Susan Stockdale, author of “Stripes of All Types,” is this year's One Book, Every Young Child ambassador. She will be visiting Butler Public Library Wednesday. Can you identify the stripes at the top of the page? They are, from left, a frog, a fish and a zebra.

Butler County preschoolers and their guardians are invited to dart, sprint or crawl to the Butler Public Library for the PA One Book, Every Young Child author visit at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Writer and illustrator Susan Stockdale, this year's One Book ambassador, will read her picture book, “Stripes of All Types,” for children ages 3 to 6 at an educational story and craft time in the library's downstairs meeting room, 218 N. McKean St.

The event is part of the PA One Book statewide literacy initiative for preschoolers, said Margie Stern, spokesman for PA One Book in Harrisburg.

In its ninth year, the program features a different picture book each spring to develop programs and activities at libraries across the state.

“The importance isn't just books, but how adults read to (children), talk about the book and all of the other things that go along with reading,” Stern said. “We've really tried to add books that are informational text, nonfiction, because we think it's really important to have the kids start off with that and have it building into their school with the common core.”

Stern said the program committee selected the rhyming book “Stripes of All Types” for this year's author tour because it targets a variety of areas in early childhood education.

The book, published in 2013, introduces children to animals around the world with an emphasis on how their stripes help them thrive in their environments, said its author Susan Stockdale. Originally published in English, it was adapted into a bilingual Spanish edition after it was chosen for the 2014 program.“The overarching mission is to really impress upon parents and caregivers of this preschool set that reading early and often to young children is an important and joyous thing to do,” Stockdale said. “It's a great predictor of academic success. A rich vocabulary portends great things for kids academically, and it all starts when they're this age.”Stockdale said it took about a year for her to research, write and hand-illustrate “Stripes of All Types,” which combines science and math with language education.Peter Bess, Butler youth services librarian, said he is excited for area children and their families to attend the event and to learn from Stockdale's presentation.“The focus is on the natural world and the sciences, but it's written at a level that you can talk to the young kids about those animals,” Bess said. “That leads into really nice easy crafts for that age group as well.”In addition to the author visit, Bess said the library has a traveling trunk available for patrons to explore, filled with copies of the book and various educational activities related to animals and their stripes.“Every year they send out a trunk, and we actually send it around to all of the libraries in Butler County,” Bess said. “We keep all the trunks from the previous years as a resource that they can use at any point in time.”Bess said the one-hour event is free and open to all young children and their families.

In addition to the author visit, Bess said the library has a traveling trunk available for patrons to explore, filled with copies of the book and various educational activities related to animals and their stripes.“Every year they send out a trunk, and we actually send it around to all of the libraries in Butler County,” Bess said. “We keep all the trunks from the previous years as a resource that they can use at any point in time.”Bess said the one-hour event is free and open to all young children and their families.

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Author and illustrator Susan Stockdale, this year’s One Book ambassadorsubmitted photo