NILES — Thanks to a recent book drive, students at Merritt Elementary School were able to browse from more than 3,000 books and pick their favorites to take home.

The book drive took place Tuesday and students in the school’s pre-school through second grade classes were given the opportunity to browse from a variety of tables, where books for their individual reading level were available.

Principal Matt Severin said each student got to pick about eight books from the wide selection of reading material.

“Some books will [challenge their reading abilities] and some will be fun ones that will allow them to really just enjoy reading,” Severin said.

Students also got a surprise visit during the book drive, when a person dressed as Clifford the Big Read Dog, a fictional children’s book character, showed up to interact with the students. The popular character was portrayed by Ruth Kittleson, a longtime educator.

With children being released from school June 12 for summer break, Severin said he hopes the inaugural book drive gives students a productive and engaging way to spend their time. By giving children a choice of books geared toward different reading levels and interests, Severin said he hoped he spurred some excitement about reading — a habit that can be especially important during the summer months.

“The goal is that when students can self-select [books], they are more likely to read,” Severin said. “We know during the summer there tends to be some loss. Sometimes it is called summer slide. If we can keep our kids reading over the summer that tends to reduce that.”

Since he became principal last year, Severin said he has been looking for more ways to get students’ hands on books.   

Through some grant funding and aid from Scholastic, the school was able to purchase the books for Tuesday’s book drive. Severin said other available grants should give the school the resources to bring more books to Merritt. Severin said grants like the Early Literacy Grant and Title One funding can help to cover the cost of these efforts.

The book drive will be one in a series of projects aimed at helping students to grow their love for reading and increase their personal libraries.

Next year, Severin said he intends to initiate several efforts to make that goal a reality. Already, he said teachers have received books to add to their classroom libraries, which was also covered by grant funding.

“That was hundreds of books per classroom,” Severin said.

Severin also hopes to have several reading themed celebrations planned to further excite children about books, such as a book bus. While plans are still in the works, Severin said he wants to have monthly book giveaways, too. Establishing reading benchmarks and rewarding children for reading with more books is another goal.

“I really want books in kids’ hands. I want to find ways to continue delivering books to students,” Severin said. “We always talk about March as reading month, I really want every day to be reading day.”