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Donating books – Seven places that want your used books.

05 Jun 2011 4 Comments

Donating books – Seven places that want your used books.

6 places that want your used books

So you’ve got a pile of gently used picture books that your kids have long outgrown, or maybe it’s that dusty pile of current chick-lit by your bedside that you want to clear out.

Here’s a few ideas on how to donate those gently used books to an organization that can get them into the hands of someone who’s eager to read them.

1.  Local Charities

Donationtown is a great website that can help match you with a local charity.  Just enter your zip code and find a local group that will come to your home and pick up your donations.  Not just for books, but clothes, toys, furniture, etc.  http://www.donationtown.org — Enter your zip code and find a local charity that will come and pick up your donations.

Organizations like Goodwill and the Salvation Army will take books and sell them in their stores.

2. National Groups

These groups focus primarily on getting children’s books into the hands of needy kids.

BookEnds, a nonprofit organization based in Southern California, is about Kids Helping Kids. BookEnds’ recycles children’s books through student-run book drives and places them in schools and youth organizations in need of books.

Kids in Need, Books in Deed Kids in Need – Books in Deed is a nonprofit organization that brings free books and free author visits to Kids in Need throughout the state of Florida.

Reading Tree Reading Tree places and maintains book collection bins in communities across the country. By collecting and redistributing used books, we are able to support literacy programs by providing fundamental books to kids.

Darien Book Aid Plan This non-profit, all volunteer organization that builds a foundation of peace, understanding, and friendship by distributing free books. Book Aid sends books in response to specific requests from Peace Corps volunteers, libraries and schools all over the world Books are also donated to libraries, prisons, hospitals, Native American and Appalachian groups in the United States.

Reader to Reader A non-profit organization that distributes books to schools and libraries in need.

3. International Charities

The Book Bus – The Book Bus Foundation was founded in 2007 by Tom Maschler with the aim of spreading literacy and the joy of reading to children in Zambia. The Book Bus now operates in Malawi and Ecuador as well as Zambia. The Book Bus provides a mobile service and actively promotes literacy to underprivileged communities in Zambia and Ecuador. The legacy of each Book Bus visit is a reading corner and bookshelves stocked with children’s books.

Book Aid International – This organization increases access to books to support literacy, education and development in sub-Saharan Africa, Palestine and Sri Lanka.

Books Abroad – Books Abroad believes that, in the long term, education is what is required to help solve the worlds problems. With the power to read and write, the children of today will have a better understanding of the issues surrounding them.

Nearly all types of books are accepted by the International Book Project, Inc. of Lexington, Kentucky.  Although the International Book Project works mainly in developing countries, last year we also partnered with several organizations working in underserved communities within the U.S.

International Book Project – This international nonprofit whose mission is to promote education and literacy while broadening Americans’ understanding of their neighbors by sending quality used books overseas.

Books for International Goodwill – Books for International Goodwill (B.I.G.) has successfully recycled used books for productive use by those who need books for schools and libraries to improve literacy in developing communities around the world. B.I.G. is a project begun by the Parole Rotary Club of Annapolis and is now an independent non-profit entity. It’s motto is “Spreading Literacy by Keeping Books Alive”.

4.  Libraries.

Call your local library to find out if you can donate to them.  Many libraries will take your books and sell them in their used book fund raisers.

5. Hospitals, nursing homes, and shelters.

Hospitals and clinics frequently accept donations of books for their waiting rooms and patients.  I know from running book drives that nursing homes love to get romance novels and biographies. Also, there’s a local family shelter in my area that is alway looking for teen/YA books for their bigger kids.  Find out what your local organizations need.

6. Prisons.

Until I started researching this article, it had never occurred to me to donate books to the corrections system.  I know not everyone will agree, but I think this is a wonderful idea.  Take note that frequently they’ll only accept paperback book donations.

Check out this map and click on your state —  prison books programs throughout North America (Google map).

Specific programs.

Prison Book Program of Quincy, Massachusetts

Books to Prisoners of Seattle, Washington;

Books Through Bars of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Prison Book Project of Amherst, Massachusetts.

Women’s Prison Book Project of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Chicago Books to Women in Prison.

7.  Other great ideas.

Set them free!  Book Crossing is a really fun idea. Go to Book Crossing’s website to download their labels, create your own custom labels, or order labels from them then fill it out, register your book online, then leave it in a public space and see if anyone else registers it.  http://www.bookcrossing.com

Milk and Bookies A nationwide charitable organization that inspires children to give back, using books as its currency.  If your child has a birthday coming up and doesn’t feel the need to receive 30+ new toys, then Milk and Bookies can show you how to host a party where your child collects books for charities.

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For more organizations and charities with a book/literacy focus in the US and Canada, this is a very useful list on The Reading Tub’s wiki page about Literacy Organizations.

