2nd-grade intervention teacher Yannelly Valle was supervising her testing room at PSTEM Academy when a student approached to ask if they could gather with some classmates after the STAAR exam.

“Hey, did you read this chapter last night? I remember you said we were going to read this chapter,” Valle overheard one student saying to another.

Piquing Valle’s interest, she asked what they were doing, and one student responded, “oh yeah, we decided together what book we wanted to read, and we wanted to talk about it, so we tell each other what to read each time, and then we talk about what we read.”

“I don’t think they realized it was a book club. For them, it was like we read a book, and now we’re talking about it, but it was cute and great to see,” said Valle.

Other students took notice and asked Valle what they were doing. “I think it sparked an idea because I did hear two other kids say, ‘hey, I read this book.’ And the other kids said, ‘I did too.’ And so, they started to sit together,” said Valle.

With five students unintentionally starting a book club, other members were encouraged to join.

Studying how the students interacted, Valle noticed an avid reader who was a part of the original five members, pulled in a friend that wasn’t very fond of reading. Their friends wanted to join the group reading and read without hesitation, excited to be part of the group.

Yannelly Valle has experienced My Home Library distributions for about six years and recognizes how the curated book bundles have changed the lives of her students. Referring to the books as “little treasures,” Valle expressed that the students treat the books with delicate care.

“When they bring them out, they carefully hand them out. If someone accidentally fumbles it, they’re like that’s my book! Be careful with my book!” said Valle.

For some students, books are a luxury. “Parents tell us ‘I can only provide the bare essentials,’ shares Valle, “they get so excited to take them home because it’s theirs. It’s something they get to have.”

Students have shared that they even read to younger siblings who may not be able to read yet or might struggle with higher reading-level books. Eager to share stories, one student mentioned to Valle that they must hand down the bundles to their siblings, but Valle assured them that when their siblings attend the same school, they will receive new books too. The student responded with gratitude, “We’re going to have so many books!”