We're gonna need a bigger boat.

Kay, one of this year's book donors, just sent me this article. It made me cry. Then I read it again and it gave me chills. Then I read it a third time and it made me think "I'VE GOT TO DO MORE!!!"

The article mentions a study that found giving books to kids to OWN - 12 each - at the beginning of summer, makes a difference in their future education. It also mentioned the feeling ownership gives a child.

I hope you'll read the article even if you're not on pins and needles each day to learn how many books I've gotten. There's proof out there that just owning some books makes a difference in these kids' lives.

Now: how am I going to give 12 books per child instead of 3? Oh my.

A new name for the Summer Satchel project

The way things are going, it seems a new name is in order. Friends sent in great suggestions for a new name; many of them were already in use elsewhere, but I settled on Books For Keeps. (Thank you Lori & Celia!)

I'm working on a separate blog for Books For Keeps, and a Facebook page. This is real, y'all!

Summer Satchel Action Shots

Yesterday was the big day: Alps rolled out the summer reading program and the students came and shopped for books.

It started with organizing the books. Parent volunteers took care of that. There were tables covered in chapter books for the older kids....


.... and a separate section for younger kids.


Volunteers were stuffing bags with information about the summer reading program.


Here's most of what was in each bag:
A list of recommended books, a sheet to tally the number of books read (with prizes listed for each level), a free book offer from Borders, pencils, erasers, a reading journal (where students could record a brief summary about each book), and a brand new book from the Alps Recommended Reading list.

We didn't have time to decorate the bags; next year we'll order them much earlier and have the kids do the decorating themselves.

When each class arrived, Mary would give them a bag and tell them about the summer reading program.

Then each student was allowed to choose 2 books to take home (in addition to the new book provided by the school). That's when the chaos began. The kids were so excited about the books, they swarmed the tables like we were giving away gold. Or candy. It was fun to watch.


Kids shopped for books and compared their finds. It was fun to hear them recommending books to each other.


The kindergarteners left a path of destruction behind, but it was fun to watch.


By the end of the day, it was clear what the students liked and didn't like.

The Goosebumps (85) and Junie B. Jones(94) inventory was completely wiped out and the kids were asking for more. Sports books and joke books were frequent requests, and we only had a few of each. Magic Treehouse was popular but there were a few left over. The 22 Captain Underpants books were gone after the first class visited, and every class except Kindergarten asked for them. I felt terrible not having enough. Harry Potter also went fast, but I only had 11 of those. And I only had 1 copy of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which might have been the most frequently requested book.

On the other hand, only 1 Nancy Drew book was taken, a big fat zero on Little House on the Prairie books, and there were a lot of "non-series" books left over. Also left over were books with dull or drab covers. I thought The Spiderwick Chronicles and Time Warp Trio collections would be cleaned out, but the covers are mostly dark, or black and white and the kids completely ignored the books.

Tomorrow I'll give you an update on plans for the extra books. We found some good ways to use them and still save some for next year.

Welcome to my weekend....

I have no business blogging right now but I know y'all are craving an update about the books and where things stand.

Is a picture worth a thousand words? Here's 2 days' worth of unsorted, unopened books. That's an 8-foot rug, by the way.

Welcome to my weekend! Whoever said they felt God was with me on this project, could you send up an urgent prayer that He send help? Quickly?

Niece Janey arrives tonight and will help me sort, label and count. And Bayne will finally be free of the endless conference calls and meetings so he'll pitch in too.

Say a prayer, cross your fingers, send positive vibes my way... there's so much to do I can't help but laugh when I think about it.

Blown away by the kindness of strangers.

I was awake but still in bed this morning when Bayne said "You're thinking about your books, aren't you?"

Well, yes and no. I was thinking about the people helping me with the books. How could I not be thinking about them?

A coworker of my sister's is hitting an Atlanta thrift sale for me today. The owner of a chain of thrift stores in Texas is scouring her stores for books on my wish list. A woman in France bought books online and had them shipped because her own books wouldn't reach me in time. A teacher in south Georgia not only boxed up a big load of books, she posted the project online somewhere... so now I get emails from strangers who have boxed up books for me and just need my address. A woman in Atlanta sent me a check for $100 - talk about trust!

