Pima County Supervisor Andrés Cano quizzed a room of first graders at Mission Manor Elementary School on their Spanish vocabulary last month, asking if anyone knew what "horchata" was.

Hands shot up around the school library, along with an appreciative "mmmm" for the sweet rice drink.

“Can anyone tell me what color Jamaica is?” Cano asked.

“I think it's red,” a student answered.

Cano's visit was part of a back-to-school children's book distribution event at two schools in District 5: Mission Manor Elementary School in the Sunnyside Unified School District and Tucson Unified School District's Lynn Urquides Elementary School.

During his visit, Cano read from Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford's bilingual children's book, "Hip, Hip, Hooray! It's Monsoon Day!," with 500 first graders across both schools receiving a signed copy along with a tote bag emblazoned with the words "I love books" and holding a bookmark, water bottle, coloring page, sunglasses and more.

Cano shared stories of his childhood with the students, telling them about his early love of reading.

“When I was your age, I would go to the library and I'd get lost in books like this, and as part of the work that I do, I wanted to put this book into your guys' hands,” Cano said.

Last year, Cano launched "Love of Lectura," or "Love of Reading," a four-part series in his district featuring local authors, including historian Lydia Otero, former Arizona state Rep. Lorenzo Sierra, University of Arizona Regents' Professor Ofelia Zepeda and retired social scientist and former TV host David Yetman. More than 400 community members attended the series.

The school book distribution is the second iteration of the program, "Love of Lectura 2.0."

“When we were thinking this year about doing the second round of Love of Lectura, I thought that we could have a little bit more impact and go right to our schools where our kids need our support, and where books can help them be the best learners and can spark their imagination,” Cano said.

Sunnyside School Board President Becky Quintero echoed that sentiment, pointing to the impact beyond the classroom.

“It's so special because when the kids take it home, the parents can read it with them, teach them another language if they're not fluent. It just bonds the family more together with sharing books,” Quintero said. “(Reading) … It's the foundation. If our kids don't like to read, they're not going to succeed. It all starts with reading when they're young.”

Cano reached out to Mission Manor about starting Love of Lectura, and given the district's annual love of reading weekend celebrated each February, Sunnyside School Superintendent Jose Gastelum said it made sense to start the effort earlier in the year.

“I came to Mission Manor as a student,” Gastelum said. “I love that he picked out a bilingual book so a lot of the kids could relate to the storyline in terms of some of the language that was used.

More than 13,500 students were enrolled in the Sunnyside Unified School District last year, with 90% identifying as Hispanic and one in five actively learning English as a second language, according to the district's annual report.

With one in four students in the district living at or below the poverty line, books can seem like a luxury, particularly bilingual ones, Cano said.

“What is going to be even more important is that when these kids go back home today and they come back with this culturally relevant material, they're going to be able to ... read with their parents who perhaps are Spanish-speaking only,” Cano said. “In communities like District 5, where we do have Spanish-speaking families, a majority of them need access to quality learning and literacy. That's what Love of Lectura is all about.”

Topacio “Topaz” Servellon is a reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact them at topacioserve@gmail.com.

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