BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Angel Ortiz loves to read books with action and a bit of spookiness. So when he opened his bag with his name labeled on it, he was excited to see he was the new owner of the popular book in the children’s horror fiction series, Goosebumps. 

Ortiz is one of over 30 students at Jennings Creek Elementary School who were given new books on Thursday, part of an initiative led by Bowling Green’s Rotary Club and a WKU Literacy Education Program to help elementary students who were directly impacted by the Dec. 2021 tornadoes.

“I saw everything destroyed and collapsed, and then my dad took us because we didn’t have a way else out, and my dad digged us out and then we came out and we saw that everything was destroyed,“ Ortiz said. 

Not only did the fourth grader lose his home, but he also lost access to some of his favorite stories and characters. 

“But one of my books were completely demolished because I left them in the living room because I wanted to read them, but then my dad found a book and it was completely wet and pages were ripped out,” Ortiz said

Nancy Hulan, an associate professor of literacy education at WKU, understands the power of reading and how it could help children cope with the challenges the tornado brought to their lives.

“They may read a book that’s more fantasy and so that hard things are happening in life, they kind of get a break from it,“ Hulan said. 

Reading can also give the children the ability to connect with a character who is also going through a challenge, and witness as the character overcomes their obstacles. 

With the financial support of the Bowling Green Rotary Club and the expertise of the literacy program at WKU and staff at Jennings Creek, the students were able to receive books they enjoy.

“It was great to see the smiles on the kiddos’ faces when they saw those books, and then they’re theirs forever,” Hulan said.