Crystal and Cindy are both fourth graders at Pleasant View Elementary, a small rural school located in southeast Kentucky.

The school meets many of the community’s challenges with a dedicated staff and innovative approaches to education. A third of the population in the rural town lives in poverty; eighty-eight percent of the children at the school are poor. The school struggles with low parent involvement in school activities; many parents seem intimidated when they do visit the school.

Crystal and Cindy also share tragic circumstances: both of their mothers died recently. Because of the project funded by Better World Books, they are learning together after school. They also are forming a powerful bond and helping each other overcome a very difficult loss.

The girls are participating in a unique after-school reading and learning project featuring the age-old art of quilt making that is inspired by Wonderopolis®, an award-winning daily learning website launched in October 2010 by the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). The quilt is one of the program’s offline activities taking place during reading nights at the school, and closely connected to the students’ exploration and learning through Wonderopolis; the quilt-making activity offered many teaching opportunities, particularly as explored in Wonder of the Day #124, How Do Quilts Tell Stories?
Pleasant View is one of the LEAP Wonderopolis mini-grant winners supported by Better World Books and managed by NCFL.

Cindy has a bold, energetic personality. Crystal is timid and keeps to herself. They are a great match despite their differences. As their group explored Wonderopolis and worked on the quilt, Cindy continually tried to nurture Crystal—who initially resisted.  Overall, the children participating in the project enjoyed talking about the various things as they worked, sprinkled with a lot of laughter.

Gradually, these conversations evolved into more personal insights. Unexpectedly Cindy announced her mom had died two years ago and offered details about the experience. She and her two brothers are now living with their elderly grandmother. Crystal eventually shared that her mom had died, too, and she and two sisters were now living with their grandmother.

The girls’ participation in the after school program encouraged them to interact and discover commonalities, which led to a special friendship that has carried over into the school day. The strength of that relationship was and is being built while learning together and experiencing the quilting bee.

Like most of the students in the program, Crystal and Cindy do not have computers at home. So they spend a portion of their free time in the program searching Wonderopolis for other projects to take on.

“I know Wonderopolis really good and I can show other kids how to use it,” Cindy said.

Marie Carr, the program’s leader and the school’s reading resource teacher, is using this opportunity to entice and draw ideas from other school staff on how they could systematically use Wonderopolis, “a great resource and secret treasure waiting to be discovered, especially by educators!” The project has revealed to Marie the power of these types of programs. “I am sure many other children are in similar circumstances and could benefit from other students—given the opportunity to learn and share together.”

And there will likely be more projects like this one at Pleasant View Elementary. Because the kids participating in the project asked to learn how to make clothes, the school has applied for five sewing machines to be purchased for more afterschool events.

“The impact that programs like this can have is limitless, and I see it leading to more learning programs at our school. We are excited that all of this happened here at Pleasant View and through a funded opportunity from Better World Books!”

There are countless more children like Cindy and Crystal who are longing to learn in a more engaging way. Each time you buy or donate a book with Better World Books, we are able to help these kids develop a love of learning. You can learn more about our worldwide literacy impact here. Thank you!

Old books don’t have to be rare, scarce, or pricey to be evocative and meaningful. They just need to connect you with an idea or a feeling that’s important to you.

For example: the other day, while sorting through a box of books, I came across this:

That’s the impression we were given. The story we were told. And look at the cover of this book: tell me it doesn’t feel like Armageddon all over again. Prepare now, all ye foolish Americans, or face your doom! The title page offers no mitigation for this apprehension:

Mr. Frank Donovan of the Beard and Pipe Brigade (author):

Even so, this cover feels like a pyramid; rather like something the Aztecs would build to offer a blood sacrifice. As for the back cover, well, don’t you hear strains of the Dr. Demento ditty, “They’re coming to take me away HAHA / They’re coming to take me away HOHO HEHE HAHA.”

I didn’t make it. I didn’t convert to the metric system. I think only doctors and drug dealers actually made that transition. We should have just “done it”- made pounds, gallons, and miles obsolete in one swoop- no converting- a “new normal.” If that had happened when I was in the 4th grade, I’m pretty sure I’d know the metric system by now. Why do we desperately clutch to our old ways of measurement? Even Thomas Jefferson, as Secretary of State charged with devising a national standard of weights & measures, couldn’t get this done.

These two old books aren’t worth serious money. But they sparked discussion in our section for a week; made me panicky (and remember the fourth grade); had us talking about how Americans think about themselves & their place in the world; wonder what would be different today if we had successfully converted to the metric system; made me laugh over the disastrous cover designs; inspired a blog post… they’re worth something to me.

My point is: you don’t need deep pockets to collect books. Find your passion (or your fear), your interests, and just… begin.

What are you collecting right now?

10. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series

9. The Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle

8. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

7. Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series

6. The Tomorrow series by John Marsden

5. L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series

4. Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien

3. The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis

2. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series

1. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

Did your favorite series make this list? What is it and why do you love it? Is there one specific book in the series you like the most?

Ever since he “reluctantly agreed” to accompany his father on a luxury bird-watching cruise almost a decade ago, Race Across America cycling legend Lon Haldeman has been fascinated by the people, culture and landscapes of Peru.

Each year he leads small groups of cyclists, travelers and volunteers into remote regions of the country to deliver schoolbooks, feed orphans, buy supplies for a girl’s home, sponsor bike races and even coach young cycling hopefuls for the upcoming Olympics.

With donations he’s built two schools near the town of Iquitos – the 600-student Jack Wolff School, and the more rustic Joseph Pulley school, whose 30 students walk for up to an hour each day to attend class.

A highlight of the expedition is a 3-day passage to Iquitos by banana boat through the Amazon river system, jumping off at various points to surprise and delight small, isolated schools with books and writing supplies – all purchased with donations.

Finally, the Puerto Ocopa orphanage he stumbled upon in 2004 is now a regular destination, where donations feed and clothe 40 orphans.

You can join Lon and his tour company, PACTour to cycle, sightsee, help the kids .. all of the above!

*Note* The above guest post is from our friend, Lynette Chiang. Lynette Chiang is an award-winning copywriter, New York Times-reviewed author, filmmaker and world bicycle traveler. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Lynette, for sharing this inspiring cycling story with us!

If this story inspires you, as it does us, tell us what you’re inspired to do now… thanks!

Co-founder Xavier Helgesen on the Mother Nature Network

“Entrepreneurship is one of the most compelling and effective tools to change the world for the better,” says Xavier Helgesen. Read more here.

BWB Warehouse Staff Help Clean Town for Earth Day

“Employees from Better World Books came out to lend a hand and volunteer for INDOT’s Adopt a Highway Program, called Trash Bash.” Watch the coverage.

The Wall Street Journal “Best in…”

“Buy a book—and make a difference.” Click here for the full story.

“You don’t have to make a choice between making money or making a difference. Just follow the model of these rock stars of the new economy.”-Fast Company

Listed as one of six companies growing rapidly while doing good by Fast Company.

For an up to date list of all media coverage, visit our press page.

Have you spotted BWB in the news recently?

10. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

9. Love You Forever by Robert M (a regular best-seller on Better World Books)

8. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie

7. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

6. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

5. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

3. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco

2. Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree

1. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

We also want to give special tribute to the #1 book on this list by none other than Maurice Sendak who passed away earlier this week at age 83. What is your favorite of his stories?

Finally, not only is this week Children’s Book Week – it’s also Teacher Appreciation Week. We love teachers and hope to help them at every opportunity we can, even offering a special educator discount on our site. Please take a moment to thank the special teachers in your life. You can publicly praise them here on our Blog or even on our Facebook page. We also invite you to buy a gift we know will mean the world to them – a book from Better World Books. Not only will the teacher receive a heartwarming gift, but someone in need will get a book too.

25. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

24. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

23. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

22. Mockingjay (The Hunger Games Trilogy – Book III) by Suzanne Collins

21. A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer

20. The Etiquette Edge: The Unspoken Rules for Business Success by Beverly Y. Langford

19. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

18. Catching Fire (The Hunger Games Trilogy – Book II) by Suzanne Collins

17. The Cay by Theodore Taylor

16. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

15. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

14. One for the Money (Stephanie Plum Series) by Janet Evanovich

13. 10th Anniversary (Women’s Murder Club) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

12. College Algebra by James Stewart, Lothar Redlin and Saleem Watson

11. The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity by Lee Strobel

10. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

9. Fast Food Nation by James P. Dunlop

8. Evergreen: A Guide to Writing with Readings by Susan Fawcett

7. Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy – Book I)by E. L. James

6. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

5. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

4. Intermediate Algebra by Ron Larson

3. Game of Thrones (Boxed Set) by George R. R. Martin

2. Human Relations: Strategies for Success by Lowell Lamberton and Leslie Minot-Evans

1. The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games Trilogy – Book I) by Suzanne Collins

Read any of these lately? What did you think?