And the BookMooch points... I've gotten 200+ books, completely free, due to the kindness of BookMoochers who donated points.

Complete strangers, all of them.

I have many more stories like this one. Enough to leave me gobsmacked and boondoggled by the kindness of strangers. It's having a wonderful effect on my project... and on me.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention friends and family. My sister is rallying troops in Atlanta and there's no telling what she'll come up with. My mom donated her entire lot of BookMooch points. A friend from college is supplying pencils and erasers for the student journals. My aunt is supplying 400 bags so the students can carry their loot. Friends from high school, college, work... people I haven't seen in years, are collecting books in various towns and delivering them. Etc, etc, etc.

So it's Day 3 and I don't have a book count just yet, but my heart is overflowing with gratitude. One of the donors told me she felt God was with me on this project, and I agree. And with every one of you who's helping or sending good wishes my way. And with the children of Alps Road Elementary, who will each be the proud owner of 3 books this summer.

For some, it will be the first 3 books they've ever owned. The only 3 books found in their homes.

Thank you and keep it coming!

Summer Satchel Program is kicking into high gear...

Remember last year's "Summer Satchel" program for Alps Road Elementary? The school decided to continue the program... on a much larger scale. 400 students, Pre-K through 5th grade!

So far my contact at Alps has 1 book for every child, and plans to include a journal, a pencil, and a library card application for each child. My aunt is donating the bags.

But seriously: is ONE BOOK enough to keep a child occupied for a whole summer? I think not. It's progress, but it still leaves me sad. I'd like each child to have three books. Yes, that means I need 800 more books.

So far I have an abundance of Pre-K, 1st & 2nd grade books stacked in my closet. But I need chapter books for 3rd, 4th & 5th graders. Help me! Some popular series that have been mentioned:

• Magic Treehouse
• Junie B Jones
• Nancy Drew
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid
• Goosebumps
• Spiderwick Chronicles
• Wrinkle in Time
• American Girl

Got books, but don't live in Athens? Mail them to me! The post office offers a discounted rate for books; just ask for the Media Mail rate.

Even if you can't buy or donate a book, think about these options:

1) If you're a member of PaperbackSwap or BookMooch and would be willing to donate points, let me know.
2) If you're willing to find & obtain free books from Craigslist or Freecycle in your area (and you're somewhere near central/north Georgia) I'll find a way to get the books. I've got Athens covered.

Finally: If you'd prefer to make a donation, I buy most of my books at thrift stores and average about $.50 per book. Give me a dollar, I'll turn it into 2 books. I've even turned to eBay, where I'm finding entire sets of chapter books for pretty good prices.

Twelve days... 800 books. It's gonna happen, and I hope you'll help!

PS: I also need 800-1200 new pencils, 400 sharpeners, and 400 erasers....

Summer Satchels - DELIVERED !!!

The summer satchels have been delivered to the second graders at Alps Road Elementary. The kids were so excited. I learned a lot, such as:

1. Many second graders have nothing to read at home
2. Even art is difficult at home, as many do not have paper, scissors, or crayons
3. Fernando is spelled F-E-R-N-A-N-D-O
4. Spiders have babies
5. Teachers are surely angels come to earth

Here's how the process played out.

First I collected art supplies and books from donors, then purchased more supplies at the Dollar Store, and more books at Salvation Army and Goodwill. The Niolon family donated many of the art supplies, and my sister's coworkers at Foodbuy in Atlanta donated many of the books.


Here's an example of what went into each bag: a couple of books, an art pad, crayons, a puzzle book, and some math flash cards. I had planned to use plastic grocery bags, but Mrs. Niolon came up with the festive bag you see below.


The finished product. So much better than a plastic grocery bag!


I underestimated the difficulty in transporting the bags. There wasn't an inch of space left in my car.

The bags filled every table in the school library...

... and the kids came in, one classroom at a time. Their eyes lit up when they saw the fun bags, and I was soooo glad I hadn't used the grocery sack. I'm choked up just writing about it.

The kids had all the energy and enthusiasm you'd expect from 2nd graders. But I was caught off guard by their openness. Some told me they don't own a single book. Some asked if they could have more. Some asked "is this really mine? to keep???"

