JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — It's quality time, one page at a time, for Patrick Slagle and his daughter Leah.

"Anytime we can spend reading together is great, we really enjoy it," said Patrick.

What You Need To Know

  • Elementary school students are taking part in the annual One District, One Book program

  • This year, kids are reading "Because of Winn Dixie"

  • Next year, there will be a greater emphasis on One State, One Book featuring "The Lemonade War"

The book, "Because of Winn Dixie," is the story of a young girl, going through tough times at home with her family, who ends up finding a dog at a grocery store and embarks on a journey making new friends along the way.

"It's fun to read it at home. It's special to me because we get so much time to read and we usually read at night when it's quiet," said Leah, a third-grader at Bush Elementary School.

"This gives us half an hour that we're able to just connect, find out what she's doing in school, and to read and we can ask each other questions. So, it's just a great way to bond," said Patrick.

Not only is Leah reading the book at home, but she's also reading it at school. In fact, all elementary school students across the district are reading the same book and doing related assignments and activities, as part of One District, One Book, a nationwide literacy initiative to strengthen the bond between districts and families through reading.

Bush Elementary Principal Kate Benson introduced it to her district three years ago, after taking part with her kids when she lived in Corning. 

"The community partnerships have gotten bigger and better, and the outreach has gotten bigger and better. We're all here to achieve the same goal which is we want our children to succeed in this community and part of that is through reading," said Benson.

Staff, students and families actually voted for the book following the results of a community-wide survey.

"It just emphasizes the shared mission and vision that we have, which is to see every child learning here every day and want that learning to continue at home as well," said Kate.

That's embraced at the Slagles' home.

"I think reading's important, both in school and at home. To have this opportunity to continue, teaching outside of the classroom I think is great," said Patrick.

Every district across New York will all get a chance to be on the same page with the One State, One Book initiative, featuring "The Lemonade War," set to roll out in March.