An abundance of books have been bestowed upon little readers and their teachers at Washington Heights Academy. New and wondrous picture books and chapter books and reference books, too, about all sorts of things, including lions and tigers and bears. Oh, my!

“I love watching the excitement on their faces,” says 2nd-grade teacher Madeline De Jesus. “They are so happy touching the books, choosing the books, and the best part is to see them reading the books!”

The largesse is the result of an Astor Foundation grant won by the UFT, which has joined with the nonprofit First Book to give books to children and families who need them most. Washington Heights Academy is one of eight elementary schools citywide to receive grant money to support early childhood literacy this school year.

Kindergarten through 3rd-grade teachers at Washington Heights Academy each received 25 books for each of their classroom libraries. And every single student in those grades will receive six books to keep. More than 250 families in all can begin building or supplementing their home book collections.

“As a teacher, I’m so thankful,” says Jeanette De Los Santos, who teaches Grade 1. “Many of our children had no books at home.”

These are not second-rate remainders or scribbled-in used books. These are high-quality, carefully curated offerings geared to the reading levels and interests of their recipients.

Research is clear that the sheer number of books in a home is a strong indicator of future academic success, says school curriculum coordinator Lynne Herndon.

“But what we love most about this whole thing is that we’re always looking for connections between classrooms and families,” she says.

At first, she said, the staff was so excited that they wanted to get the six books in each kid’s hands immediately. Upon reflection, they decided to turn the gift of books into an extended celebration.

It began with winter break when the children took home two books beautifully beribboned by the school elders — the 5th-graders — along with a postcard informing parents that the books were a gift for their kids to keep. The next gift of two will go home prior to spring break. The final two books will be handed out during a family event at the school one evening in May.

Meanwhile, teachers report that reading is the rage in and out of their classrooms.

“I have one little girl who carries a beautiful, big, fat reference book on animals home every afternoon and back every morning,” says De Jesus who, like the other teachers, happily makes her new classroom collection available for overnights. “I finally told her to keep it at home for a while. She wants to read everything in it.”