Join All Hallow's Read! with Friends of the Batavia Public Library
The Friends of the Batavia Public Library are joining the celebration for the holiday of "All Hallow's Read." What is "All Hallow's Read?" It is a holiday that traces its roots to an October 2010 blog post by writer Neil Gaiman (author of "American Gods" and "Coraline"). The premise of the holiday is simple: give someone a scary book for Halloween.
As Gaiman explained it in the original blog post, "I propose that, on Hallowe'en or during the week of Hallowe'en, we give each other scary books. Give children scary books they'll like and can handle. Give adults scary books they'll enjoy."
Since then, this holiday has spread. It has its own website (www.allhallowsread.com/), posters, and celebrations.
The Friends of the Batavia Public Library have been celebrating this fun, reading holiday since 2012. Instead of collecting the wide variety of books you would need to hand out one book to every child that stops by your house on Halloween, consider the Friends alternative - coupons.
The Friends are selling coupons that allows its holder (ages infant to 18 or an adult acting on behalf of a child) to receive one free children's book or paperback from the Friends of the Batavia Public Library Saturday book sale or the Friends' corner sale on the main floor of the library. Hand these coupons out at Halloween and you have given each child a book. These coupons are good until October of 2020!
The coupons can be handed out in lieu of or in addition to candy. This makes the coupon perfect to hand out at school parties (contains no peanuts, sugar, or red food dye). It also falls under the teal pumpkin project (www.foodallergy.org/education-awareness/teal-pumpkin-project), which encourages families to hand out alternatives to food related items for Halloween in order to help include those with food allergies or diabetes in the holiday. These houses are marked with teal painted pumpkins.
The coupons are popular with the kids too. According to Friends Board of Directors member Rosemary Henders, "My most memorable experience was the first year we gave out the coupons. Many of the children were excited to get a coupon for a free book in addition to a piece of candy, but one little girl in particular warmed my heart. When I told her group what the coupon was for she went flying off the porch, running to her dad who was waiting on the sidewalk and yelled 'Daddy, daddy I get a free book!' Her excitement was just delightful."
Fellow Board member Sue Campbell agrees, "I have given out All Hallows' Read coupons since their inception, and even before the kids reach my doorstep on Hallowe'en, they are asking eagerly if they can get a book again this year. "Of course! I can't think of a better treat!" (A little candy doesn't hurt, either ….)."
Coupons will be available in packs of 10 for $2.50 (that's 25 cents per book) at the Batavia Public Library's front desk for the whole month of October and also at the Friends Saturday Book Sale on Oct. 12. If you have any questions, please contact the Friends at friends@bataviapubliclibrary.org.
The Friends of the Batavia Public Library is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that supports summer and winter reading programs for all age levels, One Book, One Batavia, the Alphabet Garden, the Margaret Cooper Scholarship for library pages and other projects to support reading and the library.