{"id":11307,"date":"2024-01-17T19:55:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T19:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=11307"},"modified":"2024-01-17T20:01:08","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T20:01:08","slug":"a-moment-in-durham-whats-better-than-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/01\/17\/a-moment-in-durham-whats-better-than-books\/","title":{"rendered":"A moment in Durham: ‘What’s better than books?’"},"content":{"rendered":"
On an outdoor stage at Durham\u2019s Golden Belt Campus, two young girls in bright pink T-shirts and pigtails, members of the Bouncing Bulldogs jump rope troop, jump in sync to \u201cWho Let The Dogs Out,\u201d matching their jump rope swings with the song\u2019s shrill whistles. In the audience, a human-sized turtle speckled with golden scales plays peekaboo and dances with nearby children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Beside the stage and spectators, a long row of tables spans the field, piled with children\u2019s books for all ages. Kids and their parents line up at each table, \u201cshopping\u201d for donated books at \u201cDream Big,\u201d the 13th annual book drive and celebration sponsored by the Durham-based nonprofit Book Harvest. Every book is free.<\/span><\/p>\n Arianna, a third grader whose forehead is decorated with a pink and white unicorn,\u00a0<\/span>clutches a large shopping tote full of chapter books. She takes each one out to show her parents and younger brother. The one she\u2019s most excited for? \u201cThe Land of Stories\u201d<\/span> by Chris Colfer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She can\u2019t decide between her favorite parts of the event. \u201cIt\u2019s either the show, or when you see the books you like,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n A table close by holds neat piles of Spanish-language books for early readers. One child, barely tall enough to see over the table, considers \u201cLa Gata Jet,\u201d a book with a friendly black speckled cat on its cover, before picking \u201cHarry, el perrito sucio,\u201d a book about a dirty dog, and running excitedly from the table to show his mother.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dream Big is both a book distribution event and book drive. Near the outdoor stage a line of cars snakes through the street, where volunteers greet drivers and move boxes full of books out of trunks and backseats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Over 75 volunteers help run the event, says Bria Davenport, one of its organizers.<\/span><\/p>\n Lynn Solomon of Durham is volunteering with Book Harvest for the second time. She counts recently donated books as she packs them into a Book Harvest cardboard box, quickly jotting down the number of books in the box so far \u2014 68 \u2014 before turning to respond to a reporter. Solomon has already counted at least 200 books in the hour that she has been at the event.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe energy is always great around anything Book Harvest does,\u201d Solomon says. \u201cWhat\u2019s better than books?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She walks across to a table with piles of unsorted books. \u201cFancy Nancy\u201d and \u201cBig Nate\u201d<\/span> chapter books peek out alongside a bright green copy of \u201cRaccoon On His Own.\u201d Solomon and other volunteers count and package these books while more are delivered. Later, the books will be sorted and catalogued for age appropriateness and distributed at Book Harvest events throughout the year.<\/span><\/p>\n Inside Golden Belt, vendors and nonprofits flank both sides of the exposed brick interior.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Near the door, an \u201cI Have A Dream\u201d poster invites families to share their dreams on colorful Post-It notes. The dreams cover a diverse set of backgrounds and interests \u2014 from becoming a doctor to publishing a book, and from achieving equal rights to ending littering. One child\u2019s dream, printed in large neat letters, is to \u201cbe a princesses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The clicking of the Poetry Fox\u2019s typewriter can be heard above the hum of laughter and chatter. Children drag their parents towards The Wonder Lab, an interactive exhibit where kids build structures from re-used boxes using toy box cutters and bright blue toy screws.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDad, I made a robot!\u201d one child exclaims.<\/span><\/p>\n Wa\u2019Quita McCauley is attending the event for the first time. Dressed entirely in pink, she stands with her son beside a table devoted to her small business, Writefully HONEST, which publishes self-help books and hosts workshops about mental health.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Directly across the hallway is a table for Book Babies, a local organization offering bilingual baby books and resources for new parents.<\/span><\/p>\n Bria Davenport moves quickly past the tables and through the hallway, dressed in all black save for a bright orange Book Harvest hat, pausing just long enough to answer a question.<\/span><\/p>\n As Book Harvest\u2019s events manager, she is organizing the Dream Big event for the second time. She has been planning the event with her team since October, and they expect over 30,000 books to be donated this year. \u201cThat\u2019s a low number, actually. Last year we were at close to 40,000,\u201d Davenport says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Davenport is interrupted by a volunteer asking where Coastal Credit Union can park a truck to drop off donated books.<\/span><\/p>\n Dream Big is the culmination of nearly 40 book drives hosted in the Triangle throughout the holidays. The event pulls together books donated at those book drives, while additional books are gathered on the day of the celebration.<\/span><\/p>\n A Durham native who grew up down the street from Golden Belt, Davenport says working with Book Harvest is especially meaningful to her. \u201cBeing able to make sure that kids have all the books they could ever want in the world, and parents not having to be burdened by price \u2014 that\u2019s my <\/span>why<\/span><\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Above (from top): Juliette Kelley, Zachary Altman and Atalia Farrior discover new books at the “Dream Big” book drive. Photos by Maddie Wray \u2014 The 9th Street Journal\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On an outdoor stage at Durham\u2019s Golden Belt Campus, two young girls in bright pink T-shirts and pigtails, members of the Bouncing Bulldogs jump rope…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":11320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11],"tags":[269],"class_list":["post-11307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-moment-in-durham","category-life-in-durham","tag-the-9th-street-journal","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n