A Window on the World of Books

Tyrone Mena, above, a first-grader at Manhattan Place School in Los Angeles, looks for a book to take home from those collected by Access Books, a group founded by Rebecca Constantino, left, that works to bring the world of books into the lives of poor children in Los Angeles.

Since 1998, Constantino and her organization have been pairing affluent elementary schools with schools in Watts, Compton and Inglewood. At each affluent school, a book drive is launched and each child is encouraged to bring in five favorite books.

Last month at Manhattan Place School, 10,000 new books were distributed among classrooms to create libraries of books children can take home.

For many, this was a new experience. Principal Bertha Jackson was excited about the new opportunities the books would give the children. “Children need to extend their experiences from school into the home,” she said. So far, Constantino and her group of volunteers have amassed at least 6,000 new or slightly used books for each of 26 elementary schools--more than 120,000 books in all.