Having the freedom to read diverse and engaging books is proven to promote children’s joy of reading and boost their reading scores. Further, a meta-analysis shows that continued engagement in reading over the summer benefits children, especially those from low-income backgrounds. Yet the lack of access to enough — or any — high-interest books remains the main barrier to literacy development for under-resourced kids. You can help kids who need more books of their own discover the love of learning and beat the summer slide with free, high-interest, multilingual books! Donate titles from our curated Summer Reading Wishlist, Organize a Children’s Book Drive, Give Books, and Get Books at our Book Bank this summer — and all year round!

Tamara Harris, an English major at the University of San Francisco, also served as a reading tutor at Rosa Parks Elementary School in San Francisco, where she found “the students were always wanting more books.” She’s happy to fulfill her senior internship at the Children’s Book Project because, she says, “I wanted to put my skills to work for kids, and with books.” Tamara started writing her own stories in elementary school, spending many afternoons at the Daly City public library, where she would read aloud to younger kids. Now she enjoys encountering old favorites at our Book Bank, where she processes donated books, writes online children’s book recommendations, and participates in our Storytime program. “It’s been fun meeting new people who share my passion for reading, helping authors sign their books, and sharing the excitement when kids get to choose their own books at Storytime.”

“Volunteering at the Book Bank is really cool,” Tamara says. “I love being a helping hand in making sure kids get to grow up with books of their own.”