What do Spider-Man, a fire truck, and a fairy tale princess have in common?

They were all present at a Family Literacy Day celebration at Henry Grube Education Centre Saturday morning.

Hundreds of moms, dads, sons and daughters crowded into the facility to enjoy face painting, colouring, storytelling and a variety of other fun activities.

What attracted a lot of attention was the Kamloops Fire and Rescue fire engine parked outside. And a group of firefighters were more than willing lift the children into the cab, let them try on gear and ring a bell.

Elliot Caputo, 4 and his sister, Mikala, 1, toured the fire engine. Elliot enjoyed his time so much that he cut short an interview with The Daily News so he could watch his sister sit in the passenger seat.

His mom, Tamara, said this is the family's first Family Literacy Day event. She appreciates the overall message, which asks parents to spend at least 15 minutes a day reading with their children or engaged in another one-on-one activity.

"I think it's very important," she said, adding the family has done just that this week.

"We haven't had the TV on all week, which is a bit of an adjustment for him (Elliot). But he's kind of bought into the idea of reading instead."

Inside, boys and girls listened to a story read by Kamloops-Thompson school board chairwoman Denise Harper. Others watched a gymnastic demonstration or visited with Scoop, The Daily News mascot.

Every child got a book donated through the Heap the Honda campaign.

Jennifer Boyle has brought her daughters, Gabrielle, 7, and Maddie, 5, to Family Literacy Day for years. Being a teacher, she's a big advocate for reading and writing at a young age.

"It's huge to have that time to read and develop that lifelong love of literacy. It's important for these little guys," said Boyle.

The event wrapped up Family Literacy Week. Maureen Doll, a co-ordinator for the Kamloops Early Language and Literacy Initiative, said an average of 500 people attend each year.