelero.net/spring-valley. For more on Books for Kids, visit booksforkids.org. For more on Batali’s foundation, visit mariobatalifoundation.org.

To reach View contributing reporter Ginger Meurer, email gmeurer@viewnews.com. Find her on Twitter: @gingermmm.