The Book Fairies Distribute Their 4 Millionth Book at an Elementary School in Glen Cove
Fourth grade student Briahana Romero recently received Book Fairies’ four-millionth book at Connolly Elementary School in Glen Cove.
“I was so happy when I got it,” the 9-year-old said.
Book Fairies displayed an array of books for third, fourth, and fifth graders, with the four-millionth book hidden with a “golden ticket.” Briahana found the ticket inside New York Times best-selling children’s author Nancy E. Krulik’s “Princess Pulverizer: Bad Moooove!” and received an autograph and photo with Krulik and the Book Fairies team.
From 12 to 2 p.m., more than 300 third, fourth and fifth grade students at Connolly attended the book fair, each selecting one high-interest book to keep for summer reading. Books in this selection included “Diary of Wimpy Kid,” “Captain Underpants,” Minecraft-themed books, Krulik’s “Princess Pulverizer” series and more.
“It’s because of the Book Fairies’ generosity, they’ve come to our school two different times allowing the kids to choose their own brand-new book, that has helped the kids be enthusiastic about reading, especially since summertime is coming,” said reading teacher Patricia Lucci.
Lucci is one of the many teachers that partnered with Book Fairies and helped them connect with the elementary school. About a year ago, she regularly visited and filled her classroom with many books, sharing them with her students.
“Glen Cove is a very diverse community, and we have students who have huge home libraries and students who have maybe no books,” said Principal Bryce Klatsky. He thanked Lucci, who entered a more formal partnership with Book Fairies. Since then, the children have been more hungry for books and there’s been an increase of participation at the school’s book fairs, Klatsky said.
“We were super honored when they chose to do the four-millionth book here, and I think it’s really a testament to how much they give back to the community and how much students respond to the wonderful book fairs,” Klatsky said.
Book Fairies was founded in 2012 by Amy Zaslansky, distributing books to under-resourced areas across Long Island and New York City, according to their website. They collect gently used books and give them to “book desert” neighborhoods, ones where printed books and other reading material are hard to obtain, to nurture a love for reading.
“We are so grateful to be able to work together with the Connolly team, with Mr. Klatsky. They are examples of how you can take free resources and really make a difference in a kid’s life,” said Executive Director of Book Fairies Eileen Minogue. “One-in-four New Yorkers are illiterate. We’re trying to change the cycle of poverty that stems from illiteracy.”
The Book Fairies team collaborates with educators and nonprofit organizations to deliver books to Title I schools, homeless shelters, foster care agencies, pediatric offices, after-school programs and soup kitchens, according to their website.
