Students at Arellanes Elementary School in Santa Maria filled their newly renovated library with excitement on Tuesday as they selected free books to take home, thanks to donations collected during KSBY's "If You Give a Child a Book" fundraiser.
The Scholastic Book Fair allowed students from kindergarten through sixth grade to choose stories that interest them, from joke books and graphic novels to chapter books. Each student could select up to 10 free books to keep permanently.
"I really like it because little kids from kindergarten to sixth grade get to choose their own books that they like and then they keep them for free," said Lukas Cabrera, a student at the school.
The "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign aims to help students build their own personal home libraries while removing barriers for families without easy access to books.
"To have this opportunity to pick five books is invaluable, and it'll just grow their collections in their houses and have access to it 24/7," said Stephanie Zambo, the school's principal.
For librarian Megan Lizalde, the book fair provides an important tactile experience in today's digital world.
"This technology age, we're competing with really exciting phones and tablets and so everything's very visual for students, and so the idea to come in and see all these beautiful book covers and get to touch them and interact with them really marries that need to meet that engagement with students," Lizalde said.
Student Giovanni Juarez appreciated how the program helps struggling readers.
"I know other people have some trouble reading. I like how they give us books to read so we can increase their knowledge of reading," Juarez said.
The initiative saw an increase from previous years. Last year, students could take home up to seven free books total. This year, the students will pick out five books this week and five more at another Scholastic book fair later this spring.
To donate to the "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign, click here.
