SCBWI Midsouth Donates Books

During registration for the 2011 Midsouth Fall Conference, registrants were asked to help purchase books for a pro-bono school visit by faculty member Linda Sue Park while she was in Nashville. Linda Sue selected Wright Middle School, whose student population is 90% under-resourced (with a significant number of Kurdish and Sudanese), and she spoke about her latest book A LONG WALK TO WATER, the story of a Sudanese immigrant. (See the picture below, taken at the Wright Middle School author visit.)

We asked people to donate either when they registered for the fall conference or to send checks. The community of children's book writers and illustrators donated enough money to give every one of the 250 eighth grade students a copy of Linda Sue's book (for which she received no royalties) and we even had $300 extra! So the Midsouth gave a $300 check to the school library to purchase more books for the students! Doesn't that delight your soul? :-)

To read what Linda Sue Park wrote about this on her blog, go to http://lsparkreader.livejournal.com/2011/09/18/ . To read the Publishers Weekly write-up about the event, go to <http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/48888-in-brief-september-29.html>

I want to thank all of you who gave. Without your donations, this wouldn't have been possible. Because of you, many students have a new appreciation for reading!

I received a thank you note from Allison Barney, the Wright Middle School Librarian and will copy it below my name.

Thanks again!
Genetta Adair

On behalf of Wright Middle School, I would like to thank you and the SCBWI Midsouth Chapter for your effort and donations that brought Linda Sue Park to our school. Our 8th graders left school that day talking about her visit and anxious to read their books. Many of them read the book over the weekend and came back excited to talk to their teachers about it! SCBWI's generous donations put an amazing story into the hands of children who have very few books, especially with characters they find so relatable and captivating. I've talked to at least 3 non-readers who devoured their books and are now looking for more. We cannot thank you enough for what your gift has done for those students.

I'd also like to thank you for the monetory donation to our library. I plan to order books that will keep our more reluctant readers excited about reading.

Sincerely,

Allison Barney
Wright Middle School Librarian

In addition to giving books to Wright Middle School, a book drive was coordinated by Kristin Tubb. Attendees of the 2011 Midsouth Fall Conference brought hundreds of new or "gently" used books to be given to help four schools (two elementary, one middle, and one high school) in Joplin, MO. These schools were devastated by a tornado in May 2011. The books collected helped re-stock the teacher resource center for the district, which was also decimated by the tornado.