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Author: Lisa Ceniceros

Reflecting on two years of Book Oasis

Posted on by Lisa Ceniceros

When the pandemic hit in spring 2020 and everything shut down, kids were suddenly cut off from books. Public libraries were shuttered, school and classroom libraries were totally unavailable; even bookstores and warehouses were closed. And families in communities of concentrated low income were at a particular disadvantage because they were less likely to have books at home already.

As the months went on and it became clear that this would be a long-term disruption, Page Ahead wanted to find a way to create a pipeline of new kids’ books into communities we already serve where we knew families would benefit from more reading material. The Book Oasis project was born!

A video from our all-online A Taste for Reading luncheon in March 2021 announcing Book Oasis.

Custom designed by Peter Sydloski Tesch of Perkins&Will and built with labor and materials donated by Lease Crutcher Lewis, DPR Construction, Lydig Construction, and Lake Washington High School, the first Oases went in the ground at High Point in West Seattle and across the street from Broadview-Thomson K–8 in Broadview in March 2021. Now that we’re two years into this wonderful project, we wanted to share how these special Little Free Libraries are making a difference.

Page Ahead staff, volunteers, and supporters at the Broadview Book Oasis ribbon cutting on March 23, 2021.

There are now nineteen Book Oases across Seattle:

Since those first Oases went in the ground, Page Ahead has distributed 14,563 new kids’ books through Book Oasis! That’s an average of 140 books heading out into the community every week.

Of course, these Little Free Libraries don’t refill or maintain themselves. Our amazing corps of volunteers do that, and they’ve contributed more than 500 hours to Book Oasis refills and repairs in the last two years! THANK YOU, Book Oasis volunteers!

EY volunteers in 2022 with a recently restocked Book Oasis.

So what does a Book Oasis look like in action? 2022’s volunteer of the year Laurie Rich shared this report from the Book Oasis at Puget Ridge Cohousing recently:

It is always a joy to restock this Book Oasis. It is obviously a great source of pride to this community. School was letting out for the day, so a few families came by as I was restocking, and all of the kids picked out books. Parents were as excited as the kids, and I received numerous thank yous. That is the part I like best, talking to the kids and helping them pick out books. Very rewarding!

Laurie Rich, volunteer

We’re thrilled that our Book Oases have become important community assets. And our newest endeavor will build on that—we recently added a QR code to each Oasis that invites neighbors to share their feedback and request particular books. We’re working on requests like the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid, dinosaur books, Choose Your Own Adventure books, and baby books; your support now will help those books and many, many more make their way into the hands of young readers all across Seattle.

Patient readers wait their turn at a newly refilled Book Oasis.

February 2023 newsletter

Posted on by Lisa Ceniceros

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We want you!

Our student performers are busy rehearsing the book they will perform for you.
Won’t you join us?!

A Taste for Reading pairs a delicious lunch with an inspiring program demonstrating the incredible difference that Page Ahead supporters like YOU make in kids’ lives.

Would you like to attend and bring some friends? Sign up to be a table captain here

Learn about how your company can sponsor the luncheon

RSVP now

Program update: Story Leaders

Some Story Leaders at Cascade View in Tukwila

We have exciting data to share about our Story Leaders program, in which we work with preschool teachers and families to build home libraries and great reading skills through shared reading:

    • So far this school year, we have distributed 9,715 books to 1,600 preschool students participating in the program.
    • The favorite book of the fall was Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes.
    • More than 200 families responded to our family survey this fall. Families report that their children LOVE the books.
    • The teachers just finished their first survey of the school year, and more than 95% report they are confident in using the hear-and-say reading techniques with their students. Two of the top benefits of the Story Leaders program that teachers report are increasing students’ print awareness (love of books) and preparing students for kindergarten.

    What our preschool teachers are saying:

    “My students really enjoyed When You Give a Mouse a Cookie. After three times of reading it as a large group, I had two children who would read the book to each other. They would flip through the pages and look at the pictures and take turns telling each other what was happening.“

    “They all get very excited for new books! We have multiple children that can recognize sight words. They love answering questions about what they think will happen next.“

    “Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes was a favorite this year. The students loved to make connections to themselves and Pete at school and compare our playground, lunchroom, and classroom in the story. They rock out to the song, and learn the words quickly. They are so excited to bring it home to keep and read to their families.”

