THUNDER BAY – Books are still pretty popular with the pre-teen set.
On Thursday a group of students from Westmount Public School were set loose in the local Indigo outlet, armed with lists of books from fellow students and a $5,000 Love of reading grant to purchase them with.
Tykara Balke-Brewer and Aleksia Dromisky made the most of the opportunity, racing around the stores and filling a basket with books to help update their school’s burgeoning library.
Tykara, 12, said it was exciting to be able to choose any books that they wanted, knowing they’ll be enjoyed for years to come by current classmates and future students at the south-side school.
“I think it’s fun, because we actually get to pick out books that we like, instead of just picking stuff off the shelves,” she said.
“I’m looking for some chapter books and some comics, because I know a lot of people in my class like comics and a lot of people like chapter books.”
Classmate Aleksia Dromisky-Perron was looking for history books and equally excited at having a say in stocking the school library.
“We know what we like and what our friends like, so we’re going to be able to pick books that everybody’s going to enjoy and we can get a variety,” she said.
The two youngsters were part of the Westmount student council, who collected book suggestions from fellow students.
Laura Bizjak, a Grade 7 and 8 teacher at Westmount, said it’s great for the school and its students.
“They’re going to have so many new books and relevant books that are modern,” she said.
“They’re the books that the children have chosen, not just the adults have chosen, it’s student centred,” said Michelle Furlotte, elementary success lead at the school.
Reading definitely isn’t a lost cause, despite the distractions of modern life, like cell phones and video games.
“Everybody reads books every day at our school, so it’s good to have a good selection,” Bizjak said.
“My class begs to go to the library and take books out.”
Indigo’s Love of Reading Foundation has been putting books in the hands of students at high-need elementary schools since 2004.