Over the years, books have given me insight into the realities of the world.  Take true crime stories for instance.  Reading true-to-life criminal biographies is so very fascinating because evil is so far-fetched to me.  I mean, how can someone cut up a person’s body, store the pieces in the freezer, and then cook and eat them?  This absolutely captivates my curiosity, as my mind struggles to make sense of it.  Reading these stories has helped deepen the compassion in my heart for sick, wounded, and lost souls.  It helps me to understand there is a tangible evil in this world!  I have a heart for motivating, inspiring, and encouraging people; and by reading this genre of book it has helped me focus more on the hurts of others and to extend myself in trying to ease their pain.  Whether the person is a victim or the abuser, they both are in pain and in need of compassion.

Three True Crime Book Recommendations
The True Crime series by Time-Life Books
Fatal Vision by Joe McGinniss
The Milwaukee Massacre by Robert Dvorchak & Lisa Holewa

Another genre of book that I enjoy is motivational.  I am all about improving and growing personally, and being able to read how someone else has succeeded is so enlightening and inspiring.  This is exactly what I want to do in the lives of others; to inspire and encourage them to be the best they can be; to help them rise above their adversities.  And, it can be done.  All we have to do is open a book, and glean the pearls of wisdom from the experiences of others.

Three Motivational Book Recommendations
Talent is Never Enough by John C. Maxwell
Superself by Charles J. Givens
Awaken the Giant by Anthony Robbins

As Miss Plus America ELITE, it is my heart’s desire to share my heart, my life, my experiences in hopes of making a positive difference in this world!  Keep a watch out, a book just might be coming!

*Note* The above guest post is from Miss Plus America ELITE, Spruce Dickerson.  This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Spruce, and congrats on your honor!

What are your favorite book genres and why? Or what books do you like best in True Crime and/or Motivational? We invite you to share your thoughts by commenting below.

To learn more about how Better World Books began, check out the full story on our site here.

Here’s everything you need to know to enter and vote on the contest:

WHAT

How would your campus organization use $300? Let us know in 50 words or less what kind of service project you would use it for. (Anything from helping build a Habitat for Humanity house to shipping books to Africa. Sorry… massive house parties do not count as service projects.) Include a photo from your organization, too. The BWB Facebook community will vote on their favorite initiative!

WHY

Because it’s the 10 year anniversary of our first Book Drive. (We can’t believe it, either. They grow up so fast!)

WHEN

The submission phase lasts from May 1 through May 14. Then the voting phase will be May 15 through May 28. (That’s the part where you tell your friends and everyone you even sort of know to ‘like’ your submission.)

HOW

By clicking your mouse, really. Not bad for a $300 donation, huh?

WHERE

This Facebook page right here. Convenient!

Before you submit please be sure to read and agree to the terms & conditions as well.

Now – go forth college students and tell the world how you will use our $300 donation!

1. Serendipity: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for

2. Shenanigans: tricky or questionable practices or conduct; or high-spirited or mischievous activity

3. Love: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; or warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion; or unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another

4. Periwinkle: any of several trailing or woody evergreen herbs of the dogbane family; or  a light purplish blue

5. Ephemeral: lasting a very short time

6. Hope: to cherish a desire with anticipation; or to expect with confidence

7. Curmudgeon: a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man

8. Onomatopoeia: the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it; or the use of words whose sound suggests the sense

9. Behooves: to be necessary, proper, or advantageous for

10. Yes: an affirmative reply

Is your favorite word included on this list? What is it and why?

*NOTE* We love the SOCO Marketplace project because they believe what we do – that we can use the power of commerce to change lives. You can learn all about our social and environmental benefits here.

I’ve always loved the idea of buying something that helps a humanitarian effort. When someone says ‘cool sandals’ or ‘nice necklace,’ I love being able to reply with ‘oh, thanks, it’s this great company that helps supply clean water,’ or ‘women escaping human trafficking made it.’

As I began to search for more companies that had this business model (sell a product and meet a social need with the profits), I began to notice just how many were out there…tons. There was only one problem; it required a lot of searching to find them. I decided there needed to be a one stop shop featuring all these great companies to not only help get the word out about the work they are doing, but to enable shoppers to purchase their products more easily.

So that’s just what I began to do. Socomarketplace.com aims to be a place where shoppers can search, be inspired, and purchase products, knowing that their money is going to a good cause. I believe people want to use their money for good, and will, if the process is simple enough.

There are many great companies out there. To name a few; Raven and Lily is a company that sells Bath/Body products, Jewelry and Paper Goods to help marginalized women in India and Ethiopia. Nika Water sells cases of water to help clean water and education projects in multiple countries. International Princess Project sells clothing made by women that have escaped human trafficking.

SOCO Marketplace is searching for great companies with a passionate, socially conscious mission. If you know of any, send them our way! Visit our site and let us know the great companies you’ve found!

These days, in a world of instant gratification and simplified shopping, it’s wonderful to know that our purchases can help change lives…better yet, save lives.

*Note* The above guest post is from Jenny Long, Founder of SOCO Marketplace.  This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Jenny, we love your site and share a like-minded passion to help make purchases powerful to make a difference in our world!

What is your favorite socially conscious product to buy and why?

Here at Plywood People, we live by the mantra, “We will be known by the problems we solve.” Once we’ve seen a problem that we believe there is a solution for, we feel we have a responsibility to begin solving that problem. We saw 2 problems.

1. Billboards were being discarded and we believed there could be an alternative use for them.
2. Refugees were being brought to the U.S. but couldn’t find jobs.

We felt passionate about addressing these needs, so we created Billboard Bags. We now employ refugees who make bags out of billboards.

We are proud and excited to announce that our Billboard Bag project is expanding to Clarkston, Georgia. With 6,000 refugees living in that area representing at least 50 countries, there is the need for jobs in the community. We are excited to get to know the neighborhood, and learn from the work being done there.

May 1st, we’re opening our bag project in Clarkston, Georgia. We are starting with a plan to employ 10 refugees who will make products, learn to sew, study English, be connected with a mentor, and be empowered to provide for their families and hope to expand from there. We are going to need a lot of help to make it happen, and we wanted to tell you about it, and ask for your help!

If you’d like to volunteer or donate, please contact Marisa Wheatley at marisa@plywoodpeople.com

*Note* The above guest post is from Plywood People Project Manager, Gisele Nelson. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Gisele, we are big fans of Billboard Bags!

What about you? What problems do you see that you may have a solution for? How are you addressing social needs?

Arguably the best season of the year, Spring is a time associated with the natural renewal and vibrance of life. It’s also a great time for kids to sit out in nature and enjoy the weather with their favorite book. Accordingly, I’d like to list off some timeless reads for youngsters that fit in nicely with the spring aesthetic.

The Redwall Series

This wildly successful series by Brian Jacques involves the adventures of anthropomorphic animals who live in and around the storied Redwall Abbey near Mossflower forest. Mice, badgers, and birds perform courageous feats in a rustic setting of a bygone medieval age. Notable titles include Redwall, Mossflower, and The Pearls of Lutra.

The Secret Garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel The Secret Garden tells the story of a spoiled and bratty young girl, Mary, who must live with her uncle in an old, dusty manor.  While there, Mary hears of a secret garden, rumored to be a place lush with beautiful flowers and breathtaking greenery. Mary makes many life changing discoveries once she finds the storied place, and makes some unexpected friends along the way.

Across Five Aprils

This award-winning civil war-era story written by Irene Hunt explores the life of Jethro Creighton as he grows up during the bloodiest conflict in US history. Hunt tells Jethro’s story with remarkable attention to detail, depicting life in the middle of the nineteenth century with surprising accuracy. It’s a must-read for kids with a passion for history.

The Hobbit

Readers of all ages love reliving the story of Bilbo Baggins as he travels with Gandalf the wizard and a host of others in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy tale. His depiction of Bilbo’s home, The Shire, is enough to make you want to take a stroll outside and imagine what life with hobbits would be like. This precursor to the famous Lord of the Rings is as good now as it was fifty years ago.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain’s story about country life along the Mississippi River as told through the eyes of a young rascal will resonate with plenty of children today. With pitch-perfect dialogue and memorable characters of all kinds, this is an ideal adventure tale for spring reading. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are the best troublemakers ever written about, and their story should not be missed.

