International Book Giving Day 2017

In the United States, two-thirds of children from low-income families do not have any books of their own.

Start a community-loving new tradition with your kids this year for Valentine's Day and wrap up some books to give away. International Book Giving Day takes place on 14th February each year with the aim of getting books into the hands of as many children as possible. This nascent, but energetic volunteer-run campaign encourages people to donate books to kids directly, anonymously to waiting rooms where children gather, or to charities/hospitals.

For my part, I'd like to encourage people to donate new or gently-used books to special needs schools/programs and agencies that serve younger special needs kids.

I regularly gift books to my sons' autism preschools and to a local agency that provides autism therapy with Early Intervention. Autism agencies and schools often struggle to stock their classrooms with high-quality books in good condition, and autism therapists are not generally reimbursed for the materials they need to work with client children. This is a simple way to make sure that your gift has a broad impact on many children who really need access to books.

If you need ideas for titles of books to donate, you've come to the right place, haven't you? Please check my Bookshelf page for a full listing of every book I've ever reviewed on this site. Anything 4 stars and up is a pretty safe bet!