Azhanea Wathey had seen the movie with her mother, so the 11-year-old girl chose a new hard-back version of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” along with a Nancy Drew mystery at the book giveaway Saturday at Sunny Isle Shopping Center.
Wathey picked the Nancy Drew because she likes mysteries. Her mother, Kavida Petersen, looked over her choices and found a DVD and a book for her baby.
“It will take really long (to read them). A couple of months,” Wathey said. She plans to get a head start, reading them over the Christmas vacation.
More than 1,300 books were given away to readers of all levels and ages Saturday. There were books on a multitude of subjects including self-help and motivational publications. Volunteers helped readers choose books according to their interests.
“They are going like hot cakes,” said Ingrid Bough, territorial director of Libraries, Archives and Museums.
St. Croix’s four Rotary Clubs collected books that had been donated, and new books were contributed by government agencies and community organizations.
Groups have sponsored free book events in the past, but Sandra Gerard-Leung, president of the Rotary Club of St. Croix, said they joined forces this year to make a bigger impact. She was pleased that everyone took two or three books.
“We felt it was important for children to read over the holidays, so we brought out the books,” Gerard-Leung said.
In addition to free books for children and adults, there were prizes for a scavenger hunt and giveaways for items such as backpacks, book bags, pens, pencils, calendars and school planners. According to Bough, 50 students participated in the alphabet scavenger hunt that challenged kids to visit stores in the shopping center and find items to correspond with letters of the alphabet.
According to Bough the event also launched the Literacy for Life campaign and the St. Croix Literacy Council, a collaboration between government agencies, community organizations, the V.I. Department of Education, the University of the Virgin Islands and the International and St. Croix Reading Councils.
There is a territorial literacy council and district councils on St. Thomas and St. John led by the V.I. Education Department.
“We’re promoting literacy, of course, and introducing ourselves,” Bough said, adding there will be another event in March at UVI to encourage people to read.
Other partners in the Literacy Councils include the Governor’s Office, V.I. Education and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Libraries, Archives and Museums, St. Croix Rotary Clubs, the Lion’s Club and WTJX television.
Bough said the goal of the Literacy Council is to find ways to encourage children to read and promote adult literacy. One in five adults cannot read, according to the Literacy Council brochure.
“We want more people reading, children and adults,” Bough said.
