AVONDALE, CO — Third graders at Avondale Elementary School in Pueblo County School District 70 are reading more — and they want donors to know how much it means to them.
Students in Alicia Bautista's third grade class stopped by the school library to show off their reading logs, which track how many books they have read since the beginning of the school year. One student, Kayla McFarlin, had already read 12 books.
Tucker Petersen, another third-grade student, lit up talking about the books he has read this year.
"I like the Tale of Two Beasts," Petersen said.
The love of reading is being fueled by book giveaways funded through the KOAA and Scripps Howard Fund "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign — a day students' teachers say feels like Christmas.
"A lot of times, you know, you'll see the kids hugging their books kinda like they're hugging a present," Bautista said.
School librarian Annette Santistevan said the selection alone is enough to stop students in their tracks.
"Sometimes they would stand here forever because there were so many to choose from," Santistevan said.
For students at Avondale Elementary, the impact goes beyond the joy of picking out a new book.
"We're Title One, we have a lot of poverty at our school and these books are everything to these kids," Bautista said.
Petersen had a message for the donors who make the campaign possible.
"Thank you for giving me all those books and I wish I could pay you back," Petersen said.
The goal of the campaign is to provide 5 new, quality books to each student at the five schools in Southern Colorado sponsored for the giveaways.
To donate now, click here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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