*Note* The above guest post is from freelance writer, Maria Rainier. Maria is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online colleges, online degrees etc. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Maria, these are great picks!

What is your favorite young adult book to read in Springtime and why?

AUTHORS

Walter Isaacson
“The age of landmark biographies had, we might assume, long since passed, replaced by one of short attention spans, interactive gadgets and fewer bookstores. Enter Walter Isaacson and his trio of brilliant works about men of genius — Franklin, Einstein and Jobs,” writes former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. If that’s not enough to get you to buy his latest book Steve Jobs, check out this guest blog post by Pattie Baker.

Ann Patchett

Fellow award-winning author and close friend of Patchett, Elizabeth Gilbert shares the story of Ann helping Nashville become a more literary community by opening a local bookstore. Read the full story here.

E. L. James

Here’s what TIME Editor-at-Large Belinda Luscombe says about the fresh author: “Six months ago she was Erika Leonard, a mother of two who dabbled in saucy stories for the Web. Now she’s E.L. James, publishing phenomenon, whose Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy has deeply stirred booksellers, Hollywood and, apparently, many, many mothers. Reading may never be the same.”

EDUCATORS

Freeman Hrabowski

At 12, Hrabowski was jailed for five days for participating in a civil rights protest in Alabama. He completed college at 19 and got his Ph.D. at 24. Now 61, this brilliant man has not only done a great job educating himself but also countless more African Americans who get Ph.D.s in science and engineering at his school, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Cami Anderson

Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker says Cami is “investing her life’s work in the educational trenches and working to liberate our country from the destructive delusion that children can’t achieve at the highest levels just because they were born into tough circumstances.” He goes on to say that “Cami declared that whether a child had been incarcerated or pregnant or had dropped out, aged out or flunked out, she could still nurture her genius, learn, develop and, yes, graduate.”

Salman Khan

The ultimate innovator, Bill Gates, calls Khan “a true education pioneer. He started by posting a math lesson, but his impact on education might truly be incalculable.” His free online school, http://www.khanacademy.org/, aspires to give every child on our planet the chance for a free, world-class education.

We hope you’re as inspired by these 6 change-makers as we are.

What impact have writer and educators had on your life? We’d love to hear about them by your sharing below.

To celebrate the launch of our UK Facebook page, the UK Year of Books contest begins today!  We’re running the contest on both Facebook and Twitter with a winner on each. Here’s how to enter:

1. Like Better World Books UK on Facebook
2. Go to our Year of Books event and click “join”
3. Share our event with your friends with the message: “I just entered the Better World Books UK ‘Year of Books’ Contest. I can win a year’s supply of books!”

OR enter via Twitter:

1. Follow @BWBUK on Twitter.
2. Tweet this (copy & paste the following into Twitter):
I just entered the @BWBUK “Year of Books” Contest. I can win a year’s supply of books bit.ly/ukyearofbooks

The randomly-selected Winner on each social network will receive:

Free Books for a Year!
This will be in the form of one £20 gift certificate emailed once a month.  You can use this toward anything we sell on the website, including the Bargain Bin (Since the Bin allows you to get 4 books for £10, you could get 96 Bargain Bin books over the course of the year!).

Don’t forget to Follow @BWBUK on Twitter and Like us on Facebook so that we can get in touch with you when you win.

The contest ends Tuesday, 8th May 2012, at 11:59:59 PM, GMT for full terms and conditions see below.

If you have any other questions about the contest, email us at yearofbooks@betterworldbooks.co.uk.

Here are some FAQ’s

Q: Can I participate if I’m not in the UK?
A: Absolutely. We ship to anywhere in the world from our warehouse in the UK.

Q: If I enter on Twitter, can I enter on Facebook as well?
A: You social media butterfly! Of course, in fact it is encouraged as it gives you twice the chances of winning.

Q: Can I tweet more than once?
A: You can tweet the message up to once per day through May 8th.  Since we’re selecting a winner randomly, two tweets gives you better chances than one tweet.  But don’t go over your once-a-day limit, or your friends will throw tomatoes at you.

Q: How will I know if I win?
A: If you’ve been randomly picked as the winner, we’ll message you on the social network you’ve entered on and announce it on the blog and event page.

Q: I was already following you on Twitter/Liked you on Facebook.  I still qualify for this contest, right?
A: Of course, you’re just ahead of the game and have impeccable taste.

Q: Can I Tweet whatever I want and still qualify for the drawing?
A: No, you’ll have to post the exact message at the top of this post to be entered into the drawing.

Better World Books UK: Year of Books Sweepstakes Official Rules

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Some restrictions apply. One winner per household. You need not be present to win.

The sweepstakes: From 24/04/12 through 08/05/12, Better World Books will promote, by means of Facebook and Twitter the opportunity to submit entries to win a grand prize as detailed below. Email, online and print advertising may also be used to promote the sweepstakes beginning 24/04/112 through 08/05/12.

How to enter: (i) a. Follow @BWBUK on Twitter and b. post the following message to your Twitter followers to enter: “I just entered the @BWBUK ‘Year of Books’ Contest. I can win a year’s supply of books! (http://bit.ly/UKyearofbooks)” and c. post the message up to once per day to receive additional entries. (ii) Like Better World Books UK on Facebook and join the Year of Books event. Share the event link with friends with the message: “I just entered the Better World Books UK ‘Year of Books’ Contest. I can win a year’s supply of books!”

How to win: The Grand Prize winners will be selected in a random drawing conducted from all qualified entries on or about 09/05/12. In the event that the original Grand Prize winner does not meet Official Rules or eligibility requirements, or he/she or parent or legal guardian forfeits the Grand Prize, Better World Books will award prize to first alternate. Process will continue until Grand Prize is awarded. All entries must be received on or before 08/05/12. The selection will be held as close to 09/05/12 as possible. Decision of the judges and Better World Books is final. The winner of the grand prize will be notified by direct message and must meet all eligibility requirements. By entering, each contestant agrees to be bound by the rules. Better World Books and its promotional agents are not responsible for illegible, lost, delayed or misdirected entries, errors in posts or emails, or incomplete entries.

Grand Prize: Grand Prize winner will receive a year’s supply of books from Better World Books, in the form of 12 £20 gift certificates to www.BetterWorldBooks.co.uk, sent to the winner(s) at the beginning of every month, beginning in June 2012. Approximate total value of the grand prize is £240. The Grand Prize is non-transferable. There may be no cash or other substitutions of prizes by winner. However, Better World Books reserves the right to substitute similar prizes of equal or greater value in the event the above prize is unavailable for any reason.

Unforeseen Events: Better World Books reserves the right to change this sweepstakes at its sole discretion at any time that Better World Books becomes aware of any circumstances or occurrence which would materially affect the sweepstakes security or fairness. Better World Books reserves the right to announce any sweepstakes rules changes over the air, in print or posters. (Better World Books is not responsible for the inability of the winner to accept the prize for any reason.

Winner Announcement: Winner’s will be announced across Better World Books Social Media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, the Blog).

Admittedly, no official polling group has ranked the Better World Books donation program #1, but you are #1 in our eyes when you save your books from a miserable fate in the landfill, and instead donate them to the fight for a fully literate world.

There are actually three big ways that we at Better World Books like to support you in your Earth-friendly efforts:

1) The donation and Drop Box program
2) Our carbon-balanced shipping option
3) Providing a bevy of used books to buy

Big green world literacy machine (aka: Drop Box)

Here is a video which will show you how one parking spot can change the world.

The annual estimated environmental impact of one Drop Box is:

164+ trees saved - Books placed in a Drop Box are either reused or recycled saving trees from being processed to produce those books. There are 24 trees saved per ton of 100% recycled fiber produced.

10,000+ books reused or responsibly recycled - We either sell the donated books on our website, our online marketplaces, or our Indiana stores. Each book sold generates revenue for our literacy and library partners. For each book sold on betterworldbooks.com, we donate a book to someone in need. When books cannot be sold, we donate them to local and global education organizations. If a book is not fit for donation, we have it recycled.

74,000+ gallons of water saved - There are 8,750 gallons of water saved per ton of paper produced. It takes considerably less water to recycle a book vs the amount it takes to break down a tree into usable fiber.

33,000+ kilowatts of electricity saved - There are 4,893 Kilowatt Hours of electricity saved per ton of paper produced.

15+ cubic yards of landfill space saved - By keeping these books out of the landfill, there is more space for real trash.

Our Drop Boxes are designed and manufactured in the U.S.A. with domestic steel (recycled, of course). Each Drop Box holds approximately 800 books. Select drop boxes are equipped with level sensor technology that alerts us as the Drop Box fills to capacity.

