Writing club prepares gift books for middle schoolers
The Village Lake Writers and Poets group teamed up with the Bella Vista Public Library and the Old High Middle School library to give books to students for Christmas.
Joan Roberts, an author, poet and photographer who founded the writing group, said they chose middle school students specifically because they don’t receive books from programs like this as often as elementary students.
The 70 books and cards will be going to kids in the school’s snack pack program and will be sent out with the snacks kids will be sent home with over the holiday break, she explained. Kids who get a book they’re not interested in are encouraged to pass it on or trade, she added.
These books are selected by writing group members with help from library staff and volunteers, who help comb through the library’s bookstore to find books that are appropriate for 13 to 15-year-olds, as well as books they may actually be interested in.
“They’ve been fantastic,” Roberts said.
Linda Oliphant, a volunteer with the library’s encore program, said she helped with some of the selection and had to verify counts and determine what books were good for boys, girls or either and make sure they covered a wide array of potential interests and topics.
It was nice to have a fairly busy workday that’s different from the usual, she said.
“I kind of had to switch gears,” Oliphant said.
Among the volunteers wrapping books was Donna Hanson, who said she loved reading as a kid.
“It was my sanctuary,” she said.
It’s great to pass it on to younger people today and help introduce some of them to the simple joy of cracking open a book and learning from it, she added.
“All knowledge is in books,” Hanson said.