C

ivic and community leaders and about 200 preschool children came together Thursday at the Boston Public Library to celebrate a fun, affirming ritual: the simple act of reading together.

The Read for the Record event is an annual campaign that is run by a national educational organization, Jumpstart, to encourage literacy among children of all backgrounds.

The program, now in its 11th year, included a reading from the state’s first lady, Lauren Baker, of the children’s book “The Bear Ate Your Sandwich,’’ by Julia Sarcone-Roach.

“We emphasize the importance of adults reading with children, and we can lift our voices about the importance of education equity,’’ Jumpstart chief executive Naila Bolus said by phone after the event. “We have a goal that all children will enter kindergarten able to succeed, no matter their ZIP code.’’

As part of the campaign, organizers try to break the record of the most people reading the same book on the same day around the globe. Jumpstart prints a Spanish edition of its special campaign book every year; it was the first time Sarcone-Roach’s book has been translated in that language.

Mark Reilly, the regional vice president of Jumpstart, said this year’s Boston turnout was higher than in recent years.

“That’s in part because of how we structured the event,’’ Reilly said. “Last year we did a bunch of separate classroom-by-classroom reading events.’’

Reilly said the program returned to the public library after renovations in recent years had made it challenging to host the event in the historic building.

Children who participated in the program began their day with activities and dramatic readings from a series of special guests, including Massachusetts Education Secretary James Peyser, Boston Public Library president David Leonard, and Linda Pizzuti Henry, managing director of The Boston Globe.

Bolus said the organization was pleased with the turnout of both children and special guests.

“We are able to engage millions of people across the country and across the world so they can express their support for higher quality early learning that can break that cycle of inter-generational poverty,’’ she said.

Olivia Quintana can be reached at olivia.quintana@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @oliviasquintana.