Class after class danced into the room, their eyes going straight to the bags. And I will admit it: I cried like an idiot and thanked the kids for allowing me the honor of giving them these bags.

It all started with one girl, making a comment to MK "I wish I had a book at my house". That's a situation that shouldn't be allowed to continue. All it took was adopting the entire 2nd grade class. These are real kids with real potential. If this tiny bag keeps even one student reading over the summer, that's one more student who'll start 3rd grade ready for action.

A special thanks to Bird and the folks at Foodbuy - without your books, each child would have only received 1 book. You doubled that for these kids. Thank you!

Thanks also to Mom, who purchased about 1/4 of the books with a single $10 donation.

And finally, thank you to the Niolons. Your support was a wonderful gift not only to the kids, but to me.

Summer Satchels are lookin' good!

Yesterday's efforts to secure items for the summer satchels got off to a rocky start. Working the phones is clearly not my forte.

So I headed out to look for books, thinking books to fit my budget would be hard to find. I was right. But I hit the jackpot at the Project Safe Thrift Store, where I scored about 25 books. Paperbacks were $.25 each and hardbacks were $.50 each. My mom snuck me a $10 bill on the way out the door that morning, and that's just about what the books cost - thanks Mom!

When I returned home I had a message that my long-time friends, the Niolons, had taken it upon themselves to purchase art supplies AND were exploring options for the bags themselves. My backup plan has always been to hand each kid a plastic grocery bag if I couldn't come up with something else. The "Niolon Touch" will ensure the kids get something better than that!

Things got even better when my sweet sister Bird informed me that books were coming out of the woodwork at Foodbuy, where she works. She'd sent out an email to her co-workers, and the books have been pouring in. She has close to 80 already, and it's only day 2.

So I'm starting today full of gratitude for friends and family, and I'm heading out to scour every thrift store in Athens. More later....

"Summer Satchel" update

Thanks everybody for the suggestions regarding the summer satchels for the 2nd graders at Alps Road Elementary. I'm back from the beach and today I'll be working the phones and following up on all the leads you've given me. I'll blog about the results; who knows, maybe somebody will want to repeat the process at another school.

I have 4.5 days to find items for- and then prepare - 80 satchels. Wish me luck!

How to Help a 2nd Grader

I need some serious help in the brain-power department right now. I have about 3 weeks to handle a problem that is keeping me awake at night. Here's the story:

MK joined a mentoring program, and mentors a 2nd grade girl who attends one of Athens' public schools. Let's call her Jane. Jane loves to read, but has no books at home. Jane loves to color, but has no crayons at home.

Jane has a good friend in class, let's call him Bob. Bob is soooo jealous that MK bought Jane a book and some art supplies. Turns out Bob has no books or art supplies at home either.

MK spoke to the teacher, and learned this is quite common. Some parents can't afford anything for the kids, some are illiterate themselves, and some just don't care. When I heard this I thought "why doesn't somebody DO something about this?"

Ummm... maybe I am the somebody who should do something. I thought very hard about it, and I just can't let these kids who love to read go home to a summer with no books.

Turns out that the mentoring program doesn't allow a single student to be given a lot of free stuff; just a few things kept at school. So I am attempting to adopt the entire 2nd grade class, and give them a "summer satchel" with books and art supplies for the summer. The satchel itself will probably be a grocery bag, but it's what's in the bag that's important.

And that's where I need your help. (No, not your money. Just your ideas.) I'm putting up my own money to do this. But I have no kids of my own so I have no idea what kids like to read, or whether they'd prefer magic markers to crayons.

So please, if you can spend 5 minutes thinking about it, let me know if you can answer any of these questions.

• Are there organizations out there already who help kids with books or art supplies?
• Can you recommend any specific book titles that are good for 2nd graders?
• Which is better: crayons or magic markers?
• Which is better: coloring books or blank paper?
• Any ideas what else should be in the bag?
• Are there any good sources for cheap books? Cheap art supplies?

Here's how to post your feedback:

1. Click the comment link at the bottom of this post
2. Write your comment in the box at the top right-hand side of the page
3. Below the comment box, choose item #3, and it will give you a space to enter your name.
4. Click publish.

You can also contact me at melaney @ gmail.com.

I look forward to hearing from you, and to making a difference in a few kids' lives this summer.