Wednesday, October 26, 2022 |By Cindy Bae via 

One book box at a time: Book Harvest making Durham ‘the City of Books’

It took less than minute on Wednesday for two-year-old Michael to decide what he wanted to read from the Book Box at the Edison Johnson Recreation Center.

The winner, a book about Shrek, brought laughter to Michael alongside his grandmother, Christy Hinkle, who’s familiar with the green and orange Book Boxes located throughout the city of Durham.

“I think it’s a great idea, it’s a great way to share and encourages reading,” Hinkle said. “I have taken several home to my granddaughter, who is in the second grade, and she loves it. She also loves the idea that someone would do this for her, that it would be free.”

With 14 boxes already available to the community, Book Harvest plans to expand by at least 60 more in three years, keeping their vision of providing free books to children.

“What if Durham were the City of Books?” advancement director Isabel Geffner said. “What if everywhere, every child went, they could find books? This was particularly important during the pandemic when so much access to learning materials was curtailed.”

Read More >>