Reading is fun! Especially when it’s paired with a big open space to run.

Homewood-Flossmoor High School’s wrestling team members were in the practice room in the school’s fieldhouse Monday, Jan. 19, where they met little children to read to as their Leaders Are Readers Day of Service for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

When the youngsters weren’t being read to, they used the space to run and play games.

This is the 11th annual Village of Flossmoor MLK Day program that has groups working on various projects that included food drives, making blankets for cancer patients, making cards for shut-ins, a blood drive and the H-F project to read to kids.

Ethan Dukes, a sophomore who wrestles in the 132-pound weight class, had his younger brother, Ian, 8, with him. During the two-hour event, Ian took on a variety of tasks, including picking up items for the team. In between practices, Ethan took time out to read to his brother.

Ian, a second grader at Willow School in Homewood, admitted he doesn’t like to read, but he knows “you learn a lot” from books. Ian said when he visits the school library, he doesn’t just pick books about animals or sports. He selects books from all categories.

Jenne Farley of Homewood brought books to donate to the selection table. The Leaders Are Readers program had a table manned by members of the National Honor Society that was overflowing with reading materials. Farley’s kids, and all kids who came in from the cold for the event, could select books from the pile to take home. At the end of the program, the remaining books were donated.