Story time with James Earl Jones just part of special donation

An animated James Earl Jones reads “Skippyjon Jones” to local preschool children Monday after Verizon donated $25,000 to the United Way of South Hampton Roads for its literacy efforts. (Vicki Cronis photos/The Virginian-Pilot)

By MATTHEW JONES
The Virginian-Pilot

NORFOLK — James Earl Jones has spoken many memorable lines in his inimitable voice over his 40-year career.

He can now add this one:

“Holy guacamole!”

It went over very well with the preschool crowd .

Jones was in town for a storybook reading Monday morning as Verizon made a donation to the United Way of South Hampton Roads for its literacy efforts.

The adults in the audience sat politely through speeches, as did the dozen children from Portsmouth’s Ida Barbour Early Learning Center.

Verizon then gave the United Way a $25,000 check for its Raising a Reader campaign, a lending program that provides young children a weekly bag of books to take home and read with their parents.

Then it was show time.

“Here I come! Here I come!” the voice boomed from the back of the room as everyone pivoted in their chairs. Jones, in blazer and slacks, strode up the center aisle to the lectern.

No longer Verizon’s spokesman, he still travels for the company, championing his literacy message. After a few remarks, he sat in front of the restless children.

Reading aloud helped Jones overcome a severe stutter as a child and led to a long, award-winning acting career which led to two Tony awards, Kennedy Center honors and countless notable roles.

But he’s arguably most known for his basso profundo, which nowadays intones: “This is CNN.”

Depending on the age of the listener, it’s remembered either as Darth Vader in “Star Wars” (“… I am your father ”) or King Mufasa in Disney’s “The Lion King.” For the Ida Barbour children Monday, it was all about an impish Siamese cat named Skippyjon Jones. “No relation,” Jones noted.

“Every morning, Skippyjon Jones woke up with the birds,” he began in his Shakespearean finest. The children followed along with their own copies, promptly answering all of Jones’ rhetorical questions, shouting “Turn the page!” whenever he slowed down.

“I get the job done, yes indeed-o,” he continued, stopping halfway through the book and enticing the children to finish it on their own.

After the reading, Jones posed for photos with myriad combinations of fans, his quiet asides rumbling through the room, ruffling the blinds behind him. At one point, the Ida Barbour children gathered around like Ewoks.

The Force was all around them.

Reach Matthew Jones at (757) 446-2949 or matthew.jones@pilotonline.com.

The book’s main character, Siamese cat Skippyjon Jones, is “no relation,” James Earl Jones told the children.