Also, the American Library Association has a useful list at Book Donation Programs.

 

by Lisa in Info

24 Mar 2011 No Comments

The 50 Books Every Child “Should” Read


British Education Secretary Michael Gove says that children aged 11 should be reading 50 books a year to improve literacy standards.

The Independent asked three of Britain’s leading children’s authors and two of our in-house book experts to each pick 10 books, suitable for Year 7 students.

The authors chose books that have brought them huge joy, while expressing their outrage at the “great big contradiction” of Mr Gove’s claim to wish to improve literacy while closing libraries across the country.

Michael Morpurgo said, “This target sounds like a neat solution, but the Government is depriving the massive number of children who don’t read of the chance to discover books.”

Mr Gove made his comments after observing a school in Harlem, New York, which sets pupils a “50-book challenge” over a year.

Philip Pullman (Author of “His Dark Materials” trilogy)

* Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Indispensable. The great classic beginning of English children’s literature.

* Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. What effortless invention looks like.

* Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner. A great political story: democracy in action.

More →

by Lisa in Ages 12 - up, Ages 8 - 12, Info Tags: ,

26 Jan 2011 No Comments

Kids pick their top 100 books

The National Education Association did an online poll a while back and here’s what kids picked as their favs.

1. Harry Potter (series) by J. K. Rowling

2. Goosebumps (series) by R. L. Stine

3. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Accelerated Reading level – 1.5

4. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Accelerated Reading level – 2.1

5. Arthur (series) by Marc Brown

6. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

7. Shiloh (trilogy) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
(boxed set)
Accelerated Reading level – 4.4, 4.8, 4.9

8. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Accelerated Reading level – 5.7

9. Holes by Louis Sachar
Accelerated Reading level – 4.6

10. The Giver by Lois Lowry
Accelerated Reading level – 5.7
by Lois Lowry

More →

by Book Mama in Ages 12 - up, Ages 8 - 12, Info Tags:

18 Jan 2011 No Comments

How much would you pay for an unpublished Dr. Seuss?

LA TIMES  October 18, 2010 | 10:16 am

Seuss_sports

Dr. Seuss’ book that wasn’t, ‘All Sorts of Sports,’ up for auction

Los Angeles auction house Nate D. Sanders has acquired a lost Dr. Seuss manuscript from a former assistant of Theodore Geisel; the hand-drawn and hand-lettered pages are now up for auction.

The book, “All Sorts of Sports,” was abandoned in the 1960s. It has rhymes and rhythms like many of Geisel’s books: “What am I going to do today. Well, that’s a simple matter. Oh, that’s easy. We could play. There are so many sports games to play. We could swim. I could play baseball … golf … or catch. Or I could play a tennis match.”

But around Page 6, his sports ideas peter out, with the text turning into nonsense. “I could blumf. Or blumf blumf blumf blumf blumf. Or blumf. Or blumf blumf blumf blumf blumf.” After that, the remaining dozen pages are lettered by an assistant and include notes from Geisel.

The auction runs through Thursday; the bidding, currently at about $1,600, has not yet reached the reserve price.

The lot includes a 1983 letter from Geisel on “Cat in the Hat” stationery, in which he remembers the “All Sorts of Sports” manuscript but finds the story lacking. “When you picture these negative scenes in illustrations, you will find that negatives are always more memorable than positives. And I think the reader’s reaction will be, ‘What’s the matter with this dope?’ ”

Perhaps that understanding of what stuck with readers is what set Dr. Seuss apart. After all, who can forget “Green Eggs and Ham”?

– Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Manuscript pages up for auction. Credit: Nate D. Sanders

by Book Mama in Grown up book, Info, picture books Tags:

12 Jan 2011 No Comments

The 2011 Newberry and Caldecott Medal Winners.

The American Library Association announced on Monday the 2011 John Newbery Medal and the Randolph Caldecott Medal. The Newbery Medal honors the most outstanding contribution in children’s literature and the Caldecott Medal honors for the most distinguished American picture book for children.

The ALA also announced more than 20 awards total for top books, video and audiobook for children and young adults at its Midwinter Meeting in San Diego.

It’s a looooooooooong list with lots of different awards so check out the whole thing when you have some time.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:


“A Sick Day for Amos McGee,” illustrated by Erin E. Stead, is the 2011 Caldecott Medal winner. The book was written by Philip C. Stead, and is a Neal Porter Book, published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing.

Two Caldecott Honor Books also were named:

“Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.; and

“Interrupting Chicken,” written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein and published by Candlewick Press.

