Check it out: Little libraries encourage summer reading
Features . The Joplin Globe
Emily Baker reads to her children 7-months-old, Hannah Jo, 5, and Silas, 2. / Kaylea M. Hutson-Miller
By Kaylea M. Hutson-Miller
It was 1948. Old enough to drive a tractor, 10-year-old Leroy Harding set out on a mission.
Relatives in Idaho wanted sassafras roots to make tea. In return, they said Harding would receive as payment a box of books.
For a young boy growing up in Whitewater Valley located in rural Delaware County, Oklahoma, the assurance of books was payment enough.
So the young man drove the tractor — complete with chain — down to the hollow to pull up roots.
Now 81, Harding said he remembers the day as if it were yesterday. As he harvested the sassafras, cutting it with a chopping ax, the air grew still, and snowflakes the size of a half dollar began to fall.
“Learning to read was the most wonderful thing in the world for me,” Harding said. “It opened up the world. I wanted to read books of any kind.”
The box arrived as promised. It contained a plethora of items including novels about Tarzan.
It also featured the “Sugar Creek Gang” series.
“They (Sugar Creek Gang) were great books about the adventures of country kids, like myself could imagine,” Harding said. “They were books about kids living on a creek, just like me.”
While it was the only time Harding traded roots for books, the moment affected his life in multiple ways.
Reading is a passion
Both Harding and his wife, Beverly, encouraged their children to find their own passion for books.
Their youngest daughter, Julie, could always be found walking to the public library on Saturday mornings to pick out new books for the week.
“I read to her all of the time,” Harding said. “Reading is a wonderful connection with your child. It helps show them what the world is around them.”
Harding’s passion for books continues to be passed to generations of students living in the Grove area.
His daughter, now known as Julie Bloss, a principal at Grove’s Early Childhood Center, looks for ways to encourage her pre-K and kindergarten students to read.
On Mother’s Day this year, Harding helped Bloss plant her newest initiative: a little free library under a shade tree at the ECC.
Bloss hopes the little library, filled with books designed to tempt even the most stubborn reader, will give her students an additional place to find their next adventure.
Julie Harding Bloss stands next to the little library her father helped “plant” earlier this summer. / Kaylea M. Hutson-Miller
Only four books
Like her father, Bloss is passionate about reading. Before the end of the school year, she found enough funds within a federal parent involvement grant to give each student in her school four new books.
Studies, Bloss said, show students who have access to at least four books during the summer months do better when taking reading comprehension tests in the fall — regardless of socioeconomic levels, ethnicity or previous achievement.
Book access and choice are two key factors for Bloss.
“We always circle back to the main ways children secure books,” Bloss said. “For many, it’s at school through classroom libraries.”
Bloss said the little free library, open all the time, gives families another option for books.
“Maybe (the families) can’t make it to the public library,” Bloss said. “Hopefully they can drive by the little library to pick out a book.”
Regardless of where books are found, Bloss hopes parents let their children pick out books to read — which helps them develop their own voice as well as find topics of interest.
Bloss said for her youngest students, having a parent or close adult read to them is crucial.
“We know that’s where true language development begins,” Bloss said. “Children develop speech patterns, vocabulary and listening skills when they are read to.
“There’s still so much to be said about taking time to read story books, to hold a book and have a conversation about it.”
Sierra Campbell cuts the ribbon for the first Little Library inside the city of Grove. / Kaylea M. Hutson-Miller
Book access
The free library at the ECC is just one of three now located throughout Delaware County. A second library, opened Easter weekend sits in front of Dar-Lynn Embroidery on West Third Street in Grove.
Sierra Campbell, a junior at Grove High School, opened the Day-Lynn location in order to encourage younger students to develop a love for reading.
Alexa Schwabe sits next to her little library, located within the Heart & Soul restaurant in Kansas. / Jennifer Schwabe
A third, opened during spring break, sits in the southern end of the county, inside the Heart and Soul Cafe in Kansas.
It was started by 12-year-old Alexa Schwabe with the help of her parents, Jennifer and Trae, and grandparents, Bob and Janet Schwabe.
Using a discarded newspaper box, Alexa Schwabe and her mother refurbished it and filled it with books. They chose the location because the books would be secure at all times.
Alexa Schwabe chose to create the library, chartered through LendingLibrary.org, as one of her student council projects.
The sixth-grader wanted to find a way to help her community by encouraging reading.
She began the library with some of the novels she liked from her own collection of books. Others have come through donations.
Her grandmother plans to help her promote the library this summer, to spread the word about the offering and how it works.
“Most people come with their kids (to the restaurant), take a book out and read it there,” Janet Schwabe said. “I don’t think they understand that it’s free to take, and they are free to give some. I want them to know they can take the books home, read it and bring it back for more.”
Alexa Schwabe’s box retains the coin slot once used to purchase newspapers. A note on the box tells readers any money left in the box will be used to obtain additional books.
“It’s a good feeling,” Alexa Schwabe said, “to help someone else with one of my hobbies. A lot of (students) try to do simpler stuff (at school). I thought I could do something different and put more into my community.”
Jennifer Schwabe said she was proud to help her daughter with the project. The pair are already talking about where a second little library could be placed in their community.
“She didn’t wait for it to happen,” Jennifer Schwabe said. “She made it happen.”
1,000 books
Emily Baker admits she really didn’t become a reader until the 10th grade. Growing up, reading frustrated her and caused stress. But when her oldest child arrived, Baker decided she would give Hannah Jo a different outlook by introducing books as soon as possible.
Baker reads with her children every day. In fact, the mom of three averages reading at least four books per day to her children.
“Sometimes we do the longer books when Samuel (7 months old) is asleep,” Baker said. “They (Hannah Jo, 5, and Silas, 2) will sit as long as I will read to them.”
Baker enrolled all three of her children in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program at the Grove Public Library.
The initiative is designed to encourage parents/grandparents to interact with their children/grandchildren, as well as develop a love of reading.
Hannah Jo completed the 1,000 books by the age of 3, while Silas finished his 1,000 books at 18 months. Samuel currently sits at 150 books and counting.
“I think it encourages their imagination, as well builds their vocabulary and problem-solving skills,” Baker said. “I think it’s better for my children to read a book than watch TV or be on a tablet. Because we started them out so young, (reading is) something Hannah Jo would rather do.”
Baker hopes reading to and with Hannah Jo each day will help her maintain her ability to read three- and four-letter words and give her a jump start when starting kindergarten in the fall.
As for Baker, while she struggled with books as a child, she’s now an avid reader.
“I love it,” Baker said. “Now I read when I have the time.”
This previously appeared in The Joplin Globe. http://bit.ly/GlobeLittleLibraries