Putnam County Elementary School students could barely contain their excitement as author Stanley Tucker, better known as “Stan the Man,” spoke to them at a particular flock last Tuesday.
Tucker graduated from Kennesaw State in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. He has since devoted his life to spreading kindness and literacy to children through his books and programs.
Tucker is the driving force behind Leap for Literacy, a program that provides free books to children as rewards for being kind to others. Tucker and his Read ‘n Roll Bookmobile travel to different schools to advocate for literacy. The stated goal of Read ‘n Roll is to improve reading comprehension, inspire imagination, strengthen writing ability, and encourage kindness.
With help from Georgia Writers Museum, Tucker came to spread his positive message to children at PCES, prompting GWM Programs Committee Chair Janet Kelhoffer to observe, “Stan made a significant impact on the students. He was like a rock star.
“There was one boy in the lobby checking in, and Stan had arrived. The kid looked at him, and his mouth dropped open. And he said, ‘I know who you are! You’re Stan the Man!’ Stan turned around, gave him a high five, and the kid was walking on air.”
“I mean, he had a wonderful message. He held their attention. He just had a perfect way of engaging them with critical messages of kindness and doing your best,” Kelhoffer said.
At the beginning of his assembly, Tucker asked the students to close their eyes and think of the most influential people in their lives. He did this before he read his book, Stan and the Man, which tells his story of losing his father at the tender age of eight.
Tucker said his father’s passing inspired him to do something great with his life and live in a way that would make the most important person in his life – his father – proud of him. He urged the students to do the same as they thought about their essential people.
After reading his book, Tucker asked the children to recite his mantra with him: “I will treat everyone with kindness and respect. I’ll give my best effort every single day. I’ll do the right thing when no one is looking. I’ll make my teachers and my family proud.”
With that, he shifted the focus from the mantra to the incredible power each child holds within themselves.
“I’m here to tell you this, and I want you to listen to this. Everybody in here – right now – is an author. You may not have written a book yet, but you’re the author of your life story. And the cool thing about being an author is that you decide how the story goes.”
Tucker then showed a clip from his 2019 appearance on “The Ellen Show,” when he played the Holey Roller game and won $25,000 for his cause. He picked two children from the crowd to play his version of the game, Read ‘n Roller, and through the power of positivity, both kids won the game!
Tucker got the kids excited about reading and doing the right thing. Following his assembly, he visited classrooms. More information about Tucker and his cause can be found online at stanleytucker.com.