SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — About 3,000 goody bags with candy and books were prepared for Saturday's 3rd annual "Boos for Books" event hosted by Shelby County Schools.
The goal of the free drive-thru event is to promote literacy for students in Pre-K through 5th grade.
It's also held as part of the school district's Third Grade Commitment, which is a collaborative effort between schools, families and community members to make sure students reach reading readiness before the third grade.
"Halloween is a great time to have fun and focus kids' energies around those fun kinds of things," John Barker, deputy superintendent for strategic operations for Shelby County Schools, said. "What those books do is open up a new world ... What's great about reading is it really takes you to a fantasy place and can just like Halloween does."
In addition to promoting literacy for kids in the Shelby County community, the books are also used to help grow their at-home libraries.