More →

by Book Mama in Info Tags:

31 Dec 2010 No Comments

NY Times Best of 2010

Notable Children’s Books of 2010

 

Illustration by Jakob Hinrichs

BUSING BREWSTER
By Richard Michelson.
Illustrated by R. G. Roth.
Unpaged. Knopf. $16.99. (Ages 6 to 10)

Brewster is a black child living in a segregated neighborhood in the early 1970s. He’s not dreaming of a way out, only of starting first grade with Miss Evelyn — until his mother announces that he and his brother will be bused to the “white school” an hour away. The understated honesty of Michelson’s writing and Roth’s art capture the period perfectly in this tale, one of this year’s New York Times best illustrated children’s books.

CENTER FIELD
By Robert Lipsyte.
280 pp. HarperTeen/HarperCollins. $16.99. (Ages 12 and up)

Lipsyte’s pitch-perfect young adult novel follows a jaded but likable suburban kid who wants only to play center field, where it’s “open and clean, no foul lines or crazy angles.” But it takes time to get there. The suburb he lives in, with its neglected teenagers, overworked adults and scheming, self-serving authority figures, seems like a stand-in for early-21st-century America.

DUST DEVIL
By Anne Isaacs.
Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky.
Unpaged. Schwartz & Wade. $17.99. (Ages 5 to 9)

In this gorgeous sequel to the Caldecott Honor-winning “Swamp Angel,” the brave and resourceful Angelica Long rider, all of 16 years old, once again proves herself worthy to wear the boots of Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill or John Henry. Zelinsky’s precise and witty illustrations, in American primitive style, match Isaacs’ text, which captures the outsize tone of the frontier, where the soil is “rich enough to open its own bank.”

More →

by Book Mama in Ages 12 - up, Ages 4 - 8, Ages 8 - 12, Info, picture books

10 Oct 2010 No Comments

Best Kids Book Ages 12 and up from The Guardian

From the much-loved classic Tom Sawyer to the modern classic His Dark Materials, Lucy Mangan and Imogen Russell-Williams pick their top reads for children aged 12 and over.

I Capture the Castle: Dodie Smith

The first entry in Cassandra Mortmain’s diary ends with her feeling happier than she ever has in her life, despite her depressed father and impoverished state. “Perhaps it is because I have satisfied my creative urge; or it may be due to the thought of eggs for tea.” The story of the restoration of a degree of the family fortunes unfolds in the same briskly beguiling voice and appeals to the romantic streak in every teenage heart. Trust no one who does not love this or, of course, 101 Dalmatians.

His Dark Materials: Philip Pullman

Bleak, brutal, warm, lush and exhilarating by turns, fiercely intelligent, compassionate and compelling always, it will undo all the harm or all the good you feel was done by letting your offspring loose on Narnia. That’s what reading is for.

 

 

The Chaos Walking trilogy: Patrick Ness

An unbelievably thrilling read that nevertheless poses profound questions – about the effects of war, the constraints of love and hate, the competing claims of vengeance and forgiveness – as the epic tale of Todd’s efforts to escape various warmongering forces unfolds. Profoundly humane and utterly magnificent. More →

by Book Mama in Ages 12 - up, Info Tags: , ,

28 Sep 2010 1 Comment

Who Would Ban “Winnie-the-Pooh?”

Banned Children’s Books: The Usual Suspects and Few Surprises.

“Books won’t stay banned. They won’t burn. Ideas won’t go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas. The source of better ideas is wisdom. The surest path to wisdom is a liberal education.”  Alfred Whitney from Essays on Education


Not so many years ago when my own child was just an itty-bitty little thing, I found a copy of “Bonjour Babar!” at a garage sale for just a buck. Because I remember reading Babar with my grandmother, I was psyched to acquire my very own copy to continue the tradition.

But once we got snuggled up in bed and actually started reading, I grew concerned.  Wait… I don’t remember these stories being so… uh… politically incorrect.

Over the years, the Babar stories have been repeatedly banned because they are charged with being “racist” and “extolling the virtues of a European middle-class lifestyle and disparaging the animals and people who have remained in the jungle.”  Babar has been labeled “Eurocentric” by its detractors.

Yep, that pretty much sums up my feelings from that night a few years back (except with fancier words) but is it reason enough to ban the jolly elephant in a green suit?  Or to even burn the book? More →

by Book Mama in Grown up book, Info Tags: , ,

19 Sep 2010 No Comments

The Ten Best Kids Books Ages 8 -12 from the The Guardian

Some familiar titles, some not so recognizable, but The Guardian’s list is an excellent resource.  Once again, you could have trouble finding a couple of these titles on Amazon, so you may have to actually check your local library.

From the small genius of The Borrowers to the giants of children’s books, the Narnia stories, Lucy Mangan and Imogen Russell-Williams pick their must-reads for 8-12 year-olds by Lucy Mangan and Imogen Russell Williams

Stig of the Dump: Clive King

This was the first original Puffin published in 1963. The story of eight-year-old loner Barney who befriends Stig, a remnant of the Stone Age hidden in the local chalk pit, has not been out of print since. The two boys grow to appreciate each other’s eras and skills as they contrive ingenious solutions to Stig’s various problems living out of the junk that is thrown into the pit. A modern classic.

