Family prepares books for trick-or-treaters to encourage reading

A Roca, Nebraska family is ditching the candy for this year’s Halloween and, instead, are giving out books.

The Honke family has lived in Roca for 10 years. A few years ago, they installed a free little library in their front yard.

“We don’t have a library in town so we don’t have those resources, we also don’t have a bookmobile that comes to town so we also don’t have those resources,” says Kathleen Honke.

“One of the girl scout troops offered their services said they could do it as a project they used all re-purposed materials, they even donated books and they continue to donate books.”

This Halloween, the Honkes decided to take their free little library a step further. For trick or trick-or-treaters that come to their house, they will give them a free book instead of candy.

“I thought it’d be a great idea considering we have quite a number of books and plus there’s a lot of traffic with little kids in the area that come by and grab a book or whatever and I just thought it would be kind of a fun little incentive for the kids in the neighborhood to grab a book and encourage reading,” she says.

The Honkes say it is an honor to serve as their small-town community library and get kids excited about reading.

“I think it’s great to encourage kids to read and just be able to get involved in the community that way is a huge plus for us.”

The family has over 300 books prepared for trick-or-treaters.