BANGOR – Dirigo Reads, a program that aims to put a book in the hands of every Maine first grader each month during the school year by 2025, is announcing the addition of 36 schools that will participate in the program during the next school year. This brings the total number of participating schools to 87 for the 2022-23 school year, and increases the number of estimated first graders in Maine to receive new books every month through the program by about 77 percent, or approximately 1,200 additional students. “Last year, Dirigo Reads gave out more than 15,000 books to first graders in Maine,” said Karen Cashman, co-founder of Dirigo Reads.