Bring Me a Book Foundation

Bring Me A Book has a strategy to help under resourced children acheive kindergarten readiness and on grade reading level - we provide quality age, language and culturally appropriate books in partnership with nonprofit and community-based pro literacy organizations who have established relationships with local low-income families. Together, we get books into the homes and schools that need them. 

EVERYBODY CAN GIVE A BOOK! Encourage your children to make a difference, too! Let's go viral -- share BMAB with your friends and family and see how many more books we can put into the homes and schools of children who have few or no books.

 

For many of us, it is unimaginable that there are homes in Silicon Valley without books. However, the statistics continue to confirm this to be true AND research presents compelling reasons to support book ownership.

"Urging young people (or parents or caregivers) to read more when there is little available to read makes as much sense as urging starving people to eat, when no food is available."  Krashen, 2007

“Access to books is the single biggest barrier to literary development in the United States and beyond. If we can solve the problem of access, we will be well on the road to realizing educational parity—a goal which has eluded this country for generations.” Susan B. Neuman, Former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary Education. 

Over the course of its 18-year history, Bring Me A Book has provided services to over 500,000 children and parents in over 1,800 state-funded preschools, Head Starts, elementary schools, childcare centers, and community centers across California.

By leveraging an expertise in selecting, purchasing and distributing quality, age-appropriate books, Bring Me A Book is uniquely qualified to enable children and their families to learn to love books and reading.  We know books, and our goal is simple—providing books, for those children without. 

Why is Early Literacy So Important?

Engaging children in reading and opening up their access to books in their earliest years increases school readiness, retention rates, and success, while decreasing poverty levels, crime, and incarceration rates.

The most important predictor of school success and high school graduation is reading at a proficient level by third grade, yet only 48% of third graders in Santa Clara County and 53% in San Mateo County are considered at or above proficient reading levels.

By increasing access to age appropriate books in the home, the single greatest predictor of long-term academic success, and adding to the literary resources available in the classroom, Bring Me A Book fosters a love for reading at an early age that is critical to academic success in the third grade and beyond.