EducationNC: “These Durham students get 10 free books for the summer”

When Amy Franks was talking to a group of third graders she had never met before earlier this month, one student raised her hand for “more of a comment than a question.” The girl said she knew about Book Harvest, the organization where Franks works, through fliers and free books at her dentist’s office.

“I always take some home,” the student said.

“Ah, you’re talking about our Community Book Bank shelf!” said Franks, Book Harvest’s education partnerships manager.

For elementary students in Durham and elsewhere in the Triangle, Book Harvest provides access to books so students can build their home libraries more and more each year. The organization partners with groups like the local dentist office to put books in the most convenient places for students and their families.

But the third graders at Fayetteville Street Elementary School were participating in another Book Harvest program — Books on Break. At a free book fair, students picked out 10 books each to take home with them during the summer. Franks said the idea is to prevent “summer slide,” or the loss of skills due to months without exposure and practice during summer break. Read more>>