Crooked Billet Students Memorialize Sandy Hook Victims through Books

Crooked Billet Elementary School students reflected on the tragedy of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in the days around the Dec. 14 anniversary by reading school library books that had been donated in honor of the victims.

Last year, students in Tiffany Hood’s fifth-grade class were so moved by the story of Sandy Hook, each student selected one of the 26 victims of the shooting to study and learn about their interests. To finish the project, they selected a book to donate to the school library in honor of the victim they researched. Each book was given a name plate with the person’s name and the reason it was selected. 

“The books selected by the students reflect something about each child and adult, whether it was a hobby they had, a sport they played or a topic they were passionate about,” Hood said in a press release. “We wanted to do something to memorialize the lives lost in this tragic event. The students wanted to do something to honor them.” 

Some of the books donated were “I Want to be a Firefighter,” for Daniel Barden, who wanted to be a firefighter like his uncle; “Heartprints,” for Allison Wyatt, who liked to perform random acts of kindness; “Many Ways to be a Soldier,” for Jesse Lewis, who played with toy soldiers and carried them in his Spiderman lunchbox; “Under the Sea,” for Emilie Parker, because she carried pencils and markers everywhere in order to draw pictures or cards for people; and “The Autism Acceptance Book,” for teacher Rachel D’Avino, because she was passionate about helping children with autism.

“It was a horrific event,” Hood said. “But hopefully this project will ensure those students, teachers and staff won’t be forgotten. We can remember not only the tragedy of Sandy Hook, but, more importantly, who they were.”