LANSING — Captain Underpants and his tighty-whities flew off the tables.

Riddle Elementary School students spotted the books with the superhero on the cover, wearing just a pair of briefs and a billowing red cape. They were an easy pick for several third graders.

They are among thousands of books provided for free this year to 11,000 students in the Lansing School District through the Reading Is Fundamental program. The program has worked with the district for decades.

This is the first year that every student in the district will get a book.

“There’s nothing like getting your own book,” said acting Superintendent Mark Coscarella. “There’s something magical that happens when a child is curled up with a Roald Dahl book or another classic.”

Donations and funding from the Lansing School District make the free book distribution possible. Project leaders asked Board of Education members to approve a $100,000 budget to help cover the cost of purchasing 25,000 new paperback books at a meeting Oct. 3.

Last year, a little more than $77,100 in books were distributed, but to just the 9,229 students up through 10th grade.

About 11,266 students will receive books this year.

Suppliers — who this year include Scholastic, Booksource and Lerner Publishing Group — give the program a more than 40% discount and free shipping.

Reading is Fundamental is a national program that once received federal funding, which it used to offset costs for local districts. That funding dried up in 2012, Baker said.

The program carries a stock of at least 2,000 different titles at Lansing School District, from perennial favorites like the Harry Potter and Goosebumps series and picture books, Baker said.

“The greatest benefit is seeing the students make their choices of picking which books they’re going to take,” she said. “That’s deeply gratifying and seeing them light up at the book they’ve gotten, it’s really encouraging. And they tend to share that enthusiasm with their classmates.”

Third graders lined up against a wall after picking out their books, talking excitedly with their classmates .

That excitement is the spark that can lead kids to become better, more passionate readers, Coscarella said.

He’s seen research that shows having books at their disposal helps add to their ability to read "and more to their love and passion for reading."

Many students and their families don’t have the means to buy quality, up-to-date books that are relevant and applicable to their lives, said Riddle Principal Nicole Beard.

She is a product of Lansing School District and received books through the program when she was a student. Judy Blume titles were some of her favorite. It helped cement her love for reading.

It plays the same role today.

“It helps us to encourage and support literacy early on,” she said.

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Contact Mark Johnson at 517-377-1026 or at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.