CoDE’s Multicultural Book Drive brings multiple voices to our region’s libraries. In its third year, the drive helps to enhance and expand 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.
This month, 64 books were distributed to five public libraries, two school libraries and four child care centers.
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. The child care centers that received books are: Little People’s Play Place and Marlborough Cooperative Nursery School (both in Marlborough), Belltown Discovery and Koco Childcare in East Hampton.
Christine Cachuela, library director at East Hampton Library, was excited to receive a tote of books, praising how beautiful they were and the fact that the library was able to choose the ones they wanted and needed.
Some of books requested were:
- Name Jar by Yang Sook Choi, which 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 (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., 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.
The Book Drive was conceived by and organized by Christi Moraga, chair of CoDE’s Education Workgroup and the Marlborough team. Other CoDE members who worked on the project are: Shawn Pelletier, Christie Hazen, Amy D’Amaddio, Cathy McSweeney and her daughter the calligrapher, Jessica McSweeney, Leslie Poulos, Althea Carr, Donna Jolly, Brianne Eichmiller and her daughter Raya.
Most importantly, CoDE thanks the many people who donated books to make this project a success!
Multicultural Book Drive – a grand success!
CoDE’s Multicultural Book Drive brings multiple voices to our region’s libraries. The overarching idea 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.
This month, as a result of the drive, 64 books were distributed to five public libraries, two school libraries and four child care centers. This is the third year CoDE has organized the Book Drive, with 25 books donated the first year and 50 last year.
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. The child care centers that received books are: Little People’s Play Place and Marlborough Cooperative Nursery School (both in Marlborough), Belltown Discovery and Koco Childcare in East Hampton.
Christine Cachuela, library director at East Hampton Library, was excited to receive a tote of books, praising how beautiful they were and the fact that the library was able to choose the ones they wanted and needed.
Some of the books requested are:
Name Jar by Yang Sook Choi, 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 (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., 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 were key to the success of the drive. Customers could purchase books either online or in their stores.
The Book Drive was conceived by and organized by Christi Moraga, chair of CoDE’s Education Workgroup and the Marlborough team. Other CoDE members who worked on the project are: Shawn Pelletier, Christie Hazen, Amy D’Amaddio, Cathy McSweeney and her daughter the calligrapher, Jessica McSweeney, Leslie Poulos, Althea Carr, Donna Jolly, Brianne Eichmiller and her daughter Raya.
We are grateful to everyone who donated books to make this project a success!
