Students "shop" for donated books
| Thursday, May 21 2009 05:25 PM
Last Updated Thursday, May 21 2009 05:25 PM
TIPS TO HELP YOUNG READERS
* Provide a consistent time and place to read together.
* Practice three or more nights a week.
* Listen to your child read.
* Talk with her teacher.
* Keep a variety of reading materials available throughout your home.
Source: BCSD
Images
Alex Horvath / The Californian Students from Leo G. Pauly School came to the school cafeteria to choose a book from the Californian's book drive.
Alex Horvath / The Californian Students from Leo G. Pauly School came to the school cafeteria to choose a book from the Californian's book drive. First grade students Jacob Halstead and Michael Alviar read their new books with their classmates in the Pauly school yard.
Alex Horvath / The Californian Students from Leo G. Pauly School came to the school cafeteria to choose a book from the Californian's book drive. Evanglina Andrade age 10, got to choose the book "The Chronicles of Narnia".
Alex Horvath / The Californian Students from Leo G. Pauly School came to the school cafeteria to choose a book from the Californian's book drive. First grade student Mireya Maize shows off her book selection to Pauly school principal Rachelle Montoya.
If you've ever thought kids care more about video games than books, a visit to Pauly School in south Bakersfield might change your mind.
By midmorning Thursday, more than 1,500 children's books were arranged on long tables spanning the width of the school's cafeteria.
There were mysteries and fantasies, fiction and non-fiction, picture books and chapter books.
Generously donated by area residents through "My First Library," a book drive organized by The Californian, the carload of books was about to be snatched up and devoured by more than 500 students hungry for reading.
Fourth-grader Anokhi Patel was one of the hungriest. After picking out two titles to take home, she talked about why books are important to her.
"I like books because once you get into a book, it's in your head," Anokhi said. "It's like a little TV in your brain -- but you imagine the pictures."
The Laura Ingalls Wilder titles she chose to take home will keep her happy, Anokhi said, after she finishes the fantasy novel "Pendragon," which awaits her at home.
Encouraging students to take ownership of books and to read at home as well as at school helps establish reading habits that will stay with children well into adulthood, said Pauly principal Rachelle Montoya
"Reading for pleasure -- often that comes at home," Montoya said. "We want to create a love of reading that they will carry with them all through their lives."
Not that there aren't a few potholes along the way. Nearly half the students at Pauly are learning English as a second language.
Still, the excitement was palpable as the children browsed the cafeteria "shelves," many searching for specific authors or topics.
Eleven-year-old Evelyn Arredondo likes books so much she started a book club at Pauly.
"We read books and review them," she said. "We talk about what we liked about the books and what we didn't like."
That kind of secondary analysis is valuable, educators say, because it helps kids begin the process of critical thinking they will need to make the grade in high school and college.
Ten-year-old fourth-grader Daniel Alvarez found a book about the famous magician and escape artist Houdini, while fifth-grader Alexis Rivas landed a mystery.
Books are better than movies, Alexis said, because "they build up to the action."
Many of the staff and students expressed a sense of gratitude that even in tough economic times, people in the community are willing to donate books to schools in their neighborhood.
After 1,847 books were delivered to the Bakersfield City School District, library services coordinator Sandra Yoon sorted them by grade level before delivery to Pauly.
Yoon said more publishers are partnering with digital media to offer young readers online experiences that interconnect with the books they are reading.
But some things never change.
Encouraging a love of reading in children, she said, increases their odds of academic success.
Just ask little Anokhi Patel. But don't interrupt her as she reads, creating beautiful pictures in her head.
