The East Bay Children’s Book Project helps put books into the homes of children who don’t have them.  Now a study says that children who grow up in homes with books are more likely to stay in school for longer – and that this may be true whether their parents are highly literate or not.  And here’s the best part – you can help do something about it!  (Read all the way to the end …)

According to the May 21, 2010 online issue of Science Daily, a 20-year-long study showed that having 500 books in the home can be as important as having university-educated parents in determining how much education a child will receive.  But you don’t need a big personal library to have an effect on your child’s education or literacy: according to the study, children with even 20 books in the home got higher levels of education than those without any books.  And the effect was greater when the parents had less education.

Are there really families with no books at all in their homes?  Sadly, yes.  Literacy, and the lack of it, is a huge issue.  An estimated one in four English-speaking adults in the United States can’t read well enough to complete a job application.  And when money is tight, buying books is low on the list.

That’s where the East Bay Children’s Book Project comes in.  Our clients get books into the hands of children who need them.  For example, the Families for Literacy Program of the Oakland (California) Public Library’s Second Start Adult Literacy Program gives over 1,000 books a year to the children of adult literacy learners.  These children will grow up with books in their homes.

YOU CAN HELP! Organize a book drive for the East Bay Children’s Book Project at your office, school, place of worship, or among friends.  Ask a local business to host one of our book collection bags; contact us to find out more.  Spread the word: tell your friends who work for organizations benefiting children about us.  Or make a donation to help us buy new books and cover our expenses!  Support the East Bay Children’s Book Project.  We make education happen!

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

The Twelve Days of Booksmas

Booksmas: a holiday devoted to sharing the joy of reading, especially with children

On the first day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.[1]

On the second day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
Yertle the Turtle[2]
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

On the third day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
The Little Red Hen,[3]
Yertle the Turtle,
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

On the fourth day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
There is a Bird on Your Head,[4]
The Little Red Hen,
Yertle the Turtle,
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

On the fifth day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
Lord of the Rings![5]
There is a Bird on Your Head,
The Little Red Hen,
Yertle the Turtle,
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

On the sixth day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
Mother Goose Rhymes,[6]
Lord of the Rings,
There is a Bird on Your Head,
The Little Red Hen,
Yertle the Turtle,
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

On the seventh day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
The Ugly Duckling,[7]
Mother Goose Rhymes,
Lord of the Rings,
There is a Bird on Your Head,
The Little Red Hen,
Yertle the Turtle,
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

On the eighth day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
It Looked Like Spilt Milk,[8]
The Ugly Duckling,
Mother Goose Rhymes,
Lord of the Rings,
There is a Bird on Your Head,
The Little Red Hen,
Yertle the Turtle,
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

On the ninth day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
Angelina Ballerina,[9]
It Looked Like Spilt Milk,
The Ugly Duckling,
Mother Goose Rhymes,
Lord of the Rings,
There is a Bird on Your Head,
The Little Red Hen,
Yertle the Turtle,
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

On the tenth day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
Ten Black Dots,[10]
Angelina Ballerina,
It Looked Like Spilt Milk,
The Ugly Duckling,
Mother Goose Rhymes,
Lord of the Rings,
There is a Bird on Your Head,
The Little Red Hen,
Yertle the Turtle,
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

On the eleventh day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
The Pied Piper,[11]
Ten Black Dots,
Angelina Ballerina,
It Looked Like Spilt Milk,
The Ugly Duckling,
Mother Goose Rhymes,
Lord of the Rings,
There is a Bird on Your Head,
The Little Red Hen,
Yertle the Turtle,
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

On the twelfth day of Booksmas, my true love gave to me
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,[12]
The Pied Piper,
Ten Black Dots,
Angelina Ballerina,
It Looked Like Spilt Milk,
The Ugly Duckling,
Mother Goose Rhymes,
Lord of the Rings,
There is a Bird on Your Head,
The Little Red Hen,
Yertle the Turtle,
And Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge!

There are so many books to give.  We at the East Bay Children’s Book Project encourage you to share the gift of books!

And while you are giving books … we can always use new picture books, board books and Spanish-language books.  Or you can make a donation on our secure server

We wish you a merry Booksmas from all of us here!

-  Your friends at the East Bay Children’s Book Project

[1] Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

[2] Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

[3] The Little Red Hen: many, many versions

[4] There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems

[5] Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

[6] Mother Goose Rhymes: many, many versions

[7] The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson

[8] It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

[9] Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig

[10] Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews

[11] The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning (and many other versions)

[12] Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr., John Archambault and Lois Ehlert