Nearly 65 multicultural books were donated to local public and school libraries and child care centers, as a result of our third annual book drive. The goal is to enhance and expand the library collections with an emphasis on stories that portray children and young adults from around the world and that represent diversity within the United States.
The libraries stretch across the five towns that CoDE serves: Andover, Columbia, East Hampton, Hebron and Marlborough. Specifically, boxes of books were delivered to Andover Elementary School and Andover Public Library, Porter School and Saxton B. Little Library in Columbia, East Hampton Public Library, Douglas Library in Hebron, and Richmond Memorial Library in Marlborough. Child care centers that received books are: Little People’s Play Place and Marlborough Cooperative Nursery School (both in Marlborough), Belltown Discovery Center and KOCO Child Care Center in East Hampton.
Each library or child care center director was able to choose the ones they wanted and needed.
Some of books requested were:
- Name Jar by Yang Sook Choi is about a young girl who immigrates from South Korea and the children in her class want to give her another name, an American name, but ultimately she embraces her real name and teaches her classmates and teacher how to pronounce it.
- Churro Stand was available in English and Spanish – a 2025 Américas Honor Book Award that celebrates community with the pop and sizzle of delicious churros.
- Through the Telescope: Mae Jemison dreams of space by Charles Smith Jr. is a poetic ode to the first Black woman astronaut in space.
Special gift this year to all the public libraries was The Narrative of Primus: A Lineage Woven into American History by local genealogist and historian John Mills. This is the tale of 10-year-old Primus, who survived the Middle Passage and endured decades of enslavement in colonial Connecticut.
Two local bookstores, River Bend Bookshop in Glastonbury and Folklore & Fable Booksellers in Colchester, participated in the drive. Customers could purchase books either online or in their stores.
We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the success of this drive!
