The library at DeMello School will see a big selection of new books thanks to a couple of smart cookies and their bake sale in Padanaram.

Wanting to help their fellow students have more access to newer reading material, eight-year-olds Emma Horgan and Ruby Mullane and some friends spent their Saturday afternoon selling freshly baked cookies in order to raise the funds necessary to stock up the library.

“We didn’t just do this for our books, we did it for the future students of DeMello,” Mullane said. “This project will help all over the world.”

The DeMello students said they were upset that they and their friends weren't  able to get the books they wanted from the school's library, while other books were damaged. 

“They don’t really have new books [at the library], so we figured they could use some help,” Mullane said.

The decision to make the fundraiser cookie-based, Horgan said, was inspired by her favorite book series, “Owl Diaries” by Rebecca Elliott.

The third-grader noted that in the seventh book, the main character Eva Wing and half of her class open a bakery to raise money for a special chair for a friend.

“We were so inspired,” Horgan said. “And it was from a book!”

The two best friends had a lot of help setting up their fundraiser, noting that many of their friends helped bake the more than 700 cookies available for sale, including those made by fellow DeMello students Ella and Sophia Baker.

“Ella and Sophia baked because they’re the Bakers,” Mullane said. “Get it?”

Families were also a big help, the third-grader added.

“Our moms were a big help,” she said.

In just the first hour of the sale, the DeMello students managed to raise more than $225 of their $350 goal from pre-sales and those driving by their cookie stand. By the end of the sale, the kids made $1,500.

“We have the best customers,” Mullane said. “They’re so generous.”

Horgan noted that after Saturday’s sale, any leftover cookies will be placed on a wagon and rolled through Padanaram Village. 

There will also be a matching contribution from an anonymous donor.

The next step, Horgan said, is to get together with her fellow students and determine which new books they’d like to see in the library in order to create a more literate future.

“Reading can help you with so many things,” Horgan said. “It can make DeMello school a smarter, kinder, and happier place.”