At Glenview Elementary School on Friday, reading was at the top of class lists -- and it seemed everyone was ready to pitch in. After all, there was a lofty goal at the end of the day: raising enough money to help fund the school library.

"It's been closed for awhile," said parent Marc Liggin, one of the reading day organizers.

While guest readers flipped through books in one classroom, other students had a hands-on lesson in making "toad pizza" poetry.

Ralph Scott of Too Nuts Productions led a class through an off-the-wall poetry-making workshop Friday that put an emphasis on word play and double meanings -- with a "bare bear" poem, for instance.

"Toad pizza is definitely kind of nutty," Scott said, as students picked words from a hat and then had to make a slice of poetry. When the class was finished, students put the slices together to make a whole pie of toad-themed poetry.

Throughout the school, there was plenty of reading -- and fun. The day was meant to reward students, who had worked for weeks seeking pledges and then reading books to earn money.

Last year, the school raised $18,000, but this year the goal was set at $25,000 -- enough money to reopen the library and pay for a person to staff it, said Liggin. The total amount raised has not yet been calculated.

Liggin, who has a daughter in first grade at the school, said parent volunteer support has been huge, as the school embarked on the fund-raising drive and read-a-thon.

Principal Deitra Atkins credited the parent-teacher association for the fund-raising drive, but said the read-a-thon also goes beyond simply earning money.

With guest readers, poetry workshops and even stage plays, the students get an in-depth, hands-on look at the world of arts and letters, she said.

"They are well-rounded students," she said.