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'Book Trust' Program Inspires Low Income Children To Learn

DENVER (CBS4) - Sixty percent of low income children have no books in their homes, but an organization called "Book Trust" is working to change that.

CBS4's Suzanne McCarroll went to Munroe Elementary School in Denver to see what new books mean to children eager to have a story of their own.

In the first grade class it might just have been the most exciting day of the year. It was reading time and there were visitors -- but that wasn't the big news.

BOOK TRUST generic reading school
Caleb digs into one of his new books (credit: CBS)

"I got a new book," 7-year-old Caleb said.

He received brand new books that he picked out and can keep.

"So I picked 'Hooray Fly Guy' and there was a 'There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick' " he said.

Owning his own books is a real treat for Caleb.

"What do you learn from reading?" McCarroll asked Caleb.

"A lot of new things. Like in fiction books I can hear new stories; and in non-fiction books I can learn new facts about things or animals," Caleb replied.

That's the sentiment the Book Trust program is based on -- reading helps kids love learning.

Book Trust buys brand new books for kids who might otherwise not be able to afford books at home.

"We help kids fall in love reading. We target kids in some of the neediest communities, not just here in Denver, but across the state, and actually across the country too," Amy Friedman with the Book Trust program said.

"Since I was a single mother of three it was just really hard because I had to buy food and pay rent, and there was just no money for books," a mother said.

More than 25,000 young students got brand-new books last year and more will be cracking open the pages this year.

"What I like about reading is that I get smarter," a young girl said.

The books are helping students dream about life beyond first grade.

"Do you want to go to college and what do you want to be when you grow up?" McCarroll asked Caleb.

"Yes I do want to go to college, and when I grow up I want to be a scientist," he said.

Those are the dreams the Book Trust program is helping build.

Learn about how to help out the Book Trust program at booktrust.org.

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