The books were piling up so high around Amy Ortiz's desk it was hard to see her. But it wasn't because she's disorganized. This Moriarty Elementary schoolteacher and 90 5th grade students were collecting books for hospitalized children.

Their book drive began in April when a student brought an email to school telling about the role books can play in the lives of suffering children. The letter asked for donations of books to go to UNM Children's Hospital.

"The kids were so excited by the idea that they could do something to help other kids," Amy says. Several students donated the books they had received as birthday gifts from the school. Others brought books from home or asked neighbors and friends to donate. They passed out fliers asking for donations. In less than a month the 5th graders collected more than 500 books.

"Several of the kids said their lives have been touched by people with cancer," said Mrs. Ortiz. "They wrote notes on book marks that we included with the books."

The email that kicked off this project came from Katie Beatty, a mother from Fruitland, New Mexico, who shared the following story about how a particular book helped her son.

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John's Shelf

The year was 2002. John Beatty, 15, was riding his bike, when a car swerved into him. He fell hard, landing on his wrist. John and his mother sat in the emergency room for hours waiting to have John's injuries looked at. Finally, in frustration, they decided it would be easier to go to their family doctor on Monday.

That Sunday, at church, Katie Beatty noticed that her son had trouble kneeling. Something more than a wrist problem was wrong. Looking back on that day Katie considers the delays in treatment to be a blessing.

"If he had been seen in the ER and had his wrist bandaged, the doctors would never have looked at his leg," she says. Instead, X-rays taken that week revealed that John had osteosarcoma of the left tibia. Cancer was growing in his muscular leg.

For weeks the young football player lay in a hospital bed. He reacted to the first round of treatments by vomiting blood. And the bleeding wouldn't stop. He came close to death.

Then he endured "leg salvage" surgery as the doctors removed all the bones involved in the cancer including his knee and much of the bone above his ankle. John was in great pain. He asked his mom for only one thing…"Read Beowulf out loud."

It's a story about good versus evil. Katie and John felt the hero's battle against monstrous foes was much like their own. Through the story, they could escape from the hospital and release their fears.

As a result of that year of turmoil and courage, Katie Beatty began to realize that books might offer similar comfort and inspiration to others.

She dreamed about a project called John's Shelf. She would ask for donations of new or gently used books. She and her husband Ken, would purchase a sturdy book cart that could go from room to room at the hospital. The books would be given as gifts to children of all ages.

"It's been a very organic process," she says. Her vision changed and grew as others, like the kids at Moriarty Elementary School, added to it. She began to see that books, given from one child to another, would speak volumes. "I'm hoping several schools statewide will make this an annual project."

Just two months after first sending out an email about John's Shelf, Katie had gathered enough boxes of books to fill the portable shelf at UNM several times over. Donations have come from an Edgewood Boy Scout troop, from school children in Farmington and from a Moriarty 4-H club, along with the Moriarty kids. The books are continuing to come in from children and families, across the state, who want to help.

"John's Shelf could help as many as 3,000 kids a year who come to the hospital for infusions," says Meloney Baty, the Child-Life supervisor at UNM. "It's a wonderful idea and we know the books donated for it will be an inspiration to the children who receive them."

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As for John Beatty, because of the amazing way his cancer was detected in the early stages, he won the battle. He's been cancer-free for five years. He can now walk without assistance. Meanwhile, John's mother has taken up writing children's stories of adventure and courage.
"We have seen miracles in our lives. And this project is one of them," says Katie. "It's so beautiful to see compassion growing in kids. And I'm happy to know that good stories will lift the spirits of sick kids."

To donate books for this project, contact Katie at kidzwriter53@yahoo.com.