Bring Me a Book Transitions

November 1, 2023 Dear Friends of Bring Me a Book, We are writing to update you on Bring Me A Book (BMAB) since our mother, Judy Koch, passed. We know that many of you supported BMAB out of your affection for Judy and the belief that there is no greater gift to a child than

A Time-Honored Tradition: Books and Book Cubbies at St. Elizabeth Seton School

On May 16, Bring Me a Book, the Palo Alto University Rotary Club, and the St.Elizabeth Seton School staff joined forces to once again deliver our time-honored tradition of bringing book cubbies and books to the school’s youngest students. With funding from the ever-generous Eliane and Armand Neukermans, St. Elizabeth Seton students establish their home

Our Family Engagement and Book Cubby Workshop: Helping All Children Develop a Robust Reading Habit

The Family Engagement and Book Cubby Workshop, Bring Me a Book’s signature program, draws together families, a public librarian, books that the children choose themselves to take home, and—the centerpiece—a book cubby. The cubby, decorated and personalized with each child’s first name, serves as the child’s home library and provides a safe place to keep

Judy Koch: Bringing Books to Children with Love and Joy

May 18, 1943 – February 21, 2023 “Live life with purpose!” Judy Koch was fond of saying—and that she did most notably with the founding of nonprofit Bring Me a Book in 1997, propelled by a mission to help all children grow a joyful and sustainable reading habit—supported by family engagement and a partnership with

The Magic of Readers

By Arlene Lawrence It was Saturday afternoon when I picked up an incoming call from my daughter. Barely audible over the shouts of “Mimi, Mimi” coming from what I assumed was the back seat of her car, my daughter said, “Hi Mom, Violet has something she needs to tell you.” “Mimi, you won’t believe it.

The Library of Congress Literacy Awards

The Library of Congress Literacy Awards are intended to draw public attention to the importance of literacy, and the need to promote literacy and encourage reading. Since 2013, the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program has awarded more than $3 million in prizes to more than 150 institutions in 38 countries. By recognizing current achievements,

Oakland Book Distribution with Mathical, Oakland Literacy Coalition, & Bookelicious

Bring Me a Book is proud to announce that 42 Title I schools and organizations including classrooms, libraries, and extended learning programs in Oakland, California received sets of 10 Mathical Book Prize titles in grade-level bands, and a book cubby in which to store the books. A total of 130 sets of books was distributed

National Consortium: Year Two

In the fall of 2021, the Bring Me a Book National School Consortium launched an action research study to determine the necessary personal, social, and environmental factors that help children develop a sustainable reading routine in a school setting. Access to BooksOur goal is book abundance—children need access to books (and lots of them) wherever

Texas Teachers Book Grants – Applications Open Now!

Applications are now open for the Texas Teachers Book Grant! Bring Me a Book’s mission is to help ALL children develop a healthy reading habit with support in the classroom, community and at home. We believe that when we help all children thrive through the joy and power of reading, we leverage literacy to create

Patagonia Palo Alto Book Launch

August 14th, we had the great pleasure of tabling at a book launch at the Palo Alto Patagonia store. Children listened to a bilingual reading of Patagonia’s new book, Better Than New / Mejor Que Nuevo. We look forward with continuing to work with Patagonia in new ways. View and Download our curated environmental book

Afghan Book Distribution

Bring Me a Book is partnering with East Coast nonprofit mEducation Alliance to distribute 5000+ children’s books in Dari and Pashto to Afghan refugee populations in California through our Bring Me a Book programming. We are currently working to partner with even more local Afghan refugee support organizations.

More Books, Fewer Toasters

By Gabriella Lundy and Chloe Mendoza Where love grows, abundance follows. On July 3, 2022, Jan Half and Sharyn Saslafsky celebrated their nuptials in an original way: instead of receiving gifts, they invited their guests to support local organizations they are passionate about. One of these organizations was Bring Me a Book. When asked why

Book Abundance, Book Joy, and Membership in the Literacy Club

By Maria Nichols Learning – all learning – is inherently relational and social. Famed reading researcher Frank Smith drew from this foundational understanding to craft the metaphor of a “literacy club”, creating both a vision and a goal for children’s literacy learning (1987). Children’s nurturing into the literacy club begins long before formal schooling as

Bring Me a Book Literacy Innovators Forum: Librarians Live!, May 11, 2022 @ 7:30pm ET

Join K.C. Boyd, Cicely Lewis, and Julia Torres for an inspiring and invigorating talk about the future of libraries in the lives of young readers. Click here to register for the event.