Wednesday, July 31st, 2019
Volunteers work together to bring books to tornado victims
By William Kincaid
Photo by William Kincaid/The Daily Standard
Children affected by the Memorial Day tornado were each able to pick out 20 free books from a large selection of titles donated by authors and illustrators. The book drive was organized by local author Michelle Houts.
CELINA - Not long after the Memorial Day tornado devastated northwestern Celina, two torn, orphaned pages from a children's book were found in the bushes near a damaged home.
One was an illustration of a storm, the other a message of resiliency that seemed written precisely for the people who would, in many ways, have to rebuild their lives.
"Storms come. Storms pass. I am countless droplets of rain left floating in the silent air. I reflect all the colors of sunlight. I am the rainbow," the page reads.
Turns out the wind-strewn pages were from renowned author-illustrator Thomas Locker's "Water Dance."
"At that moment it occurred to me, 'Oh my gosh. All these kids have lost their books,' " local author Michelle Houts said.
Knowing the tornado victims' immediate needs were being met by the community, Houts on June 1 took it upon herself to supply the boys and girls new with books to replace the ones lost in the storm.
Houts put out a call on social media asking children's authors and illustrators to consider donating new books to her drive. She asked for new books, preferably hardbacks.
"These kids deserve the best," she said.
The children's literature community's response was resounding.
"The boxes and envelopes started coming in in just amazing amounts," Houts said, noting that several of the books were signed by the authors and illustrators.
In all, 86 people and organizations handed more than 839 books valued in retail at $11,147, Houts pointed out.
Houts and a crew of volunteers, among them the local writers group Pencil Pixies, spent nearly two months unpacking, collecting and categorizing books. Celina Primary School Principal Michelle Duncan was then instrumental in identifying the children up to age 18 affected by the tornado.
On Monday night, children and their parents came to the Richardson-Bretz Building. After signing in, the children were given green tote bags designed by local artist Jane Dippold that featured the words from the page found in the bushes after the tornado. Dippold also paid for half the cost of the tote bags, with the rest picked up by Totally Promotional.
Each child also received an envelope of paper slips redeemable for 20 books of their choosing, making for an instant library.
"That was my goal - to replace a family's library," Houts said. "So some of the families have three and four kids. They're going to go home with 60 or 80 books and that probably is about what they had when they lost their house."
Children perused tables stacked with heaps of handsome, brightly colored books varying from picture books to young-adult novels and graphic novels.
Any books remaining at the end of the evening were to be donated to Celina City Schools libraries.
Houts spoke to the importance of books having in the household.
"The more access that kids have to a wide variety of literature at the youngest ages, the better readers they become. The better writers they become," she said.
Research has found that books, especially those written from and about different perspectives, instill empathy within readers, Houts said.
"It was fun to open these boxes from around the country," she said. "I hope that they pick up some diverse books and build some empathy."
Photo by William Kincaid/The Daily Standard
Local artist Jane Dippold designed and paid for half the cost of tote bags that were given to children on Monday night at the Richardson-Bretz Building in Celina.
