By Michael Boriero
Benjamin Lebel, a five-year-old bookworm in Farnham, was discouraged when he noticed the slim selection of children’s books in the three community book-sharing boxes around town, so he decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.
On Tuesday, Lebel and his mother, Carolyne Blouin, visited the book-sharing boxes at Ascah Park, Major-Général-Forand Park, and Georges-Harold-Mudie Park, dropping off 23 children’s books from his personal collection. Blouin said the boxes are mostly filled with adult novels.
“We’ve been living in Farnham for a year now. We’ve visited several parks and we discovered these book boxes, and every time [Benjamin] opens one up he has been disappointed because the only books inside are for adults,” she told The Record in a phone interview.
According to Blouin, her son would often lament the poor selection, and told her on several occasions that he felt bad other children in the town were unable to find anything interesting in the book-sharing boxes. When he suggested loaning out his books, she was filled with pride.
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