Wednesday's Warrior: 17-year-old girl aims to inspire children with ‘Books for New Haven'

Yahoo

04-06-2025

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — It started with a simple idea: give young readers books they can keep.
'Books for New Haven was a project I started when I was 14 years old, I was a freshman in High School, and I really started it because I wanted people to have ownership over the books they had,' Raquel Figueroa-Crespo, who is now 17, said.
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She noticed that while libraries are great, you don't get to keep the books you connect with.
'Libraries are such amazing resources, but like, if you really love a book, you don't really get to hold onto it,' she said.
When it came to book donations, the selection wasn't always inspiring.
'And a lot of book drives and things like that kind of collect older books,' she said.
Raquel wanted something different for her city—books that felt relevant and engaging
'It can kind of be hard to get, especially kids, involved with reading if what they're reading is outdated or unrelatable to them,' she said.
So, she began emailing major publishers.
'I started emailing publishing companies and asking them for the books they couldn't sell, so I was able to distribute them in New Haven, she said.
She then brings the books to community events and block parties, 'and sometimes I'll also just go fill up little free libraries in underserved areas.'
Hoping to bring happiness and growth to kids in the Elm City, one page at a time.
'I think that a lot of self-exploration happens through reading, but it also gives you perspective, and it really helps you build empathy,' she said.
If you have books you'd like to donate, you can email [e-mail]
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