We are very grateful for you wonderful book donors that have made the Drop Box program a success so far, and for those that will help it grow even more, thank you!

To learn more about the Drop Box program, check out this recent blog or the Drop Box site.

Free, green shipping

If you have purchased a book from our website, hopefully you’ve noticed that we have a special option during the checkout process: a 5 cents per book optional carbon-balanced shipping add-on. We offer a way for you to offset the carbon emissions your book shipment makes in our world.

Thank you so much to all of you who have chosen to buy pre-loved books (used = no new paper needed), from Better World Books (Book for Book donation with each purchase and eco-friendly triple-bottom-line), and pay for the carbon-balanced shipping! Each time you do that, you are celebrating and preserving our Earth – every day, not just on this special Earth Day.

Earth Day ask

Since it is Earth Day, I want to challenge you to take your book-loving, tree-hugging, wonderful self one step further. Please tell one friend about how they can celebrate Earth Day every day by shopping with Better World Books.

How are you remembering the Earth today?

View the Better World Book Rare and Antiquarian Collection here. 

It is in the first line of Lewis Carroll’s classic that Alice ponders on the possible use of a book without pictures. Adults reading this passage will likely smile at the childish naivete, especially those unimpressed with wood engravings such as the illustrations within the first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. However, I doubt that even the stodgiest of readers cannot find value in the incredible book illustrations that were to come in the early 20th Century.

Because of innovations in the world of art and printing, books became filled with beautiful, full-color illustrations in the early decades of the 20th Century, especially those containing tales of fantasy and adventure. With high-quality color printing as an affordable option, publishers gave readers a more intense and evocative experience of the worlds of fairies, dwarfs and giants.

The Art Nouveau movement was especially influential on Willy Pogany, an extremely prolific illustrator of books for both children and adults alike. His illustrations for Wagner’s Tannhauser are definitely intended for the latter, as they perfectly capture the sensuality and passion of the Art Nouveau style. Note: This book has sold.

Charles Robinson’s illustrations of Anatole France’s Bee bear a similar feeling of lush extravagance, especially in his depiction of the dwarf king throne. Robinson’s art is incredibly effective in expressing the sense of wonder that Bee must have felt during her time living with a band of dwarfs.

The illustrations by Herbert Paus for The Bluebird Chooses hint at the Art Deco movement what was just about to take hold in Europe, adding a slightly harder edge to the story’s vibrate dreamworld. Paus’ watercolors appeared in countless magazines and advertisements of the age.

Perhaps one of the most famous illustrators of the early 20th Century is Arthur Rackham, whose sinewy goblins and sinister witches populated many collections of fairy tales and fanciful stories between 1896 and 1940. The following illustrations come from a collection of tales by Edgar Allan Poe, which contains some of the more grotesque images Rackham has ever conjured. It’s not unusual for books containing Rackham’s work to sell for thousands of dollars.

With such provocative and beautiful illustrations, it isn’t hard to see the use of these books. While the stories are imaginative and engaging, these beautiful illustrations bring our enjoyment of these tales to a whole other level. Just as the stories have become timeless classics, the works of these artists have become classics on their own.

Do you have a favorite book illustrator? Are there any books that you will always remember because of the illustrations inside?

Note: This post is not appropriate for children.

I was born to an alcoholic mother and an absent father. From the moment I entered the world, I faced neglect, abuse, and poverty. At the age of five, my three uncles began what would become five years of brutal sexual, mental, and physical torture of me, my sister, and my male cousin. By the age of eight, I contracted syphilis and pneumonia as a result of the sexual abuse.

After the torture stopped, I was still left with the neglect and emotional abuse of my mother who didn’t provide my basic needs. Therefore, I dropped out of high school, began to steal, and lived a life of self-destruction.

On my 30th birthday, an urgency came over me to be the first in my family to break these vicious cycles. In a genuine effort to save my two sons from continuing these cycles, at age 32, I packed up my house, took my boys and drove from Birmingham, Alabama to Georgia. Equipped with only a GED and a dream to be the first in my family to graduate with a college degree, I enrolled at Kennesaw State University at age 33, and graduated in three years, becoming the first college graduate in my family. But, this wasn’t enough for me, at age 36, I enrolled in Clark Atlanta University and graduated in two years with my Masters in Social Work with a 3.9 GPA.

In April 2009, I was the main feature in the Emmy® Award-winning documentary, “The Road Beyond Abuse,” directed by Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) and narrated by Jane Fonda, depicting my journey from overcoming the torture of my childhood to finding self-love, forgiveness, and education. I have founded Breaking the Cycle: Beating the Odds, an organization that empowers women to break the negative cycles that cripple them from reaching their fullest potential.

I have written my autobiography, Rising Above the Scars, because like many women and young girls, I had carried the curse of continuing my family’s high school drop out cycle, welfare, government housing, food stamps, poverty, single mother, alcoholism, drugs, prison, anger, hate, low self-esteem, and self-destruction.

Today, I speak internationally, mentor, and provide life developmental coaching. Currently I am completing my Ph.D. in Social Work Policy and Administration. In 2014, I will have accomplished becoming the first doctor in my family. Let’s break the silence and shame of child abuse and neglect.

*Note* The above guest post is from author and activist, Johnnetta Mcswain. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Johnnetta, you inspire us!

Johnnetta’s story is an incredible one. Have you overcome huge odds, too? We’d love to hear about it. Or, can you recommend other books that share an inspiring true-life story like Johnnetta’s? Thanks for sharing!

Did you know we have a Staff Picks section on our website? That’s right; we asked our book-loving staff what books they love and you can find those recommendations on the www.BetterWorldBooks.com homepage Great Reads box (in case you’re looking for your next new favorite).

It just so happens that the books highlighted this month all come highly recommended by me! All ten books were favorites from my 2011 reading list. Honestly, I only had a few non-favorites; it was such an enjoyable year!

I started 2011 with the new year’s resolution that I’d write down every book I read that year. I made this decision after realizing that I don’t remember even half of what I read as a kid. Rather than depending on my (obviously sketchy) memory, I thought I’d log what I read as a 30-something. As I kept track, I noticed that I was finishing about 3 books per month. (I was three months into the year when I noticed the trend.)

I thought, three books? That would be 36 for the year if I kept this up. I could throw in four extras and make it 40 easily enough. It’s a nice round number and all. So I was telling a couple of friends about my reading adventure in, maybe, June. And one of them said, “What, are you reading a book a week, or something?”

And I thought, You could maybe work on your math skills a bit… but, a book a week? 52 isn’t THAT much more than 40. “Sure, I am!” Why not, right?

(Let me just say that if I ever decide to do this again, I’ll be paying my nieces to clean my apartment as it still hasn’t fully recovered.)

Since I hadn’t planned to read 52 books when I started the year, I really had to pick it up in the second half. Though I certainly found a few books that wouldn’t ever make it on my favorites list, overall, I’d say the effort was definitely worth it.

I love how reading enriches my knowledge and experience of myself, of other people, of other cultures, of the capacity we hold for love, expression, hate, fear. I find myself starting or responding in an increasing number of conversations with, “I read this book once, and….”

As, Norton Juster said in one of my 2011 reads, The Phantom Tollbooth:

“Whatever we learn has a purpose and whatever we do affects everything and everyone else, if even in the tiniest way. Why, when a housefly flaps his wings, a breeze goes round the world; when a speck of dust falls to the ground, the entire planet weighs a little more; and when you stamp your foot, the earth moves slightly off its course. Whenever you laugh, gladness spreads like the ripples in a pond; and whenever you’re sad, no one anywhere can be really happy. And it’s much the same thing with knowledge, for whenever you learn something new, the whole world becomes that much richer.”

So, I hope you can enjoy some reading, because readers can enrich the world.

Do you have any reading goals this year? What has been your favorite read of 2012 so far?

We featured the book as the subject of one of our quarterly in-person events – in sync with the TOMS One Day Without Shoes event worldwide on 4/10/12.

At our “Barefoot for Books” gathering, 30 book & social enterprise loving Atlantans came together – barefoot – to discuss the book, Blake’s story and how we, too, can start something that matters.

Many BWBers spent the entire day barefoot as well.

It was an eye and heart opening exercise which I strongly encourage you to take part in next year.

Now, to the book.

Start Something That Matters is great! TOMS has provided a compelling teaching guide for you to work through here.

One take-away that we spent much time discussing at the event is a series of three questions that Blake poses to help you discover your passion. Once you find your passion, you can then focus your life on achieving goals that are meaningful to you, and hopefully find a way to make a living while making a difference – just like Blake has through TOMS and our Founders, Xavier Helgesen and Kreece Fuchs, have done through Better World Books.

