The children held their breath as a hand reached into the hopper full of pink and blue slips.

A gasp and loud cheers erupted when a name was announced:  the winner of a new bike for reading books.

The Books for Bikes contest for Eagle Lake Elementary third-grade students is in its fifth year. Participants read thousands of books over countless hours to enter their names in a drawing for eight  bikes.

Teachers also nominated two students for good citizenship in a drawing for two additional bikes.

Reading is exactly what the St. Peter’s Masonic Lodge in Edwardsburg wanted to promote when they established the contest in 2010. Other contest sponsors are the Greater Niles Area Federal Credit Union, who donated helmets for winners and prizes for all contestants and Brothers Bakery, who treated all participants to delicious doughnuts.

This year’s winners are Cooper Bessinger, Mahayla Brown, Carson Cebra, Taylor Gableman, Kennedy Johnson, Laila Johnson, Bree Medlin, Maya McLaughlin, Evan Wilson, and Taurin Zimpleman.

“Any way to encourage is a benefit for our students,” Principal Deborah Becraft said. “We greatly appreciate the generosity of the program sponsors and their partnership in helping educate our students.”