TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Every student at Lincoln Elementary in Twin Falls walked away with five free books of their own choosing, thanks to a partnership between the Scripps Howard Foundation, Idaho News 6, and Scholastic.
The giveaway is part of the "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign, which partners with Title I schools and Scholastic Book Fairs to empower kids to select their own books and build home libraries. The campaign aims to boost literacy and break the cycle of poverty.
WATCH: Students show Twin Falls Neighborhood Reporter Lorien Nettleton their book choices
For many students, the experience felt a lot like the classic school book fair — with one key difference: every child had the chance to participate, regardless of whether their parents sent them with money.
Atha, a fourth-grader, said she had been eyeing a particular book for a while before finally getting her hands on it.
"I've been wanting it for a long time, and I kept asking my mom if she could get it for me from the store, and I finally got it," she said.
Students made their selections with enthusiasm. Rosalee picked up "Pocket Peaches." Stella said her choice "looks really nice."
Brooklyn had her own reason for her pick. "I just got this cause I thought the animals were cute," Brooklyn said.
Amy Valentiner, a teacher at Lincoln Elementary, said the ability to choose their own books makes a real difference for students.
"New books are so exciting for kids. It gets them motivated to read, and just the fact that they're able to come and select five books of your own choice. It's huge for them," Valentiner said.
Valentiner said access to books at home increases the likelihood that kids will read for fun, which helps keep their skills sharp over summer break.
"If they have books close by that they can access, they're likely to pick up books and read them, especially if they're ones they've chosen themselves and they're interested in reading," Valentiner said.
One student, Sky, admitted the selection process came with a small internal debate.
"Honestly, I was trying to go for not scary books this time, but there's so many scary books that caught my eye," Sky said.
When I pointed out that one of Sky's picks was nearly 900 pages, the response was confident.
"I could read this in about two weeks," Sky said.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
