BALTIMORE — Students at Abottston Elementary School received the gift of reading Tuesday.
The school is holding a Scholastic Book Fair this week with books purchased through the Scripps Howard Fund's "If You Give a Child a Book..." campaign.
Last year, WMAR staff and viewers raised nearly $10,000 to purchase new books for the students. Each student is taking home five books, free of charge.
"That’s the true prize is them having the ability to pick their own books," said Martine Thompson, the school librarian. "They have the power to say hey I want that book. I want to read that book. I want to find out about that book."
"Being in elementary school, it’s an opportunity to learn and explore all different kinds of things and the opportunity to pick books that interest you," said Bridget Wrightson, the principal at Abbottston. "It gives you the chance to say am I really interested in this? Do I really like this?"
WMAR has partnered with Abbottston for three years to do the book fair, with a goal of tracking the reading progress of the student body.
The funds also purchased new books for Abbottston's library.
