Thompson High School junior Tabitha Lawler presents 65 Spanish-language books to the Creek View Elementary School library.

When Thompson High School junior Tabitha Lawler was working as an aide in the school’s Spanish heritage class, she noticed some of the students in the class were having difficulty reading in their native language.

“The teacher would have them read aloud, and they really struggled with it,” Lawler said.

When she began looking at the Spanish-language reading options in the community, Lawler found they were limited, at best.

“You can’t buy these (Spanish) books at Walmart or Target. Most of them you have to order online,” Lawler said. “I was able to find some of them at Second and Charles (in Hoover).”

In an effort to help Alabaster’s native Spanish-speaking students hone their reading skills at an early age, Lawler has spent the past several months collecting Spanish books through a Gold Award project with Girl Scout Troop 993.

During her project, which she titled “Turning Pages,” Lawler collected 65 Spanish-language children’s books between January and August and presented them to the Creek View Elementary School library on Aug. 12.

Read the full list here.