Luke Tracy, a sophomore from Portland, Maine, reads The Little Chick (by Lisa McCue) to Head Start students while they watch puppets enact the story. PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUE KROPP
			CSL Receives Grant to Distribute Books to Head Start Students By Caitlin Scott and Sue Kropp
	Puppeteers Scott and Harman keep the children's attention while Tracy reads the book.		DECEMBER 4, 2000--"Owning books and reading at home correlate with success in school," says Caitlin Scott, assistant director for youth education at the Oberlin College Center for Service and Learning (CSL). Oberlin students and staff of the CSL have a longtime interest in teaching reading to area youngsters, but now--with a grant from First Book and the Make a Difference Day project--the center's workers and volunteers have another tool to help in their work: free books for the children. First Book, a national nonprofit organization, provides free books to low-income children. In 1999 the organization distributed more than 3 million books to children in 250 communities nationwide. Oberlin's grant, received in October, will allow the CSL's America Reads program to give four free books to each Leavitt Head Start student over the next three months. Shannon Harman, Americorps VISTA/America Reads coordinator, and Scott kicked off the book giveaway November 28 with a puppet show for the students at Leavitt Head Start. "Being able to provide each child with free books is something we hope will foster love for reading," says Harman. "It's a great opportunity. "Oberlin's America Reads works to help all children prepare for positive school experiences. We hope that giving books to the children at Head Start will assist them in their journey toward becoming good readers, active students, and successful community members." Scott and Harman act out a scene from The Little Chick.
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