Give Books
Children's Book Project
The gift of inclusive books in new or like-new condition makes children who need books feel valued. We welcome donations of new and like-new books for children ages 0-18 that reflect the needs of the communities we serve, especially:
- books for emergent bilingual children, especially in Spanish or Chinese (all ages)
- books featuring characters of color (all ages)
- board books
- beginning readers
- early chapter books
- graphic novels
Due to our limited capacity, do NOT donate books or other items we can’t accept but that still take valuable time to process and are just a bummer for our hardworking team:
- dirty, dusty, wet, chewed, ripped, bent, folded, highlighted, doodled upon, written in, moldering, or mildewed books
- books missing covers, pages, or parts
- vintage books
- obsolete books
- nonfiction over ten years old
- library discards
- textbooks and curriculum materials
- encyclopedias
- audio cassettes, VHS tapes, and DVDs
- religious books
As you gather children’s books for donation, please understand that if a book is aged, dated, broken, dirty, stored in a garage for years, or otherwise unappealing to children who need books today, we can’t offer it on our shelves but must still process it by hand. When in doubt, ask yourself, “Would I give this book to my child/grandchild/niece/nephew for their birthday?” When you recycle books no one can reasonably use at home and donate those we don’t accept to another charity, you help us use our limited resources to give more beautiful books to children who need them!
Book Bank Curbside Donation
The Book Bank runs on a shoestring with limited hours, part-time staff, and reduced volunteer hours. Your consideration of our limited resources and mindful selection of books we accept supports our mission and helps us most efficiently serve our clients. Review the guidelines above about the kinds of children’s books we accept, and then click the yellow button to schedule an appointment to drop off your donation at our Book Bank in San Francisco. We do not accept delivery from third-parties such as Lugg. Your donation is tax deductible as allowed by law; donation receipt provided at drop-off.
BOOK BANK
2166 Palou Avenue, San Francisco
Please note our address in the Bayview, conveniently located near Highways 101 and 280— and just a block away from SCRAP!
Wishlists
Donate books in Spanish for emergent bilingual children via our wishlist at longtime local supporter Folio Books.
Ship new books directly from our curated wishlist at bookshop.org and support independent booksellers at the same time!
Or shop our amazon.com wishlist — and join AmazonSmile to designate .5% of all your purchases to the Children’s Book Project.
Book Bags
You may drop off your donation of 20 or fewer high-demand children’s books, as described above, at any of our blue Book Bag collection stand locations (availability may vary during COVID):
SAN FRANCISCO
Alexander Book Company 50 Second Street
Books Inc 3515 California Street
Books Inc 2251 Chestnut Street
Folio Books 3957 24th Street
Just for Fun 3982 24th Street
Mission Neighborhood Health Center 240 Shotwell Street
Noe Valley Pediatrics 3700 24th Street
PENINSULA
Bagel Street Cafe 254 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City
EAST BAY
Tay Tah Cafe 1182 Solano Ave, Albany
MARIN
Toy Crazy 2211 Larkspur Landing Circle, Larkspur
Mail/Ship
Ship books to our mailing address:
Children’s Book Project
3433 21st Street
San Francisco CA 94110