An elementary school held a book-lovers event in Newark on Friday.

Newark’s Hawkins Street School celebrated a Book Lovers Ball for its students, which included a Lincoln-Douglas style debate on the topic of digital books versus printed books followed by dancing, musical selections and a read-aloud of “A Library” written by Nikki Giovanni.

More than 50 families were in attendance, culminating with a secondary event for United Way of Greater Newark's My Very Own Library program that gave every Newark Public Schools students five new free books this December.