FORSYTH, Ga. — Some Katherine B. Sutton Elementary school students are making being good readers a top priority.
"It could really help little kids when they grow older because if they have courage they can actually do stuff they never thought they could do," Laila Diaz said.
Diaz is talking about one of the character traits she learned through the school's Principal's Book of the Month initiative.
"It's going to have an impact on most of the kids in the school," she said.
Principal Christina Chapman reads through about 10 to 15 books until she finds just the right one.
"Each month I select a book that goes along with our character trait for the month," Chapman said. "I read the book to them, their teachers read the book to them, they read it amongst themselves."
Diaz's wasn't sure about the program at first.
"Because I'm not the best at reading. I thought if I read these books what if they're kind of hard, what if their 6th grade level," she said.
Now, she has a new outlook.
"I feel awesome, amazing," she said.
The initiative started in October.
So far, students have read books like "The Magical Yet", "Mel Fell", and "The Joyful Book."
They learned about individual character traits in each book. Octobers trait was grit, November's courage, and December's trait is joy.
"Then they get to create a work of art, or a narrative, anything they would like to show what the book means to them or what they've learned from the book," Chapman said.
Diaz believes learning these traits will help as students get older.
"I know they have impacted some kids in the school so they can be braver and stronger when they grow up," she said.