Laurie Cariker, Literacy Coach at Berylwood Elementary School in Simi Valley, California, knows that to grow readers, you need to get books into their hands.

For Berylwood’s big kick-off for Read Across America month, Laurie throws open the doors of the multipurpose room where kids trade vouchers for books that she has collected all year long from donors. As an author who visits lots of schools, believe me when I say that there is a happy vibe on the campus of this Title 1 school!

But March isn’t the only month dedicated to Book Love at Berylwood – it’s books all year through. On Tuesdays, book carts are rolled out in the morning — one cart with books in Spanish, the other cart with books in English. Parents can choose up to 10 books to take home from the Tuesday Morning Lending Library. They take library cards from inside the books, put them in an envelope that has their name and phone number on it, and slide their cache into a bag with their name on a tag. They return the books in the bag when they are done with that batch.

And to top this all off, the Berylwood Elementary School just dedicated a Reading Oasis Room for kids and their families.  The room was created through a partnership with Scholastic Book Fairs and the Simi Valley branch of Kiwanis International who work with school principals to provide at-risk students with access to books and a safe environment to read with their families.

Alexis O’Neill and Laurie Cariker in the new Reading Oasis Room at Berylwood Elementary School

Sending lots of Book Love to Berylwood, schools and the creators of books for children this month!

To Authors & illustrators — have you visited schools during Read Across America that have celebrated books in a fun way? Send me a photo and I’ll give them a shout-out this month: info2@schoolvisitexperts.com