Students at Laura Bush Elementary School recently enjoyed a night of bingo and books with family and friends through the school’s Bingo for Books Literacy Night.

“The purpose of Bingo for Books is to increase interest in reading by hosting a fun event during which all participants will receive one or more books,” said the school’s dyslexia intervention teacher Pam McDonald. “Parents also receive tips on reading with their families and information on ways to raise lifelong readers.”

Students and their families receive bingo cards, and the winners get to pick out a book to take home to read. Bonus numbers are also called out to increase opportunities for attendees to receive books.

“Playing bingo is a great way for students to practice reading numbers, and adult attendees help the younger students do that,” McDonald said.

Parent Carrie King said she and her daughter Chloe had a lot of fun playing bingo.

“This is a great way to encourage reading,” King said. “All the kids won several books. It was a great time.”

The books given away at the bingo event are donated by students to the school’s Giving Tree Project. The Giving Tree Project encourages students and their families to give to others. When students donated books for Bingo for Books, they received a leaf with their name on it to be placed on the Giving Tree in the school’s main hallway.

“At Laura Bush, we promote good citizenship by providing students and their families with opportunities to give back,” McDonald said. “Our students feel good about sharing with someone else. Sometimes we hear students say, ‘Hey, I brought that book … you are really going to like it.’ It’s really a neat thing to see.”

At this year’s event, more than 400 books were donated and 280 people attended. McDonald said it’s a great way to get students to read because of they way they receive the book.

“This is a terrific, fun family event,” McDonald said. “It’s an effective way to get students to read because they are winners—they win bingo and a book. The event gets more books into the home that hopefully will be shared, and it’s an opportunity for parents and their students to share lots of smiles, laughter and words of encouragement. It was a great success.”