The discovery began at a church yard sale.
Joycita Rose Malrey Lucas was looking through books when she spotted a brand new copy of “The Three Wishes,” retold by M. Jean Craig.
The pristine book printed by Scholastic books was 50 years old. It told the story of a fairy that grants three wishes.
Joycita, 9, a third-grader at Carmalt Elementary School in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood, had a wish of her own.
She bought the book for 50 cents, and mailed it, along with a letter to the president and chief executive officer of Scholastic books. His name is Richard Robinson.
In the letter, she offered a proposal.
“I am writing to you today because I have a proposal for you,” Joycita said. “I bought ‘The Three Wishes’ book in a church yard sale, and it’s in perfect condition. No ear marks, no stains or folds. It doesn’t even look like it was read before I read it.”
In exchange for the book “The Three Wishes” she asked for a new Scholastic book per month for all of her classmates for the rest of the school year.
“My school is an inner city school,” she wrote. “Though we have the Scholastic book fairs and some of our teachers do the monthly ordering – which is my favorite, because it’s like getting a Christmas gift all year long – I have friends in my class that can’t afford to buy the books. I feel bad for them. I hope that you would feel the same sir.”
Robinson did.
He replied to Joycita and told her he would give books to the class for January and February. Some arrived Monday.
“We are so proud of Joycita,” said Tammy Miles Brown, Carmalt’s acting principal. “She represents what’s good with this world, and we need more caring individuals like Joycita. She is always thinking of others.”
Scholastic was founded by Maurice R. Robinson on Oct. 22, 1920 in Wilkinsburg. The Scholastic Book Club has been around since 1926, offering low cost magazines and books to the public schools across the country.
Joycita, who loves reading and prefers hardback books to paperback, said she thought there was a 50/50 chance she would get a response. She credits her grandmother Rose Cceberio with helping her get the letter to Robinson.
“I was so excited when he responded,” she said. “I was happy he granted my wish. I love books because you can’t get everything you get in a book from a video. It’s not as good. It is so much better to sit down and hold a book in your hands and read it. There are hundreds of books to choose from.”
Each student selected a book that appealed to them. They are required to read 25 books a year. Joycita and her 19 classmates wrote “thank yous” to Robinson.
“It was so nice to see the students choosing books,” said Joycita’s teacher, Joanne de Poutiloff. “Some asked, ‘Will this book be my very own?’ I also watched Joycita, and she was smiling. She loves to read, and a big part of her life is being empathetic. She is a child who looks out for other people.”
JoAnne Harrop is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact JoAnne at 724-853-5062 or jharrop@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Jharrop_Trib.
