FERRIDAY, La. &045; Every Ferriday Upper Elementary School student went home Wednesday with a new source of rainy day reading.

The school participated in the national African-American Read-in Chain, giving every child present a free book written by a black author.

&uot;I’ll read it when I have to stay in,&uot; fifth-grader Clarence Smith III said of his selection. &uot;She (his mother) likes for me to stay in and read.&uot;

Smith’s mother Irma Bingham was at the school Wednesday to help her son select a book.

&uot;He loves to read, but as long as they are short stories,&uot; she said.

Parents were encouraged to attend the read-in to see what their children chose. Organizer and teacher Rosena Profice said she had around 80 different books for students to choose from. More than 300 books were given away.

The books were ordered from Scholastic Press and Barnes and Noble using money raised from community churches, businesses and individuals. Barnes and Noble also contributed some books for free.

The school held a viewing reception last Friday after school for parents to view the selection.

The read-in has been going on nationally for 17 years, but this was the first year for the event at FUES.

&uot;It’s a national day of recognizing the works of African-American writers,&uot; Profice said. &uot;It went exceptionally well.&uot;

Profice said the books written by Michael Jordan, Martin Luther King Jr.’s sister and one about Rosa Parks were favorites among the children.

Each donated book includes a tag stating who donated the money for its purchase. Students were given thank you cards and encouraged to write to the donor.

They will also have to write a book report on their book.

Fifth-grader Chadeeja Green chose a longer book with chapters.

&uot;I’ll start today,&uot; she said. &uot;It might take two days.&uot;