Here are the three questions to consider:

1. If you did not have to worry about money, what would you do with your time?
2. What kind of work would you want to do?
3. What cause would you serve?

We’d love for you to share your answers below and also your thoughts on the book, the TOMS and Better World Books social enterprise models and your ideas on how to do good and do well at the same time. Thank you for joining in the Better World Book Club fun!

April Book Selection

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them “the truth.” After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional–but is it more true?

Have you read “Life of Pi” yet? What did you think about it? Would you like to contribute to our April Book Club blog? Email me at 11@betterworldbooks.com if you’re interested.

Back to Blake’s book, can you recommend any other books that give great advice in finding your passion and making it a reality?

As a stay-at-home mother who is organizationally-challenged, piles and stacks are the banes of my existence. My house is littered with piles of laundry and stacks of paperwork. I tend to tackle piles by separating them into smaller piles that then go into circulation in several different places instead of one messy pile in a central location. Some days I just sit at the kitchen table, staring at a pile of bills, hoping that my focused dislike and frustration can cause the pile to spontaneously combust.

Unfortunately, staring just makes the pile grow larger. Likewise, staring at a pile of laundry does not motivate a shirt to fold itself. Piles are lifeless, helpless entities that represent work, monotony and futility in the life of a housewife.

However, my many piles of books are the exception to this complaint. I have specific types of books piled in several different locations around the house. Like most readers, I have a stack next to my favorite chair in the family room. This the diverse group of books I’m currently reading. This stack will usually include at least one classic novel, my book club’s current selection, one or two histories on whatever time period I’m interested in at the moment, a cooking or gardening reference book, and some magazines.

The living room contains the family computers. I usually have a stack of more magazines and catalogs in there, which allows for light reading while monitoring what my kids are doing online.

There’s a stack of antique reference books on my entry table, elevating a lamp so that it reaches the proper height as dictated by decorating experts on HGTV. The stack looks like it’s just for show, but it’s not.  Anytime I’m on Ebay or Craigslist, surveying locally-available antique furniture, I need to have those guides close at hand. It’s a pretty stack of costly reference books, but I use them all the time.

I have a little reading nook in my bedroom – two chairs with a table and lamp in between. We created it for those mythical lazy weekend mornings when we want to stay upstairs in the quiet with our books and coffee. My book stack in this location usually contains titles that hint at future plans or dreams. Right now, travel is on my mind, and the pile reflects that preoccupation.

(No reading nook would be complete without hand lotion and some nail polish, not to mention the obligatory pile of single socks in search of a partner.)

I rarely have the luxury of going to bed early enough to do any bedtime reading. Of course, if I’m in the throes of a thrilling book that I can’t put down, I carry it everywhere, including up to bed. But my bedside table stack is actually comprised of books that help me slow down my brain activity, or, if sleeplessness is an issue, a title that is sure to lull me into a detached state of mind. To aid in relaxation or combat insomnia, these books have been helpful:

On any given day, I have a stack of correspondence I have to answer. I have piles of bills, ironing and mending that get bigger by the day. I can’t escape those piles and the work they represent. But I can avoid them, if only temporarily, by sitting down next to one of my many piles of books, and choosing to escape into the enchantment that is words on paper.

*Note* The above guest post is from BWB fan, book-lover and blogger, Michele Arnett. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Michele, for sharing the insights of your book piles with us!

Tell us about your book piles!

I’m deep into a manuscript that’s due this summer, and in some ways my writing routine is the same as ever, but in other ways, this time around I’m learning some new tricks to get me through. Here are a few thoughts that are helping me get the writing done these days.

1.  Read great writing, as much as you can, in as many genres as you can.  I skip around a lot, but my current booklist is inspiring to me in all sorts of ways:

Anne Lamott’s Some Assembly Required

Brene Brown’s I Thought It was Just Me

Stephen King’s 11/22/63

Eugene Peterson’s The Pastor

Lauren Winner’s Still: Notes on A Mid-Faith Crisis

Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains

2. Listen to something you know well enough to sing along to without stopping your brain or fingers—for me, this always means a complete album, as opposed to a playlist. When I’m running, the “surprise” of a new artist is great, and the variety keeps me moving, but when I’m writing, I need a consistent set of sounds, and I want it to feel analog, like it was made by someone’s hands, as opposed to by a machine—earnest, handmade, human.

My current rotation:

Needtobreathe/The Outsiders

Mumford & Sons/The Cave

Civil Wars/Barton Hollow

Brandi Carlile/The Story

Fun./Some Nights

3.  Trick yourself into just playing around with an idea, in advance of really and officially writing it. Say I have half an hour before the baby needs to eat. That doesn’t strike me as enough time to really dig into something, so I’m always tempted to just fold laundry or return emails. But on my way to the inbox these days, sometimes I just very causally stop by a Word document and begin typing, again, ever so casually.  The stakes are low, and the inner-editor hasn’t caught on to the fact that I’m writing, so she leaves me alone for a minute.

Those little bits and stolen moments sometimes yield the freshest writing, because you haven’t yet had a chance to take yourself too seriously, and to lay all that terrible pressure down on your shoulders, making you hunch over and stare blankly at the screen. I have a five year old, and the only way we really get anything done is by making a game of it, and I’m finding that my writing self responds well to the same tactic. Perhaps my writing self is five years old. I’m fine with that.

Shauna Niequist is the author of “Cold Tangerines” and “Bittersweet“, and is working on her third book, Bread & Wine, a collection of essays about the sacred moments we share when we gather around the table. (www.shaunaniequist.com)

*Note* The above guest post is from one of my personal favorite authors, Shauna Niequist. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Shauna, we feel honored to have your thoughts on our blog and can’t wait to read Bread & Wine!

What do you do to overcome writers block? We’d love for you to share your ideas below.

25. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

24. Alcoholics Anonymous by Anonymous

23. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

22. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

21. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

20. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

19. Music Kit by Tom Manoff

18. The The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

17. A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer

16. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

15. Game of Thrones (Boxed Set) by George R. R. Martin

14. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

13. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd

12. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

11. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

10. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

8. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

6. Resonant Leadership by Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee

5. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

4. Elementary Algebra for College Students by Allen R. Angel, Aimee Calhoun and Richard Semmler (Looks like there is a teacher out there who likes BWB, thank you! We love teachers!)

3. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Did you buy any of the above books last month? We’d love for you to share your review of it below.

One week each year dozens of students would spend hours each day riding sedentary exercise bikes on the green grass surrounded by red brick and white columned buildings. They rode these bikes enough miles to figuratively reach all the way to Uganda, where the pledge money raised was helping fund schools through a non-profit called Building Tomorrow.

Now, as the Community Manager at Better World Books, I have the honor of chatting with amazing people on Twitter – such as the Founder and Director of Building Tomorrow, George Srour. The following is a guest blog from George…

A couple times each week, I field a phone call from our Country Director in Uganda, Joseph Kaliisa. He updates the construction progress at a number of our sites and fills us in on what’s taking place at our Building Tomorrow academies. During our last call, he was beaming.

“The parents and the students have started a pay-it-forward fund. This must be a first here.”

The parents and students Joseph was talking about are those from the Building Tomorrow Academy of Lutisi—a nearly four-year-old school that sent its first batch of graduates to secondary school in 2011. Built and opened in 2008 through Building Tomorrow’s unique cost-sharing model between a US donor community, a handful of villages and the local ministry of education, Lutisi has quickly become a model school.

At a regular School Management Committee meeting last week, the families of the 15 students now attending St. John’s Secondary School in Namboole, just outside the capital of Kampala, decided it was time to give back. In a really, really big way.

Each family committed to an annual contribution of 60,000 Ugandan Shillings, about $26 to underwrite the costs of improving the quality of education at the Building Tomorrow Academy of Lutisi. Their donations will be used to provide resources for students preparing to sit for the national Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) and other scholastic materials for their younger counterparts. And that’s in addition to the materials the families have committed to purchasing for their students to attend secondary school.

Now that’s a real return on investment.

As our Honorary Chairman Archbishop Desmond Tutu says,“Education is the key that will unlock the door to eradicating poverty.” In Lutisi, the key is in the door. With the World Bank estimating more than 67 million primary school age children out of school in 2009, you and I have much work to do.

*Note* The above guest post is from the Founder of Building Tomorrow, George Srour. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, George, we are thrilled to hear and share this success story – keep it up!

Have you experienced a pay-it-forward situation in your life? We’d love to hear about it!

Since 1989, Reach Out and Read pediatricians nationwide have been doling out new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud.

Twenty-three years later, the emphasis on early literacy remains important as ever. However, the book is changing.

