Holiday Book Drive Chi is back for year SEVEN! This annual book joy event is a partnership with Pastor Michael Neal of Leading with Literacy, who is a champion of kids and reading and the absolute best teammate, partner and friend!
This fall and winter, we’ll again be working with friends of literacy all over the country to deliver books to young readers in Chicago.
Last year, literacy supporters donated more books than ever before - more than 1,000 books! Here are the all-time book drive totals, year-over-year, leading up to our record-breaking drive:
2017: 408 books
2018: 433 books
2019: 623 books
2020: 728 books
2021: 828 books
2022: 1,103 books
That’s 4,123 books in all, since the start of the drive! Surpassing 1,000 titles in 2023 really blew us away. Can we top that total this season, too?
Holiday Book Drive Chi has shown us that anything is possible! And Pastor Neal and I are ready to get to work in year seven, with the dream of delivering as many beautiful books as we can to Bronzeville schools and home libraries!
We are thrilled to announce that Holiday Book Drive Chi year seven is officially open for donations!
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about being a part of this year’s effort. If you don’t see the answer to your question, please email me via my Contact page. We hope you can join us in collecting as many books as possible, so we can spend December making book deliveries to Chicago classrooms, before Chicago Public Schools students head off for Winter Break!
2023 Book Drive Details
Books, Please! We are excited to receive any book written for children. We do ask that the books are new and not used. Picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade and young adult titles are all welcome, and very appreciated!
The Magic Number = 30 books: Any single book donation is celebrated. But if you have the ability to join forces with a friend (or friends) and donate 30 copies of the same book, you’ll be able to provide an entire classroom that very book - so all students can share in 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 interested in (and able to!) provide a complete classroom donation of 30 books, please let me know! We can provide a letter from Leading with Literacy for tax purposes.
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!
Set Up A “Lemonade Stand” For The Drive: If you’d like to collect books or funds for our drive through a local club or organization - such as a troop, dance studio, basketball team, chess club, etc. - that would be amazing! Let me know, and we can chat logistics.
Title Ideas: I’m happy to share book recommendations at any time, if you’re not sure which book or books to give.
Or… If You’d Rather: Financial donations are most welcome, too! I combine financial gifts and place orders for full-class donations through Scholastic. Great deals to be had there!
Follow Along: Want to know what’s going on with the drive? Visit this post often, as well as Twitter/X and Instagram. Search the hashtag #HolidayBookDriveChi for the latest donations.
How to Give
If you’d like to make a donation, PLEASE CONTACT ME via my website Contact page to arrange delivery. I apologize that I cannot share my personal address publicly - I know that would speed up the giving / receiving process!
Book and financial gifts are accepted through December 2023. Then, in the weeks leading up to Winter Break, Leading with Literacy and I will begin delivering your donations to students in schools all over Bronzeville and other nearby Chicago neighborhoods.
And we have fun news to share… we already have books! A huge thank you to New York Times bestselling author Pat Zietlow Miller, who has again kicked off the drive with two amazing donations!
We are on our way to making it a drive to remember! Thank you so much for your friendship and partnership, Pat! Getting to 1,000 isn’t easy - each and every donation makes a tremendous difference. Friends, if you are able to help, please know that your love and support is deeply appreciated.
Without further ado, here are this year’s books!
Thank you Pat Zietlow Miller for kicking off the drive (again!) with an entire classroom donation of…
A GIRL CAN BUILD ANYTHING
(By e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller, Illustrated by Keisha Morris, Viking)
Thank you Pat Zietlow Miller for also sharing copies of your book
LUPE LOPEZ: ESTRELLA DE LECTURA!
