Christmas is coming late—or early—for California: Bruce Larkin, owner of Wilbooks, Inc. and author of more than 900 children’s books, has pledged that his company will donate 10,000 books to elementary schools in 2011.
“Children need to enjoy all of the great opportunities that our country offers,” Larkin said in a statement. “I owe my success to the excellent education I received.”
The books, which will have local interest subjects, are designed to appeal to kindergarten through second-grade students. The topics will be relevant to the students, and range from native wildlife to state symbols to California counties.
Wilbooks’ catalogue has been acclaimed by Oklahoma State University’s Child Development Lab as books that “give kids something they feel successful reading.”
Teachers and schools in California interested in receiving the books can use the custom donation order form in the “free books” section at wilbooks.com.
This article appears in Feb 17-24, 2011.