DEKALB, Ill. — DeKalb County children will learn more about food and farming from agricultural books in their school libraries.

For the 12th consecutive year, DeKalb County Farm Bureau’s Agricultural Literacy program partnered with sponsors to donate ag-related children’s books to elementary and middle school libraries in the county.

The following six titles were provided: Beef Cattle: An A-to-Z Book and Beef Cattle in the Story of Agriculture, both by Susan Anderson and JoAnne Buggey; Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Adventure by Ginnie Lo; The Guardian Team: On the Job with Rena and Roo by Cat Urbigkit; Soil by Sally Walker; and The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons.

The books are available for students and teachers to borrow; the educators appreciate their value as teaching tools.

“These books will help children build their vocabulary and knowledge of agriculture and relate to the rural community in which they live,” said Shahran Spears, principal at Brooks Elementary School in DeKalb. “Students will make the connection to agriculture through these books and have a better appreciation for their source of food.”

Thirty-seven schools countywide benefitted from this effort, which targets students in K-8 grades. Each school library received titles appropriate to the grade levels.

A total of 193 books were distributed in celebration of National Agriculture Week, March 17-23. Since 2002, nearly 80 different agricultural titles have been donated to both public and private schools in the county, amounting to a total of nearly 2,500 items.

Businesses that partnered with Farm Bureau to sponsor and purchase the books this year include Bolander Farms, Sycamore; Harvell Farms, Steward; Larson Farms, Maple Park; Roger Faivre and Vickie Hernan-Faivre, DeKalb; and Hy-Vee, Sycamore.