For the first time in Reach Out and Read’s history, we find ourselves faced with a new kind of children’s book, one that is displayed on the screen of a tablet. Devices such as the NOOK, the Kindle, the iPad, and the Fable are leading us to a new frontier of literacy — whether we like it or not.

As a nonprofit dedicated to fostering literacy-rich home environments and children who love books and reading, we’re paying close attention to the explosion of e-readers. We’re thinking and studying and talking. We don’t know the answers — yet.

What we do know is what we’ve always known: Children who are read to from an early age have a better chance of succeeding in school and in life than those who are not. That’s the message we continue to spread. With research behind us, we know that engaged parents can make a serious and meaningful difference in their children’s educational outcomes.

To date, there have been lots of voices in the mix of the e-reader debate. The New York Times wrote about tech-savvy parents who insist on traditional books for their children. The Washington Post reported on the pros and cons of apps for kids on smartphones and tablets.  A Maine School Superintendent last year made waves when every kindergartner in his district received an iPad, and he declared that the device was “even more important than a book.”

We’re keeping our voice focused on the fact that for an e-reader to be an effective learning and bonding tool, it needs to be used responsibly. Many devices come with bells and whistles that can distract both parents and children.

The e-reader should be used by parents and children together, with the same goals as a physical book. It should stimulate a child’s language, listening, prediction, and cognitive skills, build curiosity and memory, and create a nurturing environment positive for both the parent and the child.

As the technology develops and the conversation around e-readers unfolds, we’ll continue to recommend that parents read aloud to their children at least 20 minutes each and every day. We’ll still encourage families to talk and sing and imagine together.

And we’ll always remind them that the best parent-child bonding time happens over a book.

Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. Learn more at www.reachoutandread.org

*Note* The above guest post is from the CEO of Reach Out and Read, Earl Martin Phalen. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Earl, we love what Reach Out and Read does!

What are your thoughts on e-books for kids?

With financial support from Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and in-kind support from Vodafone Foundation, we embarked on a journey from Cape Town to Cairo.  We made it our personal mission to find exceptional changemakers who exemplify the truth that, despite its challenges, Africa is on the up. Across eight countries, we uncovered incredible individuals who are using entrepreneurial solutions to drive social and environmental change.

This collection of short stories brings to life the journey of each ‘social entrepreneur’, plotting out their achievements, challenges and talents. From a Zen Buddhist who is training rats to sniff out landmines, to an ex-playboy millionaire who is using his fortune to tackle multinational mining firms, the people profiled are not your archetypal charity workers. Their bottom-up approaches to development issues are thought provoking, inspiring and often quite hilarious!

This book will fire you up about Africa and make you think differently about the role of social entrepreneurs in Africa.  It will encourage you to think about how content you are with your own career choices and encourage you to see that anything is possible.

To learn more about the book and the adventures of the Wilson’s check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ontheupcapetocairo

Buy On The Up today!

Have you ever been to Africa? What are your stories of hope from the great continent?

In between hits on the Today Show, her whirlwind book tour and running a successful non-profit dedicated to these young women, Haley found the time to answer a few questions for you, our Better World Books fans and customers.

Question: How did you come to start Girl Talk?

Answer: I started Girl Talk in 2003, when I was 15, after my sister came home from middle school in tears because of the anxiety and stress of feeling bullied by the popular girls in her grade. I’d dealt with that constantly as a middle schooler — even eating lunch in the bathroom to avoid girls making fun of me! — and I just had a moment like, “This has to stop.”

I wanted to create a place where high school girls could support middle school girls from a “just-been-there” perspective. It started as one chapter in my high school, and it kept growing. Now there are over 40,000 members in chapters all over the world!

What book and author was one of your early inspirations?

I clearly remember reading Mary Pipher’s Reviving Ophelia, a game-changing book about how young girls’ self-esteem drops when they hit puberty, when I was in high school, and thinking “I want to write something like this someday!”

I devoured similar books, like Peggy Orenstein’s Schoolgirls and Rosalind Wiseman’s Queen Bees and Wannabes. I feel like our book really contributes to the field and does something differently — namely, relying on middle school and teen girls as the book’s experts for the adult readers.

How did you decide to write The Drama Years?

Parents often tell me what their daughters are going through and ask my advice. It seemed like so many parents were dealing with the same issues (Why won’t my daughter tell me what’s going on at school? What’s all this “drama” about? Is she getting involved with boys? Why are her friendships so hard? Why does she suddenly need this specific Abercrombie shirt?); adults really seemed to feel lost when the middle school girls in their lives hit this age. Since I have access to this amazing community of insightful, honest girls, we felt like what better way to help parents get the answers to their questions than to ask the girls themselves?

What was the hardest and the most rewarding part of writing the book?

Writing a book certainly has it challenges (tight deadlines, learning curve and time commitment). I went into it blindly because I was more driven by the purpose of the book and less focused on the book being a published. So we were two years in before we submitted the proposal to publishers. With that being said, I have had such a wonderful experience from start to finish with the whole Simon & Schuster team. Everything from the editing, publishing, legal and now publicity has been an incredible learning experience.

What do you hope people will learn from your book?

We really hope adults who work with middle school girls will come away from the book feeling that they have a better sense of what their girl might be going through — a greater sense of compassion for all the subtle pressures she’s juggling — and how to better help her deal, including connecting her with what we call the Three Takeways to Downplay the Drama: an activity outside of school where she can channel her energy; a volunteer commitment to help her gain perspective on the drama in her life; and an “adopted older sister” — a high school girl who can be part of her support network.

For girls, we hope that the book will make them feel less alone. And we hope that teen girls might be inspired to start mentoring a younger girl in their life!

Do you have hopes of writing another book? About what?

There’s so little information out there for girls this age and for parents. I would gladly do it all again if I knew a second book could help more people.

How can people get involved with Girl Talk after they are inspired by the book and your story?

If anyone wants to learn more about Girl Talk and how to start a Chapter in your community  & The Drama Years, they can go to desiretoinspire.org, and visit our Facebook pages at www.facebook.com/InspireGirlTalk and www.facebook.com/HaleyKilpatrickAuthor.

Have a question for Haley? Post it here!

Thus we face the question: Living life at a pace like this, when can we find time to read?

The Better World Books R&D team, working out of our vast underground laboratories and testing facilities in northern Indiana and doing a mess of science down there, has finally come up with a viable answer: Hands-Free Books.

Extensive research showed that manual preoccupation was the major factor keeping readers from multi-tasking effectively.  And thanks to our innovative new Facefloat™* technology, you can keep your open book at eye level at any time.  With your hands free to do anything else, your book-reading experience can extend into many other activities, like:

Of course, there were some experiments that didn’t work out — such is the way of progress.  In determining the most efficient way to make this experience possible, we had to close down our quantum entanglement division (too tangly), and our cloning research team had to cease operations due to an unfavorable audit by the Cloning Regulations Board. (It’s fine; there’s more where they came from.)

And in the spirit of full disclosure, you may experience some glitches with the first series of Hands-Free Books.  Some users (up to but not exceeding all users) have reported a bug in which there is no functionality designed to turn the pages without the use of the customer’s hands, thus rendering the entire concept pointless from a certain point of view.  This is a known issue and we plan to have it hammered out with the release of Hands-Free Books version 2.0.

In the meantime, please enjoy your Hands-Free Books and know that you were one of the first — and, who knows?  Maybe last — owners of this industry-changing product. Find out more here and preorder yours today.

Hands-free books: Read anywhere.

*Not actually ™’d.  At least not by us.  In fact, it might even be ™’d by someone else.  Don’t tell them about this.

I was a rebellious child. When politely asked to stop reading and put away my book for such trifles as going to bed, I would stoutly refuse. This initially resulted in forcible removal of the book and prompt lights out.

Fortunately, I have never been one for giving up. I decided the fittest course of action was to surreptitiously sneak it under my pillow with the handy addition of a flashlight. I made sure to do so well before bedtime then bade a sweetly innocent good night. Nobody suspected a thing. With a small thrill of breaking the rules pulsing in my veins, I silently whipped out both book and flashlight. I carefully lifted the pages open with one finger and flicked my little light toward the words.

Immediately, a small yell came from the bed below. I hadn’t taken into account that sharing a bunk bed with my younger brother, Michael, could foil all my genius. The moment my mother opened the door, he sold me out. The book was again forcibly removed, along with the flashlight.