(By e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller, Illustrated by Joe Cepeda,
translated by Georgina Lázaro, Candlewick)
Thank you Beth Anderson for sharing an entire classroom donation of your picture book…
FRANZ’S PHANTASMAGORICAL MACHINE
(By Beth Anderson, Illustrated by Caroline Hamel, Kids Can Press)
Thank you Yarnell and Rowe families for donating an entire classroom donation of the book…
DIARY OF A PUG: PUG BLASTS OFF
(By Kyla May, Scholastic)
Thank you Lenert family for donating an entire classroom donation of the book…
PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF
(By Rick Riordan, Disney Hyperion)
Thank you Lenert family for donating an entire classroom donation of the book…
I PROMISE
(By LeBron James, Illustrated by Nina Mata, HarperCollins)
Thank you Lenert family for donating an entire classroom donation of the book…
THE LEMONADE WAR
(By Jacqueline Davies, Clarion)
Thank you Tootie Nienow for sharing an entire classroom donation of your picture book…
THERE GOES PATTI McGEE!
(By Tootie Nienow, Illustrated by Erika Medina, Farrar, Straus Giroux)
Thank you Conway family for donating an entire classroom donation of the book…
BEYOND THE BRIGHT SEA
(By Lauren Wolk, Dutton Books for Young Readers)
Thank you Bradley family for donating an entire classroom donation of the book…
THE PARKER INHERITANCE
(By Varian Johnson, Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic)
Thank you Lauren Kerstein and Two Lions for donating entire classroom donations of your books…
ROSIE THE DRAGON AND CHARLIE SAY GOOD NIGHT
and ROSIE THE DRAGON AND CHARLIE MAKE WAVES
(By Lauren H. Kerstein, Illustrated by Nate Wragg, Two Lions)
Thank you Mia Wenjen for sharing an entire classroom donation of your picture book…
FOOD FOR THE FUTURE
(By Mia Wenjen, Illustrated by Robert See-Heng, Barefoot Books)
Thank you Kate Simpson for sharing an entire classroom donation of your book…
THE PAPER MUSEUM
(By Kate S. Simpson, Union Square Kids)
Thank you Dinslage, Jarvis and Rowe families for sharing entire classroom donations of…
TY’S TRAVELS: ZIP, ZOOM!
and TY’S TRAVELS: WINTER WONDERLAND
(By Kelly Starling Lyons, Illustrated by Nina Mata, HarperCollins)
Thank you Becky Scharnhorst and Flamingo Books for sharing
TWO classroom donations of your book…
HOW TO GET YOUR OCTOPUS TO SCHOOL
(By Becky Scharnhorst, Illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett, Flamingo Books)
Thank you Sarah Kurpiel and Greenwillow Books for sharing
an entire classroom donation of your book…
SNAKE’S BIG MISTAKE
(By Sarah Kurpiel, Greenwillow Books)
Thank you Bea Birdsong and HarperCollins for sharing an entire classroom donation of your book…
BOOP!
(By Bea Birdsong, Illustrated by Lizzie Hunter, HarperCollins)
Thank you Clo Ewing and the Burns Family for sharing an entire classroom donation of Clo’s books…
STELLA KEEPS THE SUN UP
STELLA AND THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING TOOTH
(By Clothilde Ewing, Illustrated by Lynn Gaines, Simon & Schuster / Denene Millner Books)
Thank you Jilanne Hoffmanm and Chronicle Books for sharing an entire classroom donation of your book…
A RIVER OF DUST
(By Jilanne Hoffmann, Illustrated by Eugenia Mello, Chronicle)
Thank you Elite Chess for sharing an entire classroom donation of books from these series…
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, THE BAD GUYS, BIG NATE, and DOG MAN
Thank you Ariel Bernstein for sharing 25 books with the drive, including your titles…
YOU GO FIRST
(By Ariel Bernstein, Illustrated by Marc Rosenthal, Paula Wiseman Books)
WARREN & DRAGON: 100 FRIENDS
(By Ariel Bernstein, Illustrated by Mike Marlbrough, Puffin Books)
Thank you Kim Campbell and Elite Chess for sharing 25 copies of these books…
I SURVIVED, THE SECRET RESCUERS, DOG SQUAD, ESCAPE THIS BOOK: TOMBS OF EGYPT, HOPE, POLAR NIGHTS, and TRUE STORIES OF ANIMAL HEROES
Thank you Jan Milusich for sharing 20 copies of your books…
CLEO’S BIG IDEAS: ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER
CLEO’S BIG IDEAS: ONWARD AND UPWARDS!
