It is year 10 of the Holiday Book Drive!!! Wow, it really is!
We have a big goal in this milestone moment. Since the start of the drive in 2017, we’ve collected 7,140 books for young readers served by Chicago nonprofit Leading with Literacy, led by Pastor Michael Neal. Doesn’t now seem like the perfect time to reach for 10,000 books? It would take 2,860 books to reach this 10th anniversary goal. Eeeee, can we do it?!
We’ve gotta try!
The 9th annual drive in 2025 was our biggest yet! We collected 1,157 books for Chicago readers. To get to our 10,000 goal, we’d have to more than double that total. We’d be so honored to go for it, with your support, so we can build up the home libraries of as many children as possible to foster a life-long love of reading. And joy, so much book joy!
Pastor Neal and I would be so honored to have you as a partner in our 10th annual drive! Every donation matters so much. It really happens one book, one financial gift at a time. Here’s how the drive works, and how you can join the joy this holiday season to give the gift of literacy!
How to Give
Email via my website Contact page, message me on Instagram, or text me, friends!
Let me know what you’d like to send—books or a financial gift.
I’ll provide my address / mobile $ info. Apologies, I cannot share those details publicly!
More Book Drive Details
We Love Books: We are excited to receive any book for children. We ask that the books are new and not used. Picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade and young adult—all are welcome!
The Magic Number = 30: Any single book donation is celebrated. But if you can join forces with a friend (or friends) and donate 30 copies of the same book, you’ll be able to provide an entire classroom the same book, so all students can share the same reading experience, which is the ultimate wish of our partner teachers and schools.
Publisher Partners: Authors, if you think your publisher might be able to provide a complete classroom donation of 30 of your books books, please let me know! We can provide a tax letter from Leading with Literacy.
Team Donations: If you’d like to collect books or funds through a club or organization—troop, dance studio, basketball team, chess club—let’s chat logistics!
Title Ideas: I’m happy to share book recs at any time, if you’re not sure what to give.
Financial Gifts: I often combine financial gifts and place orders for full-class donations through Scholastic. Great deals to be had there!
Shouting It Out: I celebrate all book donations as I receive them, on social media and on my website, too. Sharing these special deliveries is one of my favorite things to do!
Follow Along: Visit this post and Instagram (#HolidayBookDriveChi) for the latest donations!
Books and financial gifts are accepted from October through early December. As books are donated, I’ll share them below, so you can check out what Chicago readers will be reading, and get some ideas for your home library, too! OK, let’s go!!!
