Little girl has big heart for books

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - There's a little girl with a big heart for books.

Addie Bleu Short says reading is her favorite past time, and she wanted to find a way to share that love with kids across the world.

Over the past several months the third grader has collected enough books to donate a "entire library" to a village in Africa.

But now there's one thing standing in her way - enough funds to pay for the shipping.

Addie Bleu Short is a tall order, and she loves books more than an average third grader.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," she says. "I really like fiction with adventure and mystery in it."

According to her mom, the love has been there since picked up her first book.

"I started out only wanting books for presents on my birthday and for Christmas but then I thought, I have so many books!"

So Addie Bleu wanted to something special with all those books she had, to spread the joy she finds inside the pages of the books.

it's a part of the African Library Project, and the goal is to send 1000 books to a library for kids in Africa.

"She was excited because she could send a whole library and that idea was really neat to her."

The books are sent to rural parts of Africa, with project partners to organize the libraries in various African communities.

So far she has collected enough books for an entire library.

"Right now there are 1,600 books in the living room of the Short family, all waiting for enough money to ship them out to Africa."

The books must be sent by Dec. 10, but without enough money to cover shipping that day could come and go.

But the 9-year-old is far from being done.

She is asking for even more books to be donated to help spread the love of reading.

She's also trying to raise $2,500 for the Addie Bleu's African Library Project.

You can donate used children's books to the YWCA or Rush Elementary.

To donate or find more information, visit

http://www.gofundme.com/addiebleusafricanlibrary

https://www.facebook.com/addiebleusALP