(By Janice Milusich, Illustrated by Jennifer Ball, Eifrig Publishing)
Thank you Raven Howell for sharing 20 copies of your books…
A COLORFUL BEGINNING
(By Raven Howell, Illustrated by Carina Povarchik, Black Rose Writing)
SEASONS
(By Raven Howell, Illustrated by Ann Pilicer, Jan-Carol Publishing)
Thank you Andria W. Rosenbaum for sharing 15 copies of your book…
OUR CLASS IS A COUNTRY
(By Andria W. Rosenbaum, Illustrated by Dream Chen, Albert Whitman)
Thank you Elite Chess for sharing 15 copies of the book…
TANI’S NEW HOME
(By Tanitoluwa Adewumi, Illustrated by Courtney Dawson, Tommy Nelson)
Thank you Liz Bedia for sharing 12 copies of your A Dinosaur’s Day books…
DEINONYCHUS GOES HUNTING
TRICERATOPS FOLLOWS ITS HERD
T. REX MEETS ITS MATCH
DIPLODOCUS FINDS ITS FAMILY
(Illustrated by Marie Bollmann, By Elizabeth Gilbert Bedia, DK Children)
Thank you Raven Howell for sharing 12 copies of your books…
SANTA’S SLIP UP
(By Raven Howell, Illustrated by Savannah Horton, Pen It Publications)
and PINKIES UP
(By Raven Howell, Illustrated by Lisa Rush, Handerson Publishing)
Thank you NoNieqa Ramos for sharing 11 copies of your books…
BEAUTY WOKE (By NoNieqa Ramos, Illustrated by Paola Escobar, Versify)
HAIR STORY (By NoNieqa Ramos, Illustrated by Keisha Morris, Carolrhoda Books)
THE TRUTH IS (By NoNieqa Ramos, Carolrhoda Lab)
YOUR MAMA (By NoNieqa Ramos, Illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara, Versify)
Thank you Robin Newman for sharing 11 copies of your books…
THE CASE OF THE BAD APPLES (By Robin Newman, Illustrated by Deborah Zemke, Creston)
DON’T CALL ME FUZZYBUTT! (By Robin Newman, Illustrated by Susan Batori, Sleeping Bear Press)
THE CASE OF THE POACHED EGG (By Robin Newman, Illustrated by Deborah Zemke, Creston)
Thank you Jackie Azúa Kramer and Simon & Schuster for sharing 10 copies of your book…
EMPANADAS FOR EVERYONE
(By Jackie Azúa Kramer, Illustrated by Lenny Wen, Simon & Schuster)
Thank you Tammi Sauer for sharing 10 copies of your book…
ALL KINDS OF SPECIAL
(By Tammi Sauer, Illustrated by Fernando Martin, Simon & Schuster / Paula Wiseman Books)
Thank you Lauren Kerstein for donating 10 copies of your books, including…
REMEMBERING SUNDAYS WITH GRANDPA
(By Lauren H. Kerstein, Illustrated by Nanette Regan, Beaming Books)
and HOME FOR A WHILE
(By Lauren H. Kerstein, Illustrated by Natalia Moore, Magination Press)
Thank you Laura Gehl for sharing 7 copies of your books…
PEEP AND EGG (By Laura Gehl, Illustrated by Joyce Wan, Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
WHO MADE THIS MESS? (By Laura Gehl, Illustrated by Aleksandar Stojsic, Capstone)
DONUT: (By Laura Gehl, Illustrated by Andrea Zuill, Random House Studio)
BRILLIANT BABY EXPLORES SCIENCE (By Laura Gehl, Illustrated by Jean Claude, little bee books)
Thank you Jenna Elyse Johnson for sharing a 5 copies of the book…
JEANIE & GENIE: THE FIRST WISH
(By Trish Granted, Illustrated by Manuela Lopez, Little Simon)
Thank you Katrina Tangen for sharing your book…
COPY THAT, COPY CAT!
(By Katrina Tangen, Illustrated by Giulia Orecchia, Barefoot Books)
FINAL TOTAL:
882 BOOKS!
Thank you for being a part of delivering book joy to young scholars!
We can’t wait to see what this year’s holiday book drive brings!