I now had to contend with a spy in the room and his comrade in the next room. My tactics had been revealed. Undeterred, I retrieved my belongings and attempted to read under the covers, under the pillow, in absolute silence. But I continually failed as my brother would call out when he heard a page turn or saw the dim light shining above him. I hid the book and flashlight under my pillow when I heard my mother’s footsteps and denied any heinous accusations coming from the lower bunk. For several nights this worked, until I was asked to remove my pillow. My mother simply took them away each night and I continued to hide them anyway.

My genius came right before I was once again asked to lift up my pillow. I had been reading some fantastic story, absorbed in worlds far away from my bedroom in Australia, when the familiar calling out from below brought me back. Without even thinking, I flung the two objects in the middle of the bed and lay flat on my back on top of them. Being careful to shift only my head, I lifted my pillow to reveal nothing but a sheet stretched across the mattress. My poor brother knew I had been reading but could not prove it. This time, he was told to go to sleep and I finally continued reading long into the night. I got away with this for a long time.

I believe every child deserves the gift of literacy. I would like to bring literacy to children living at the UNCHR’s refugee camp in Meheba, Zambia through a volunteer placement with the Book Bus from July 7 – July 28, 2012. The Meheba refugee settlement is home to refugees from all over Africa including Angola, Rwanda and Congo. The Book Bus partners with half a dozen primary schools within the settlement and works with children who have escaped the turmoil of their home countries. There are over 5,000 children at the settlement and some attend school whilst others do not. The Book Bus been working in partnership with the UNHCR in Meheba since 2009 and, with the volunteers, has made a huge impact in the schools.

Just as Roald Dahl’s Matilda found solace and wisdom; just as Sara, in A Little Princess, found magic; so I found courage, possibilities and determination in books. After researching the lives of children who have survived the violent conflicts in Africa, I am deeply inspired by their resilience.

In the United States, I have volunteered with the Outreach Program, a free theatre training program run by the Stella Adler Studio for inner-city youth, during which time I have seen the extraordinary impact that arts education provides for children.

By good fortune of circumstance, I will be enjoying this summer as a nomad. This means I am able to use July’s rent and living expense money for a placement with the Book Bus instead. In order to get on a plane from New York to Zambia (and back!), I am fundraising at: IndieGoGo.com/Zambia2012

So you can get to know the person behind the cause you’re supporting, I have filmed a video for my fundraising campaign. You can view it here and on the above link.

Katherine Wallace is a young Australian actress training at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City. She has long been inspired by many people and organizations, particularly the humanitarian work of Angelina Jolie. She supports the UNHCR, the Book Bus, UNICEF, Amnesty, Joyful Heart Foundation, To Write Love On Her Arms, Greenpeace, The Nature Conservancy, PETA, GetUp!, Animals Australia and The Australian Childhood Foundation.

The turning point of deciding to pursue this project came to her from the Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company’s production of Colin Greer’s “Imagining Heschel”, directed by Tom Oppenheim.

Katherine is deeply grateful to all those who inspire faith in our humanity.

*Note* The above guest post is from the Australian actress and activist, Katherine Wallace. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Katherine, we cannot wait for a follow-up post this summer!

If you could volunteer with the Book Bus, would you? Do you have any questions for Katherine?

Every year for the past three years, Better World Books has donated 100 copies of their featured book to the program. Those books get handed out to local organizations such as the Center for the Homeless, Robinson Community Learning Center (our first non-profit partner), St. Margaret’s House, and the Kroc center.

The following is a guest blog from the organizers of One Book, One Michiana:

“Yes, Watson! You have deduced correctly, my friend! It is indeed time to put in an appearance for One Book, One Michiana!”

“But Holmes,” sputtered the usually cheerful Watson, “What if that utterly dreadful Moriarty is there?”

“Calm yourself, dear boy….Moriarty may be the Napoleon of Crime, but he has excellent taste. We are talking One Book, man! I’m sure we all can be cordial for once! By the way, grab my pipe!”

We are excited to announce the 3rd annual One Book, One Michiana’s selection this year and, yes, you’ve guessed correctly! Our choice is The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes featuring the master sleuth himself! Follow Holmes through the murky fog of Victorian London solving crimes at a speed which leaves Scotland Yard and all other detectives for the next century in the dust.

Where did this man of mystery and genius come from? Holmes burst on the scene in 1887 via Strand Magazine, thanks to the imagination of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unlike many other characters, Holmes is as timeless as ever and has endured to this day.  He’s appeared in countless spin-off books, plays, television and film. There have been classic takes by Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett and modern twists by Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey, Jr.

We have many fun community events from March 31 to April 30 that we promise will appeal to adults and children alike. Some of these offerings are WNIT Dinner & A Book, SJCPL Trivia Night, The Science of Crime Solving, and numerous book discussions!

To see a list of all programs please visit us at http://www.libraryforlife.org/onebook/

If you could get your whole city to read one book together, what would it be and why?

Seems simple enough, or is it?  How much is a teaspoon?  How about a tablespoon? Missed my morning dose, can I take two now?  Didn’t take yesterday’s, can I double up today to catch up?  My brother has the same condition, can we split my medicine?

These questions are quite common.  According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, just over 1 out of 10 adults in the U.S. are proficient in health literacy.  Health literacy is the ability to get, process, and understand basic health information and services in order to make the right health decisions.  It is not necessarily a measure of someone’s years of education or even their reading level.  Health literacy can be influenced by many different factors, including: culture, disabilities, and knowledge or familiarity with the health topic.  Furthermore, the degree of health literacy can change depending on the situation and setting.

On the surface, the doctor’s instructions may seem obvious.  However, after arriving at home, the directions are often not carried out as intended. Generally, 3 teaspoons equals 1 tablespoon.  Someone not familiar with the difference and skips a dose, and then doubles up on the medicine, may be taking 5-6 times the recommended dosage.  This misunderstanding can be especially dangerous to toddlers because of their small size.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has linked low health literacy to poor health outcomes such as higher rates of hospitalization.  To improve health literacy, the DHHS is emphasizing effective communication.  Health care providers are being encouraged to slow down, use plain language, pictures or diagrams, and provide easy-to-read written materials.  It is also very important for patients to ask questions.

Doctors and nurses are genuine people and are passionately concerned about the well- being of their patients.  Clearing up a confusing point can help them keep you healthy and increase your health literacy.

The following short video from the American Medical Association, shows some examples of limited health literacy: AMA Video

*Note* The above guest post is from a Twitter friend of Better World Books, Penelope Thompson. You can follow her here: @ClaroHealth. Claro Health specializes in simplifying complex medical information for public use and partner with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and government agencies to reach thousands of people with compelling and empowering messages. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of Better World Books (as our lawyers make sure we say). We love having guest bloggers and invite you to email 11@betterworldbooks.com if you are interested in covering a book or topic on the BWB Blog. Thank you, Penelope!

Interested in learning more? Here’s a book all about health literacy: “Health Literacy from A to Z”

What do you think could help improve health literacy?  Please share your thoughts and suggestions below.

Fernando is talking about his parents. He thinks about them all the time. He wonders where they are; he imagines what they might be doing in that particular moment. Fernando’s parents migrated to the United States (from the rural community of Santiago Sacatepéquez, Guatemala) when he was a baby, in search of jobs that could support their family. Indigenous and illiterate, Fernando’s parents had few prospects at home, where over than half of the region’s residents live in chronic poverty and compete for limited resources.

The young, hopeful Guatemalan’s grandparents put a roof over his head and give him plenty to eat. They even saved up their meager earnings for several months to buy him a uniform – without which he would not be able to attend school.

From time to time, Fernando’s parents send small amounts of money home. But the opportunities they hoped to find in the U.S. have been scarce and unpredictable. Fernando says his parents encourage him to stay in school and learn to read, so that he can have a better life.

Our partners at the Cooperative for Education have put together a Culture of Reading Program in Fernando’s school. The program gives him, and his family, hope for a brighter future.

Since  entering the program last year, Fernando has blossomed. Once a shy and indifferent student, he now shows up early for school so  that he can spend quiet time perusing the books the Cooperative for Education provides his class. He has become an enthusiastic reader and learner, and  often volunteers to act out the stories in front of the other second graders. His teacher jokes that Fernando will soon take over her job.

This one is different. This time, we want to give-back directly to you through our Literacy and Education in Action Program (LEAP) grants. Feel free to jump ahead here and go right to the grant link (or continue reading about why and how the grant process works).

There are over 793,000,000 adults on our planet who are illiterate and over 67,000,000 children who are not able to attend school.*

I don’t know about you, but I cannot imagine one billion of anything. So one billion people that cannot read, write or have the chance to learn in school is shocking, frightening and incredibly disturbing to me.

At Better World Books, we believe literacy and education are a right for all people. We believe in the right to read. And because of that, we donate a portion of all revenue to game-changing education organizations.

