Can you help us get books to
Caribbean children? We'd love your help!
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Calree Xavier, Nathan Henderson, and Sheniah Lavinier
at the Newtown Primary School, on the island of Dominica,
with books donated by Hands supporters
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Our work is made possible through
the generous assistance of volunteers who collect, donate,
and provide funding for children's books for Hands Across
the Sea. Your efforts toward improving literacy in Caribbean
schools are making a big difference to
young students across the islands of the West Indies.
This year, we'd like to purchase some Caribbean-themed readers
and young adult books, and your cash donation will help us
do that.
Before you ship or drop off
any children's books, please e-mail
Hands to describe your donation, when and where it
will be shipped or dropped off, and the date you plan to do
this. Hands can then make sure your book donation goes smoothly,
and send you an acknowledgement and a thank you
when it has been received.
Collected new and "gently used" (pages and covers
in good condition, and published
after 1995) children's books should be sent to:
Hands
Across the Sea & Boaters for Books Donations
c/o Matt Pollock
Harte-Hanks
600 North Bedford Street
East Bridgewater, MA 02333
(Shipping questions? Please call Hands at 508-938-6307 or
contact Hands) Hands
can advise you on the best way to ship or send your books,
and how to label the books so they reach the correct designated
school.
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Cendrillon:
A Caribbean Cinderella, by Robert D. San Souci,
illustrated by Brian Pinkney; available on Amazon.com
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What kind of children's books
should you collect?
•
Books in good condition ("gently-used") with bookcovers
and pages clean and intact
• Children's storybooks,
the kind you would read to your child or grandchild
•
Nonfiction books for elementary and primary school grades,
the kind that you would find in a school library or a children's
bookstore
• Fiction books
for elementary and primary school grades, the kind that
you would find in a school library or a children's bookstore
• Classroom
sets of reading books, the kind you would find in the teachers'
resource room at a school
• "How To" books for children (how to sew, woodwork,
cook, build a boat, play a musical instrument
• Any
children's books that you would find in a children's bookstore,
the children's section of your local library, or the library
at your child's school.
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The
Big Books series, for grades K-3, published
by Scholastic.
Teachers love Big Books!
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Especially helpful:
•
Children's books that feature children of different races
as well as black children
•
Caribbean children's books by publishers such as Macmillan
Caribbean — we'd like to purchase some with
donated funds.
•
Scholastic Big Books sets available for $175, from Scholastic
Example books for younger readers:
•
Books by Dr. Seuss
• My First
Steps to Reading by author Jane Moncure
• Walt Disney's
Wonderful World of Reading published by Grolier Book
Club edition
• Books by author
Rev. W. Awdry (Thomas the Tank Engine series)
• Books by Stan
or Jan Berenstain
• Books published
by Scholastic
and other school market publishers
Example books for older readers,
grade 4 and above:
•
Classics written by E.B. White or Roald Dahl that can be
read aloud to a class or read independently
• Babysitter
Club and other type series
• Nancy Drew
and other mysteries
• Goosebumps
series
• Newbury Award
winners
• Comic books to
encourage reluctant older readers
•
Diary of a Wimpy Kid and similar books that appeal
to boys
•
Young Adult (YA) fiction
• Books published
by Scholastic and other school market publishers
Good sources for these types
of books:
•
Purchase new and used online
•
Library sales
• Used bookstores
• Discount bookstores
• Children's bookstores
•
Your child's school book fair
•
Your child's school librarian as shelves are culled and
updated
• Your attic or
basement
• Your neighbor's
attic or basement
• Your child's bookshelf
Books which are not
suitable for Hands:
•
Books published before 1995
• Books with torn
or discolored covers or pages
• Encyclopedias
older than 2000
• Old magazines,
such as National Geographic
• Textbooks (unless
you contact Hands first
and let us know what they are so we can find a specific school
for them
• Coloring books
(except "as new" and in multiples sufficient for
an entire class)
• Sticker books
and books that require VCR tapes
• Encyclopedias
older than 2002
• Bibles and other
religious material
Good ways to collect books:
•
If you know of any libraries having a book sale, bring $25,
be the first in line, and scoop up all the children's books
when the doors open. Books usually go for 25 to 50 cents
-- and $25 buys a lot of books!
• Encourage your
friends, neighbors, hair salon, church, school to collect
some children's books.
• Throw a party
and ask everyone to bring a book or two and $5 to help pay
for shipping within the United States.
• Your school
or church may want to hold a book drive to collect used
children's books as part of a community outreach program.
• Ask at your
child's school if they are getting rid of any reading books
or classroom sets to make way for new sets
• Encourage donations
to Hands through our web site's PayPal
button. We are happy with small donations such as
$5, $10, $30 — it all adds up and we use the funds
to buy used children's books and help pay for shipping costs
of teachers' resources.
How to box the books for shipment:
•
You can usually find sturdy book boxes at bookstores and
other retailers if you ask and arrive at the right time.
Barnes & Noble book boxes are preferred.
• Pack the book
boxes tightly so that the box is well supported on all sides.
The boxes will be packed one on top of the other in huge
stacks and then wedged into a shipping container. If the
boxes are not packed tightly with rigid sides, they will
collapse and break, spilling the books.
How to ship the books:
Thank
you for your generous contribution! Please pack your book
boxes securely and send them to:
Hands
Across the Sea & Boaters for Books Donations
c/o Matt Pollock
Harte-Hanks
600 North Bedford Street
East Bridgewater, MA 02333
(Shipping questions? Please call Hands at 508-938-6307 or
contact Hands) by
e-mail. Hands can advise you on the best way to ship or
send your books, and how to label the books so they reach
the correct designated school.
