By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Like every good novel, there’s some suspense involved. Bowling Green teachers are just hoping for a happy ending.
Every school year, elementary students across Bowling Green read a book by the same author, and take home their very own copy to keep. It’s become an annual celebration for the joys of reading, of families and the community.
“We have families reading together – sometimes for the first time,” explained Crim Elementary teacher Michelle Thomas, who teams up each year with fellow teacher Stacey Higgins to organize the city-wide event.
Over the last 11 years, the 1BookBG program has given K-5 students in the city 15,000 books that they don’t have to return to their schools or library.
When the program began, the books cost about $1 each. That cost has gone up to $5 each, Higgins said.
So that means the 1BookBG program is looking for help this year.
As of Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting on Tuesday evening, the program was short an estimated $2,500.
In the past, 1BookBG had to cut costs and provide just one book per family – regardless of how many elementary students they had in the household.
“We are very much hoping to not go back to that,” Higgins said.
Higgins and Thomas talked about the magic of every elementary student in the city reading the same book at the same time. Families read together, classrooms connect, local businesses join in, and authors inspire future readers.
Teachers have found that many children are thrilled to be given their very own copy – a first for some children. It’s especially meaningful since the students all get to meet the authors selected for 1BookBG each year.
This year, the organizers have picked books by author Max Brallier, who wrote the “Last Kids on Earth” series, which has been made into a TV series by Netflix.
Besides reading together during the school day, the 1BookBG project travels outside classrooms. More than 30 community organizations get involved, and many businesses offer their stores as mission stops for elementary students. So students learn more about their community as they explore Bowling Green.
“It extends far beyond the school day,” Thomas said.
“This is truly a community effort,” Higgins said.
Higgins and Thomas are pursuing grants and financial support, including fundraisers at local restaurants. But they need more funding in order to put new books in the hands of each K-5 student in the city.
Board of Education President Ardy Gonyer agreed it’s important that all the students get their own books.
The 1BookBG program is a teacher-led non-profit organization operated entirely by volunteers. The Bowling Green Schools Foundation is the group’s fiscal agent. Donations can be sent to the foundation at https://bgschoolsfoundation.com, under “Support 1BookBG.” Checks can also be sent, with 1BookBG in the memo line, to P.O. Box 784, Bowling Green, OH 43402.
