Free books for students as ReadMobile stops at Hinojosa

Disponible en:

The We Give Books ReadMobile visited students at Hinojosa EC/PK Center on Nov. 2 and provided them each with a free book to take home.

Representatives from the campaign encouraged students to read and even spent some time with them reading “Courduroy” by Don Freeman. The students recited key words as they followed the adventures of a talking teddy bear named Courduroy.

Hinojosa is one of the many schools in Texas the We Give Books ReadMobile has visited this school year. The group was on a campaign to give away more than 30,000 books in 30 days to children.

The statewide “We Give Books” campaign is a major effort by the Pearson Foundation along with Penguin, to equip Texas families and school libraries with print and online books for children who may not otherwise have a library of their own or access to books. The effort has also donated more than 81,000 books around the globe. We Give Books enables anyone with Internet access to put books in the hands of children by reading a children’s book online. For each book read online, We Give Books donates a book to a children’s literacy group in the United States or around the globe.

“The importance of reading to young children cannot be emphasized enough, and with strapped family budgets, it can be difficult for many students to have their very own new books,” said Mark Nieker, executive director for the Pearson Foundation. “Providing children books of their own shows them that the adults in their lives view reading as vitally important, and helps them start a home library. Research shows that children’s success is related to how many books there are in the home.”

The students and teachers at Hinojosa also received a variety of promotional items such as picture frame magnets, large mural posters for activities and promotional pennants. But the greatest gift to the school and its students came in the form of 500 books donated to the school’s library.

“When I heard that the We Give Books ReadMobile was coming to Hinojosa, I was so excited!” exclaimed Principal Sandra Arredondo. “For the past five years, we have been providing all of the students with books for their own personal home library. Each year, with the help of our PTA, business partners and school resources, we have provided our students with at least 10 books a year.

“The books donated to our students by the We Give Books ReadMobile will be a welcomed addition to their home libraries.”

We Give Books aims to help young children, along with their families, understand the power of reading and the gift of putting a book in the hands of a child. Children and families can also access a free digital collection of children’s books online anytime at www.wegivebooks.com.

For more information about the Pearson Foundation and its commitment to education, visit www.pearsonfoundation.org. Readers can also find out more about Penguin, one of the largest English-language trade book publishers, by visiting http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/aboutus/index.html.