Lincoln Public Schools

Kooser publisher donates books to school

Originally published on: October 17, 2009

Ted Kooser gets help unpacking donated books from (top) Jaden McRiley, 5th grade, Principal Ann Jablonski, Library Media Specialist Bob Haack and Parker Barry, 1st grade.

When Ted Kooser told the publisher of his new children’s book that Lincoln Public Schools was naming an elementary school for him … the result was a generous donation.  Candlewick Press shipped 160 new books.

Arriving to open the boxes with staff and students at Kooser Elementary School, Kooser pulled out the first book and said, “I love books!”  The Pulitzer Prize-winning author has a small collection of children’s literature and has written two books for young readers.

Two staff and two students helped Kooser unpack the 160 books.  Principal Ann Jablonski and Library Media Specialist Bob Haack worked alongside first grade student Parker Barry and fifth grade student Jaden McRiley.

The donation from Candlewick Press represents a variety of books for K-6, including picture books, series, reprints of classics (such as Alice in Wonderland), chapter and reading books for upper level elementary.  The value of the donation is more than $3,000.

McRiley looked closely at the books he unpacked, frequently commenting there were new books by authors he was familiar with.  Barry said she saw books her three-year-old sister Larkin would like, but when asked if there was anything she might be interested in, she said, “There are just so many!”

Candlewick Press, started in 1991, was named "the fastest growing children’s publisher in the U.S." by Publishers Weekly.  The company is publishing Kooser’s children’s book entitled Bag in the Wind, available February 2010.  According to the author, it’s “the story of a plastic bag.”  His second children’s book, The House Held up by Trees, is in the illustration process.  It’s based on a deserted house in the rural area where Kooser lives.