Book or treat?

Sally Alice Smith '64
Sally Alice Unkles Smith ’64 displays books for Halloween trick-or-treaters on a table crafted from her late son’s surfboard. (© Meghan McCarthy – USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Sally Alice Unkles Smith ’64 celebrates 30 years of handing out books for Halloween

Sally Alice Unkles Smith ’64 started a popular tradition in Palm Beach by accident. It started on Halloween night in 1994, when she ran out of candy. The retired librarian replaced M&Ms with books.

Encouraged by the response she received and determined to make a difference, Smith has continued to hand out books instead of candy on Halloween for three decades. Her unique effort led to a feature article in the Palm Beach Daily News. “It’s interesting to make the front page without dying or getting married,” Smith mused.

Families have enjoyed the special Halloween gift that Smith has awarded for more than a generation in her Florida neighborhood, where she is referred to by local children as the “book lady.” Some kids have shared that her house is either their first stop or their favorite.

Smith earned a degree in economics at Wheaton and has been involved with libraries throughout her life. For 25 years she served as a trust officer—settling estates and administering property, investments or partnerships held in a trust. Smith then decided to pursue a degree in library and information science. Highly interested in children’s literature, she studied at Oxford University and at colleges in London and Washington, D.C., before completing a M.A. at the University of South Florida.

She later worked as a children’s librarian for The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach. After retiring, Smith has kept involved with several literacy events as a volunteer, such as reading to local school children to give the teachers a short break.

Since those first books as treats were handed out in 1994, Smith has spent the summers visiting libraries and thrift stores to purchase as many published works as possible, from children’s to coffee-table books. “The Salvation Army has been the best source for books,” she says, “and my family has always supported them. In fact, my late husband served for a time as board chair for the local Salvation Army.”

Her All Hallow’s Eve tradition has grown significantly over the years. Some neighbors have assisted to arrange and display the books or keep track of the volumes handed out. And when they ran out of tables, her son’s surfboards set up on saw horses passed as a makeshift display.

This year’s was the largest celebration to date. To accommodate the popularity of her giveaway, local police blocked off three neighborhood streets to traffic, designated them the “Halloween streets” and food trucks provided culinary options.

Smith handed out 125 books and estimated that a crowd of a least 250 stopped by, with every child accompanied by at least one parent. The benefits of reading, especially starting at a young age, are well documented, Smith says.

“How are they going to learn if they don’t know how to read and enjoy reading?” Smith wonders. “We hope that their parents read and they can emulate their parents.”