From Kori, a pediatrician at a clinic serving Medicaid patients:
Just last week, I was seeing a young boy in our office for learning concerns and he was holding tightly to two books, saying he had found his favorite one. He looked crestfallen when his grandmother told him the books had to stay on the shelf. When I explained that he could actually take the books with him, he was overjoyed, and grandma was too. She explained that he struggled tremendously with reading in school, yet we were all able to leave the room knowing that he had a wonderful opportunity to choose his own books and that he would be able to face the challenge of reading with great enthusiasm. Thank you, Book Harvest!
From Lynne, instructional facilitator at a school that participates in Books on Break:
You have created a magical adventure for the students. When I took my students in at the designated time the room was filled with excitement…all about reading! Books in bins, books in boxes, books on shelves were spilling onto the floor!! Children were scurrying about looking for the “just right” books for their reading choices. Some were bent over books on the floor enjoying the pleasure of the book find. Thank you so much for making this magical moment happen for our students and giving them the gift of reading.
From Catriona, an ESL teacher, about a student who receives books year-round:
One of my students, a fourth grade girl…struggles with reading, has a turbulent family history, is easily distracted and occasionally disruptive, and has made slow, uneven progress. UNTIL recently. She told me the other day, “Ms. Moore, did you know I put all my very own books on my bookshelf together in a row, and I wrote a sign that says, ‘C.’s Books’ and I made a poster that says ‘Reading is Cool. I love reading!'” Meanwhile, her last reading assessment showed that she has gone up three reading levels since October. She sees herself as a reader now, and I am convinced that part of that ownership of and confidence in her literate self is due to her “owning” books.
From Beth, a Book Harvest volunteer who runs a weekly reading group with a dozen recently arrived refugee children from a remote region of Vietnam:
When I told the kids they could keep the books, I might as well have told them they could fly to the moon! Now they read their very own books in their spare time and proudly show off their skills in class. What a difference this extra reading is making! I cannot say enough about how much Book Harvest has impacted the lives of these Montagnard children. Reading was once an overwhelming obstacle to the success of these kids in school. It has now become their wings for soaring through the education system. Now they can dream of becoming more than low-paid service workers like their parents. Book Harvest is performing miracles in the lives of these kids.
From Sarah, liaison to Walltown Neighborhood Clinic:
Once when I was at Walltown, a woman approached me and asked if it was okay for her to take a book. Her daughter’s kindergarten class was doing a reading marathon and she didn’t know how to go about having her daughter participate. I helped her find some books that she could read to her daughter and some picture books her daughter could look at independently. She asked when she should bring them back and I said never. She couldn’t believe it and was so thankful. It made me happy I could help and sad that I needed to.
And from Dante, a 3rd grade boy, upon being told he could select ten books to take home and keep:
This is the best day EVER!
Share Your Book Harvest Story!
Our community means the world to us, and we want to hear your story! Do you have a fun memory of visiting a Book Harvest bookshelf or Book Box? Did your child come home with a Book Harvest book, then asked you to read it over and over and over and over again!? Perhaps you are a teacher who received books for your classroom, or a student who ran a book drive on our behalf. We'd love for you to share. Please submit the form below, and if you'd like to send more photos or follow up, please reach out the Benay Hicks at benay@bookharvest.org. Thank you!
Share Your Book Harvest Story
A place where you can share your memories and stories of Book Harvest! We also love stories about why people love children's books.