Charlotte’s Web: EB White

“‘Where’s Papa going with that ax?’ said Fern to her mother” is probably the most famous opening line of any children’s book. He is going to dispatch Wilbur, the runt of the litter, until Fern pleads for clemency. With the help of Wilbur’s wise and devoted friend, Charlotte, the spider is able to live out the rest of his days in safety. You may feel like warning your child that Charlotte dies “as spiders do” at the end of the summer. You should resist. It’s a book that teaches you that characters can be made to live for ever simply by turning back to the first page and starting again.

The Family from One End Street: Eve Garnett

This episodic collection of the adventures (in the late 1930s) of the multitudinous Ruggles family (seven children, two parents) was one of the first books for this age group to take working-class life as its central theme and to depict it with charm and without condescension. They remain as fresh as the day they were penned. More →

by Book Mama in Ages 8 - 12, Info Tags: , , ,

14 Sep 2010 No Comments

The 10 Best Kids' Books ages 5 – 7 according to "The Guardian"

The U.K.’s The Guardian puts out a list of their favorite children’s books by category.  I’m not sure what it says about the relationship between literature and commerce but several of these books are not available on Amazon.  Nevertheless, if you’re struggling to find something for your little one to read, thought this might be a good resource.

Over the next week, I’ll put up the book lists for the older book babies.

From Roald Dahl’s bestselling Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch, Julia Eccleshare picks her top reads for 5-7 year-olds.

The Sheep-Pig: Dick King-Smith

Brave Babe, born a runty little piglet, who is brought to the farm for fattening-up, cheats his destiny by learning new skills from his adoptive mother Fly, the sheepdog. Babe’s sheep-working skills are all his own and soon his unique technique of speaking respectfully to the sheep brings him fame as well as saving Farmer Hogget’s sheep from harm. Funny and touching.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Roald Dahl

Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory is one of fiction’s most tantalising locations and Charlie Bucket’s adventure a mouth-watering rollercoaster of a ride. Along with four other children, Charlie wins a golden ticket to be shown around. While Charlie blossoms on the trip, his four companions reach suitably sticky and disgusting ends as punishment for their revolting behaviour. Mr Willy Wonka dispenses prejudiced and violent justice, which children adore.

The Legend of Captain Crow’s Teeth: Eoin Colfer

The sometimes horrible but always fascinating way in which brothers treat one another lives on in this hilarious story of how Will’s older brother Marty spooks the daylights out of him with a terrible tale of the deadly pirate Captain Crow. The thought of what the bloodthirsty pirate might do sets off a chain reaction of disasters for Will but also a just and delightful comeuppance for Marty. More →

by Book Mama in Ages 4 - 8, Info Tags: ,

06 Sep 2010 No Comments

100 Best Kids Books by TeachersFirst

Here is a list of one hundred books selected by the National Education Association in 1999 as great reading for children and young people.  Obviously it’s kind of old, and it wouldn’t quite by my list, but I still thought it was a good resource.

Books for All Ages

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Heidi by Johanna Spyri More →

by Book Mama in Info

27 Aug 2010 No Comments

You might be a Book Mama (or Daddy) if you…

- Have a first edition of all seven “Harry Potter” books.

- Enjoy long meaningful conversations with the librarians at your kids’ school.

- Know all the words to “Goodnight Moon,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and/or “Where the Wild Things Are” by heart.

- Spend the better part of a dinner party talking to the host’s 13-year-old about what they’re reading.

- Bought a first generation Kindle.

- Have a “one-click” account at Amazon.com.

- The barista at Barnes and Noble knows how you take your latte.

- Look forward to New Years because the Newberry Awards are just around the corner.

- Or you just love, love, love books.

by Book Mama in Grown up book, Info Tags: ,

11 Aug 2010 No Comments

Earn free books for your kid's class with the SunnyD Book Spree

Want to earn 20 free books for your school library or child’s classroom?  Just join the 2010 SunnyD Book Spree and save 20 valid SunnyD UPC labels.

The 2010 SunnyD Book Spree runs from August 2nd – November 30th.  In 2009, they gave away 84,000 books to American classrooms.

In 2009 Connie W., from Haleyville, AL said, ”We received our wonderful selection of 20 free books and are so excited about placing them in our lending library. As I am sure you are aware, Head Start centers serves low income families… Community Action Partnership of North Alabama promotes literacy with various projects…The free books we received from saving and sending in Sunny D labels will be used in those projects.”

Keep collecting labels for your chance to win hundreds of extra books for your school!  The top 10 schools will win up to 600 books.

Visit www.sunnyd.com for complete rules, entry form and additional details.

by Book Mama in Ages 4 - 8, Ages 8 - 12, Info