"I am already in Chapter 6." student
Take a glance at this stack of delicious looking books. Every one is a gem. As I examined the titles, I felt that these wonderful stories deserved to be in the hands of some very special kids. Fortunately I recently found the perfect little hands, hearts, and minds for these treasures: A class of third grade students were designated by the school as "economically disadvantaged". Sadly, their family finances mean that book ownership is a luxury. |
You have no idea how thrilling it was to meet with this excited group of youngsters and inform them that today they were going to get a book of their very own. A book to keep. A book that each could write his or her name in. A book that would never ever be due back to any school or library.
They broke into huge smiles. Their faces were glowing.
I placed the gift books on a nearby table, and briefly described each one. Then small groups of children were invited to peruse the book display and choose a book. They looked over the selection carefully, whispering to themselves and each other. When the choice was made, they quickly returned to their seats, anxious to open this book. Their very own book. A book to keep and treasure.
Eventually they wanted to write and draw pictures about their personal books. The photos below show some of their responses. Their teacher reported that it was very difficult for the students to stay away from the books for the remainder of the day. The children didn't want to put them down.
Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for bringing so much joy to a special group of children.