“How much are the books?”
“Are these really
free?”
“How many am I allowed
to take home?”
These were the
questions we were excitedly asked all afternoon at Family Fun Day last week in
Holyoke, where Reader to Reader gave out almost 400 books. Families with
children from infants to teenagers were invited downtown to Heritage State Park
to take part in fun kids’ activities and talk to representatives from local
organizations.
Reader to Reader ‘s table
was stacked high with children’s, young adult, and adult books, surrounded by an eager crowd of children and
parents the entire afternoon! Everyone enjoyed themselves pouring over the
books and selecting their favorites to take home.
Parents talked amongst themselves about how
much their young children loved reading out loud together, and how happy they
were to add new selections to their home reading options.
One mother with two
young toddlers said she was relieved and grateful to have the new books to
keep, because she gets so worried that her babies will tear the pages of
library books that she finds it hard to enjoy the time spent reading with them.
Meanwhile school age
children were bursting with enthusiasm looking through the piles as they found
books about some of their most beloved characters, books focusing on a theme
that they were interested in, or something new that sparked their curiosity.
Two of the most passionate
young readers we met, a fifth grader and a seventh grader, circled back again
and again over the course of the afternoon, checking if it was okay for them to
take another book home with them.
Of course the answer
was yes! Go forth and read!
Funding
for our Massachusetts book donations comes from the Xeric Foundation and the
F.I.S.H. Foundation, Inc.
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