But we don’t want to be the only ones identifying, sourcing, and deciding which non-profits to support, so we are opening up the grant process to you – our amazing customers, book donors and fans.

Here is all of the information you can share with your favorite education and literacy non-profits: LEAP for Literacy Grant Application. The deadline is fast approaching – April 9th!

We are also excited to announce that we will be rewarding at least two LEAP grants for non-profits: one selected by the Better World Books Literacy Council and another selection by YOU! You can vote on the Reader’s Choice Award May 21-June 10th. Stay tuned…

*Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, September 2011

Which education non-profits are you sharing the LEAP for Literacy grant with and why?

No, not actually, but that’s what it felt like. 

Amy Krouse Rosenthal is an award-winning author of both children and adult fiction and non-fiction. She is also a contributor to TED and NPR. The New York Times says Amy’s children’s books: “Radiate fun the way tulips radiate spring: they are elegant and spirit-lifting.”

Her 20+ books for children include Little Pea, Spoon, Chopsticks, Duck! Rabbit!, The Wonder Book, Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons, and Plant a Kiss.

But that’s enough from us. Hear from Amy herself:
Name: Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Occupation: Maker of things (books, videos, speeches, wishes)

Home town: Chicago

Life-changing moment: Being asked to do this interview.

Mission: To keep doing things that I love to the best of my ability for as long as I can.

Favorite book & why: Our Town, the play. Because it is so beautiful and profound yet simple and real.

Hidden talent: I can say the 50 states in alphabetical order in 17 seconds.

Shocking moment: Winning the Oscar. Seriously surreal. Oh, wait, sorry, that wasn’t me.

Gets you excited to get out of bed in the mornings: Coffee.

Wishes could be: Immortal with my family by my side

Greatest challenge: At 5’1″ I’d have to say reaching the top shelf.

What other authors do you think we should try to interview?

As you will see in our latest impact video below, Invisible Children is working hard to uplift Northern Uganda from the inside – through education – and we are honored to support their education programs.

There are millions of teachers across Africa hoping to learn more about student-centered teaching and praying to be able to provide individual books to their students. Each time you donate a book to, buy a book from, or share Better World Books with friends, you are helping more teachers like Elizabeth lift up the next generation of Africans. Thank you!

How did Elizabeth become a teacher?

We would like to take this opportunity to also share more of Elizabeth’s story with you. In her own words…

“I was born in 1955 in Gulu District, Northern Uganda. Life was quite good. Everything was easy to get. People were friendly and little ones could play without fear. My mother was staying at home as a housewife while my dad was a teacher and he was the Principal of a teacher training college.”

“When the war came life changed completely. People lived in fear. There was no food because people feared to go to the gardens. People feared for their lives. They had to go to the camps where life was double hard because the situation was horrific. Sanitation was poor. Schools virtually closed and nobody thought of the next day. Everybody was just living one day at a time.”

With the war in Uganda now over, we are helping Invisible Children rebuild by paying school fees for war orphans, rescued child soldiers, and teacher training. We have another short video about one of the recipients from the scholarship program which we invite you to view:

You can learn more about our Teacher Exchange grant to Invisible Children here. And even apply for your own organization’s grant to make a difference in education here.

2. What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff & Sharon Mazel

3. Reasoning and Writing Well by Betty Mattix Dietsch

4. A Child Called “It”: One Child’s Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer

5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

6. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

7. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

8. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd

9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

10. The Care and Keeping of You by Valorie Schaefer

11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

12. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

13. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History by Robert Strayer

14. Baby Massage: Soothing Strokes for Healthy Growth by Suzanne P. Reese

15. The 4 Laws of Financial Prosperity: Get Control of Your Money Now! by Blaine Harris & Charles Coonradt

16. The Shack by William P. Young

17. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

18. The Lost Boy: A Foster Child’s Search for the Love of a Family by Dave Pelzer

19. 10th Anniversary (Women’s Murder Club) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

20. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

21. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

22. Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss

23. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

24. Smokin’ Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich

25. Robert’s Rules of Order in Brief by Henry M., III Robert , William J. Evans & Daniel H. Honemann

Have you read any of the books on this list? Which do you recommend to others and why?

What is Scoutmob?
Scoutmob is a mobile app guiding you to our favorite local businesses with sweet deals along with awesome curated content. Scoutmob’s mission is to help you be a better local. We’re taking advantage of all Atlanta has to offer — and bring you daily incentives to get out and do the same. Think of us as that gentle nudge you need to get you out the door and do your local thing.

What cities have Scoutmob?
We publish daily in Atlanta, San Francisco, New York and DC. We are “lite” (one deal per week) in Chicago, Austin, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, Denver, Nashville, Seattle, and Portland.

Books that inspire Scoutmob:
1. Slow: Life in a Tuscan Town, by Douglas Gayeton – this is where our editor, Liza Dunning, got the brilliant idea to handwrite on the photos to separate us from other daily deal photos.
2. Let’s Bring Back {An Encyclopedia of forgotten-yet-delightful, chic, useful, curious and otherwise commendable things from times gone by}, by Lesley M. M. Blume
3. The First English Dictionary of Slang 1699

How did Scoutmob get started?
Scoutmob was originally a free WiFi service called Skyblox.com. Our co-founders Dave Payne and Michael Tavani saw the opportunity to jump into the deal space with a creative twist — spontaneous buying with local businesses with original content.

What type of person works for Scoutmob?
We are a motley crew to say the least – we range from tattooed tech geeks, mustachioed sales wizards, family-friendly spreadsheet guys, and dogs… lots of ‘em. There are at least 3 pups in the office at any given time. No matter what we look like – the common denominator is that we are all creative folks who are curious about our city. We are all brand representatives. One email goes through so many hands, that it is up to everyone to hold their weight. And keep in mind we do this daily.

What are some of the non-profit organizations you partner with?
We like to support and encourage our users to also support non-profits in our city that make a difference on a local level. For instance, our team in Atlanta is currently focusing on Atlanta Community Food Bank, but we’ll continue to plant as much community awesomeness as we can. Our team in DC is working with Think Local First, to support local music makers and entrepreneurs.

How can people get involved with Scout Mob?
Sign up for our daily email with gobs of interesting local content and sweet deals and download our app to have all the goodness right in the palm of your hand.

What’s your favorite Scoutmob story and/or deal?
Halloween 2011. I worked with the fine folks at The Goat Farm to make the most epic Halloween event Atlanta has ever seen. I can prove it, watch the video. We’re going to be doing it again as many years as possible, so don’t make any plans for October 27, 2012.

Have Scoutmob in your city? What was your favorite deal? What’s the best deal you’ve ever gotten on a book — on BWB or elsewhere?

From 1975-1979, the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia. They ruled by genocide, killing every educated person they could. You would even be killed if you wore glasses, because they assumed you knew how to read. The Khmer regime wanted to rebuild Cambodia as a completely agrarian society empty of books, schools and educational progress.

Just 30 years later, Cambodians like little Narin are falling in love with learning thanks in part to our partners at Room to Read.

Room to Read envisions a world in which all children can pursue a quality education, reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world. Narin is the perfect example of Room to Read’s work and we are honored to support their successful efforts.

After his wife passed away a few years ago, Narin’s father, an army man, was forced to relocate to the Thai border. He left his daughter behind to live with her grandmother, who earns a meager living selling rice noodles at the local market.

Narin’s day starts at the break of dawn helping her grandmother with household chores and assisting with preparation of the noodles. Unable to afford a bicycle, she then walks a mile and a half to school, rushing so as to have time in the library before class.

“The library period is too short and not enough for me, so I make extra time to go there whenever I can,” she says with a smile.

Narin has not always been such an enthusiastic reader, but ever since Room to Read established a library at her school in 2010, she is a regular visitor. She loves playing with the puzzles and games there, and knows where to find all her favorite books by heart.

“I read about eight books each day, and borrow two or so to take home with me at a time,” she says. “I read those stories aloud to my grandmother who is very proud of my skills and also to my uncle who is in seventh grade.”

“Ever since she started going to the library, Narin’s reading skills have improved considerably,” says Narin’s teacher. “She can now read at a third grade reading level, and is a role model for other students in the school.”

Over six million children have been served through Room to Read’s work over the years. Their goal is to reach 10 million children by 2015 and you can help! Every single time you donate books to or buy books from Better World Books you are supporting our amazing partners, like Room to Read and the millions of children like Narin that they inspire to read every day.

Fun Fact: We have raised over $11 million for our partners, including donating $518,000 to Room to Read, and with your help can reach even more children through education!