FARMINGTON — Bikes for Books is all about getting kids to read books.

But for 12 students at W.G. Mallett School and Cascade Brook School, their reading efforts meant a brand new Huffy bicycle and helmet.

Members of Maine Lodge #20 East Wilton passed out a boy and girl’s bike to three grades at each school Thursday as they concluded the Bikes for Books program.

The Masonry program has provided 2,000 bicycles throughout the state to challenge students to read, Lodge Master Gerry Gilman said.

And they did.

Over 1,400 books, 800 by girls and 600 by boys in grades K-2 at Mallett School, were read since March 1, Amanda Roberts, school librarian, said.

At Cascade Brook School students in grade 3-5 read 1,455 books, librarian Amy Graham, said.  

The third grade class at Cascade Brook read the most for their school, a total of 327 books, she said. It takes students in the higher classes longer to read their books than the books read by the younger children, she said.

The Masons approached the schools earlier this year to see if they wanted to participate, Gilman said. 

For each book read, a student would put their name, the book title and a short paragraph about the book on to paper and drop it in the bucket.

The more books they read the more times their name was placed in the drawing giving them more chances, he said. It levels the field for everyone. It is not necessarily about who read the most books.

The program prompted more lessons than just reading for the students.

Students at Mallett School learned about random drawings, raffles and lotteries, Roberts said.

They also worked on celebrating if they won and celebrating if someone else won, Principal Tracy Williams, said. 

At Cascade Brook, a stuffed dog called Balto spent a day in the room of the class that read the most each day, Graham said. They learned about competing with each other as a class.

The Masons are an old fraternity, David Keith, chairman of the Books for Bikes program for the lodge, said.

And we are people from different occupations, Gilman said. Farmington Deputy Police Chief Shane Cote and Farmington Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Clyde Ross helped pass out the bicycles while in their uniform. Both are lodge members.

Even a retired mail carrier, Gilman said of himself, is part of the organization.

It is not about who you are but about who you want to be and how you can help the world, he told the students.

The organization is getting more involved in the community, he said.

Asking if they had fun participating in the program, Keith heard a resounding yes from Cascade Brook students. Asking if they should repeat the program again next year brought an even louder positive response.

[email protected]