Arkansas Catholic's

Good Book Drive

November 1-30, 2018

Give a children's book for Christmas to share the gift of reading with a needy child. Send Arkansas Catholic a copy of your favorite new or like-new childhood books for children from newborn to age 10, or pick recommended books from our list and get them to us by November 30, 2018.

"In middle-income neighborhoods the ratio of books per child is 13 to 1; in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children." (Neuman, Susan B. and David K. Dickinson, ed., Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 2, 2006.)

Good books open up the wider world for children in low-income families. Academic success can be boosted by having books in the home. 

What kind of books?

• New or like-new books only, in English or Spanish.
• Appropriate for newborns to age 10.
• Books with multicultural and ethnic characters and themes are encouraged.

Please do NOT give:

• Activity books or coloring books
• Books that are damaged or defaced (torn, stained, dogeared, worn)
• Books not appropriate for children from birth to age 10

Where to send books

Ship or deliver books to: 

Arkansas Catholic
2500 N. Tyler St.
Little Rock, AR 72207

We will sort, pack up and donate all appropriate books to Helping Hand of Greater Little Rock, Catholic Charities and parish-based food and clothing pantries around the state. They will make sure all books are given to children in need in Arkansas.

Want book ideas?

Really good books help children love to read. For ideas, download this list to take shopping. More ways to discover wonderful children's books:

• Visit your local bookstore, where they can recommend great books and handle shipping to Arkansas Catholic.

• See Arkansas Catholic's Christmas Book Drive wish list on Amazon.com at http://a.co/fGa9jkA. Click "Top Search Results" beside any title to see options for that book. Have your order shipped as a gift to the Arkansas Catholic address above, and make sure to give us your name and address as the giver.

• Search these recommended books by age and reading level to order from the Best Children’s Books website. All books on this site are used but are supposed to be in like-new condition.

• Preschool (ages 0-4): https://store.the-best-childrens-books.org/collections/preschool-books
• Kindergarten (age 5): https://store.the-best-childrens-books.org/collections/kindergarten-books
• First grade (age 6): https://store.the-best-childrens-books.org/collections/first-grade-books
• Second grade (age 7): https://store.the-best-childrens-books.org/collections/second-grade-books
• Third grade (age 8): https://store.the-best-childrens-books.org/collections/third-grade-books
• Fourth grade (age 9): https://store.the-best-childrens-books.org/collections/fourth-grade-books
• Fifth grade (age 10): https://store.the-best-childrens-books.org/collections/fifth-grade-book
• Search for an Caldecott Award-winning book (all ages): https://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/Caldecott-Books.html

For more information

Email Malea Hargett or call the Arkansas Catholic office at (501) 664-0125 for questions or more information.