Maie Ellis Elementary sparks literacy with grant from Ben Carson Reading Project

FALLBROOK – In an era when children spend a growing number of hours each day hunched over smartphones and tablets, students at Maie Ellis Elementary School now have a place to lose themselves in actual books.

Housed in the school's library and stocking more than 500 books, the new space was created with a portion of funding from a $17,000 grant from the Ben Carson Reading Project, founded by U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson and his wife Candy Carson.

Candy Carson visited Fallbrook, Sept. 20, to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the space, dubbed "Camp...