On Saturday, April 24, the East Bay Children’s Book Project will celebrate our 5th anniversary with a party to thank all our supporters and clients.  To get us in the mood, here are some children’s books about parties and celebrations!

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson: All the animals are having a party in Bear’s den while Bear is sleeping … or is Bear sleeping?

Happy Birthday, Danny and the Dinosaur! by Syd Hoff: If you already know Danny and the Dinosaur, I don’t need to tell you any more.  If you don’t, what are you waiting for?

A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats: Peter wants to invite Amy to his birthday party in this wonderful book by the author of The Snowy Day and Peter’s Chair.

Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik: Little Bear has a birthday party and other gentle adventures in this most wonderful of classics.

Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton: Sometimes you just gotta party for the heck of it (especially when you’re Sandra Boynton’s hippos)!

Want to help the East Bay Children’s Book Project but live too far away or don’t have time during the week? You can organize a book drive.

First, choose a time and place.  You could collect books at a school, a religious or social organization, your office, a local store or coffee shop.

Next, design flyers and signs (this is a great project for kids).  Be sure to include what the books are for, what kind of books you want (new or new and gently used children’s books), where people should bring books and how long the drive will last.  If you’re stumped on this, ask us for help; we can also provide brochures.

Post signs and distribute flyers. Provide boxes or collection bins and place them in nice, prominent locations.

Collect the books (on a regular basis so the bins don’t overflow). Count them and sort them by the following categories: board books (books with cardboard pages), picture books, chapter books. If you have a lot of books, you can also sort out non-fiction books. Please recycle anything that is ripped or dirty.  Books that are not for kids or teens should be donated to your local library or charity thrift store.

Deliver the books to 2008 Park Blvd. Please box the books standing up and let us know the total number of books and the number of hours you donated.

Call us at 510-433-0412 or email us at eastbaycbp@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Happy new year!  The East Bay Children’s Book Project humbly offers a few New Year’s resolutions that we hope will make your lives, and those of the East Bay’s children, happier and more book-filled in 2010:

• Come see us! The East Bay Children’s Book Project will re-open on January 5, 2010. We’re at 2008 Park Boulevard in Oakland and we’re open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 6.  You can get free books every time we are open, so come early and often!
• Tell a friend, bring a friend!  Our whole purpose is to get as many books as possible into the hands of children in need.  Help us spread the word!
• Help us help you!  Do you know someone whose children have outgrown their books?  A teacher who is retiring and doesn’t know what to do with his classroom library?  Someone who might want to do a book drive?  We accept new and gently used books for children of all ages (for more details: http://www.eastbaychildrensbookproject.org/donate-books/) Or drop a couple of bucks in our jar, or tell a rich relative about us …
• Join our team!  We’ve always got things going on; just email eastbaycbp@gmail.com if you’re interested in joining our terrific all-volunteer team.

And two more, not really related to the Book Project, but near and dear to our heart:

• Go to your local branch library and take something out.  Don’t have a card?  Get one.  Don’t know what to borrow?  Talk to the librarian.  Our libraries are under-utilized treasures, and if we don’t use them, they won’t get funded, and then we won’t have them.  And we will surely miss them if we lose them!
• If you can afford it, buy something at an Oakland bookstore.  Brick-and-mortar stores are having a hard time, but without bookstores our city would surely be a poorer place.  That’s true both metaphorically and literally – money you spend locally stays in the local economy, unlike money you spend online.  Oakland has many terrific stores selling new, used and specialty books: go browse and take something home.  Books are treasures in your home.

We’re looking forward to seeing you soon –

Your friends at the East Bay Children’s Book Project

THROUGH DECEMBER 22, 2009

GREAT NEW BOOKS FOR YOU

We’ve got great dictionaries!  Thanks to a generous donation from the California Dictionary Project, we have 9 cases of brand-new dictionaries. If you teach 3rd grade or above, please come get a set for your whole class.

Hoopoe Books are coming.  They emailed us last week thanking us for all the nice notes you sent last year and offering us more books this year. So … as soon as they can get our order together, we will be getting them. They will definitely arrive before the holidays.  We ordered 5,000 this year so we can afford to be very generous with them.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Got a car and a little time?  We are looking for someone to pick up books at the Storyteller in Lafayette.  It would probably be about once a month and can be done with a small car in the evening or weekend.

Come join our team!  We need help counting, sorting and distributing books through the end of 2009. The number of books and clients keeps growing.

Please email eastbaycbp@gmail.com if you are interested in either of these opportunities.

WE HATE TO ASK, BUT …

Thanks to all of you who read our last email and sent donations. We hate to ask, but if we are to continue providing services to you, we need to pay our bills. So please encourage your friends and family to make a tax deductible donation before the end of the year. You can make a secure donation online or mail it to EBCBP, 2008 Park Blvd, Oakland, CA 94606.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Don’t forget, we will be closed December 18th through January 4th. The last day to get books will be December 17th.

Thanks for all your support,

Your friends at the East Bay Children’s Book Project