Niños Creadores de Historia Currently Has Few Books
We, a mission group visiting the school from All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale, asked Deacon Phyllis what she and the school needed and how we could help once we returned home from our mission trip to the school in San Andrés. After some cajoling, she finally shared with us what she really would like to have – children’s books printed in Spanish.
Niños Creadores de Historia currently has only a handful of children’s books. According to Deacon Phyllis, public schools just have didactic textbooks for instruction, which are not particularly interesting for children who want the experience and pleasure of reading.
Books, like most things in Guatemala, are expensive for most Guatemalans and are simply unaffordable for many. This is where we can help. We have shipping containers that we fill with school supplies, including children’s books. Books pack well but are heavy. Fortunately, the shipper that we use has no weight restrictions, so we can pile in as many books for which we have room.
How You Can Help
Deacon Phyllis has asked for books in Spanish written at a 1st– to 3rd-grade level. Don’t worry if you have or find books at a lower or higher reading level – if the school can’t use the book, they will find a good home for it. In Guatemala, nothing goes to waste, certainly not a book.
For treasure hunters, good places to find these books are at larger thrift stores like Salvation Army and Goodwill. Children’s books are low value, slow-moving items for these stores, so if you are lucky enough to find them, they should only cost you about $1.00 each. Should you already have some books or have had the good fortune of finding some, you can send them to Guatemala School c/o David Pearce, 1170 N Federal Hwy. #302, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.
The second option is to purchase these books from eBay. It is a very simple process. The PURCHASE CHILDREN’S BOOKS link will take you directly to eBay’s Spanish children’s books currently available for purchase.
We recommend you focus on book bundles instead of individual books because they tend to be a much better value. Bundled books run about $2.00 each plus the cost of shipping. When asked for a shipping address please provide eBay with this address: Guatemala School c/o All Saints Episcopal Church, 333 Tarpon Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.