$5,000 grant results in 350 new books for Edmonds schools

EDMONDS — A $5,000 grant for a high school reading program will allow the purchase of an additional 350 books for use by Edmonds School District students.

The grant comes from author James Patterson as part of a $1.75 million national program to support school libraries.

A total of 467 schools received grants of $1,000 to as much as $10,000. The Edmonds School District was one of nine districts in the state to receive a grant.

The books will be purchased through the Edmonds Bookshop, the largest single order ever placed at the business, said Mary Kay Sneeringer, the store’s co-owner.

The grant request was made by Karen Rautenberg, a librarian at Edmonds-Woodway High School. The books will be shared among the district’s other high schools, Meadowdale, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Scriber Lake and Edmonds Heights, a home school program, she said.

Rautenberg, who formerly worked as an elementary school librarian, said she wanted to bring a reading program called Battle of the Books to high schools.

Students read books and then participate in a competition similar to the TV show “Jeopardy.” Students are asked questions about something that happened in one of the books and their task is to identify which one correctly. A district-wide competition is scheduled in May.

Patterson is the author of more than 100 novels for adults and children, from thrillers such as “Confessions: The Private School Murders,” to “Middle School: the Worst Years of My Life.”

He is an enthusiastic supporter of bricks-and-mortar bookstores, Rautenberg said.

So part of her grant request was for the books to be purchased at the Edmonds Bookshop, which opened in 1972. Sneeringer has been a longtime supporter of the school district’s Battle of the Books program, Rautenberg said.

In previous years, Battle of the Books winners have receive a free book from the book shop and Sneeringer often attends Battle of the Book events, Rautenberg said.

“It was a surprise to me that they had $5,000 they wanted to spend with the Edmonds Bookshop,” Sneeringer said. “That’s really an honor.”

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

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