Beaufort County kids can get a free book every week this summer. Here’s how
Community organizations have banded together to give away nearly 10,000 books to children through August — and kids can get a new book each week at county libraries and school sites.
United Way of the Lowcountry, Pi Phi, The Public Library Foundation of Beaufort County and the Beaufort County School District partnered to put together “The Book Drop Extravaganza,” which began June 22 and will end Aug. 2.
New books will be dropped off at lending libraries, public libraries and the school district’s meal pickup sites each Monday. Students can also access videos, activities and creative prompts tied to each book at www.uwlowcountry.org/book-drop-extravaganza.
Melissa Murray, the school district’s English language arts coordinator, said that the books alternate between age groups — one week’s book might be targeted at elementary students, while the next week’s might be targeted for middle and high schoolers.
Here’s the list of books students can pick up this summer:
June 29 through July 5: “Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish,” “Blended,” and “The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl”
July 6-12: “There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”
July 13-19: “Dragon Pearl”
July 20-26: “Elephant & Piggie — Elephants Cannot Dance!”
July 27 through Aug. 2: “The Red Hat”
“We know we’re all home and have to distance a bit,” Murray said Thursday. “But we still want to have fun and promote reading and writing.”
Books may be picked up at the following locations:
From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Coosa Elementary, Bluffton Middle, Battery Creek High, St. Helena Elementary and Whale Branch Middle schools.
Any time in the lending libraries at Hilton Head Island Early Childhood Center, Hilton Head Island Elementary, Okatie Elementary, Red Cedar Elementary, Port Royal Elementary, Pat Conroy Literacy Center, USCB Center for the Arts (Beaufort), United Way of the Lowcountry (Beaufort)
Any time at the Beaufort, Bluffton, Hilton Head, Lobeco and St. Helena libraries.
Students can also check out the books online through Sora, the school district’s digital library, or through Hoopla, the library system’s digital lending system.
The school district is also posting learning activities on its Facebook page every day until Aug. 2 that cover writing prompts, arts and crafts ideas and book readings.
“A lot of the time when people email me now, they start by saying they watched the videos we posted,” Murray said.