Senator Reads Across America with Local Author

March 3, 2015 - PRLog -- Maryland Senator Edward R. Reilly celebrated the National Education Association's Read Across America Day this year by donating copies of Valerie Ormond's latest book, "Believing In Horses, Too," to schools in his district. Ormond is an award-winning author, and hails from Bowie, Md., the setting of her books. Reilly recognized Ormond in the Senate Chamber on Tuesday, March 3^rd, and urged support for local authors.

“Believing In Horses, Too” tells the story of a young girl, Sadie Navarro, a member of a military family. Sadie worries about her Navy father serving in Afghanistan and turns to her love of horses to distract her from her problems. But Sadie learns that both competition and equine-assisted therapy work also present challenges, and she must find courage to achieve her goals.

Father Ron Carmada said, “Ormond allows her 13-year-old heroine to realistically grow up with the help of honest parents, teachers, mentors, and bullies. Yes, bullies and antagonists can offer great opportunities for growth.”

Reilly donated copies of Ormond’s first book, “Believing In Horses” to schools in his district in 2011. Ormond visited a number of those schools and participated in a year-long book club at Nantucket Elementary School in Crofton, Md.

Nantucket’s Library Media Specialist Nawal Miller said, “I invited Ms. Ormond to come to the school to sign books and speak to the students. This began a year-long partnership that I know our students will never forget. Ms. Ormond instilled in our students the value of volunteerism and importance of animal welfare. Because of the book, our book club even held a small fundraiser to help rescue horses.”

Both of Ormond’s books won the Gold Medal in Young Adult books from the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA), among other awards. The MWSA lead reviewer, Jim Greenwald said, “In a time where children are dismissed as unimportant, lazy or simply overly attached to their electronic world, Sadie demonstrates page after page what hard work and relentless effort can attain.”

Ormond said, “I am so honored to be part of the Read Across America program. Of all the books Senator Reilly could have chosen, it is very special that he chose “Believing In Horses, Too,” which will now be available to thousands of children in public school libraries.”

For more information about the book or author, please visit http://believinginhorses.com.