    Community spotlight: Trilogy for Kids

    We are delighted to announce that we have been selected for a generous grant from Trilogy for Kids, a local group of determined and dedicated individuals who strongly believe every child should have books in their homes. Their grant will build home libraries for 495 kids through our Book Up Summer program—wow!

    Trilogy for Kids members, who raise funds and select the charities they support each year, have been active for many years with Page Ahead, from helping at our Book Up Summer book fairs, to reading to kids at events, to restocking several of our Book Oasis Little Free Libraries, to engaging youngsters via our Story Time program, and beyond. 

    Thank you, Trilogy for Kids, for your incredible partnership!

    Celebrating Black History Month with books

    Celebrating stories of Black achievement and Black joy is especially powerful through books—and for the youngest people in your life, there are more great books to chose from than ever!

    For ideas of stories to share with young readers in your life, browse this list of books that have been popular at our book fairs and in our programs featuring Black characters, both real and imagined.

    Plus, get some more great title ideas from this list of the Best of the Best 2021 Booklist from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.

    The students love their books!

    Help spread the word about Page Ahead!

    GreatNonprofits is honoring highly regarded nonprofits with their 2023 Top-Rated List, and Page Ahead needs your help to claim our spot!

    If you’ve participated in Page Ahead programming or supported our work, your review might help someone else decide to get involved, too!

    Post your review here and follow these directions:

    Step 1: Click on the five stars.
    Step 2: Write quick snippet of what you like best about Page Ahead or a good experience you’ve had with us.
    Step 3: Click “Post Review.”

    All content will be visible to potential donors and volunteers. It’s easy and only takes 3 minutes! Won’t you help us boost visibility for our work by posting a brief personal story of your experience with us?

    January 2023 newsletter

    Posted on by Lisa Ceniceros

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    Save the date: our annual benefit luncheon for children’s literacy

    Please mark your calendar for Tuesday, April 18th!

    We’d love for you to join us for an inspiring hour about how you are making a difference in a child’s life with books!

    Would you like to attend and bring some friends? Sign up to be a table captain here

    Learn about how your company can sponsor the luncheon

    RSVP now

    Your holiday generosity means more students get books!

    A student in Pierce County enjoying his new books!

    Thanks to the many of you who made Page Ahead part of your year-end and holiday giving, more than 2,100 eager young readers will be able to choose 12 books each this spring during Book Up Summer!

    Many donors gave in honor or memory of family members, teachers, and friends; we are honored that you included us in your giving traditions!

    We’re also grateful to our partner bookstores who held book drives over the holidays, including Barnes & Noble stores in Northgate, Woodinville, Lakewood Mall, Federal Way, Spokane Valley, and Northtown Mall; Secret Garden Bookshop, and Edmonds Bookshop. Thank you, booksellers and generous customers, for getting in the holiday spirit!

    Thank you, Rite Aid!

    We are thrilled to announce that Rite Aid Healthy Futures has once again included Page Ahead in their annual Giving Tuesday grant awards. Thanks to their generosity, 200 elementary students will get to experience the thrill of choosing books for their own summer reading library!

    Page Ahead is one of nearly 500 partner charities across the country receiving grants from Rite Aid Healthy Futures, which works to build healthier, more equitable neighborhoods. The grants are funded through Rite Aid’s KidCents customer round-up program.

    Support Page Ahead while you shop!

    Do you shop at Fred Meyer or QFC? In one easy step you can link your rewards card to Page Ahead and support children’s literacy in our region. Our code is RA365. Sign up here!

    Amazon customers can support Page Ahead in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.

    When you shop at Rite Aid, rounding up your cents can create great change throughout your community. Sign up here to start helping!

    If you use Bing, please search and select Page Ahead as your nonprofit beneficiary to help us give kids in need new books! It only takes a few clicks to register. Visit their website.

    World Read Aloud Day

    Did you know that the “the single most important activity for building knowledge for their eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children“? Celebrate World Read Aloud Day on February 1 with the young readers in your life!

    December 2022 newsletter

    Posted on by Lisa Ceniceros

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    First Tech’s Season of Giving: You did it!

    Your votes helped power us to victory in the First Tech Season of Giving contest. Hooray! Because of your stellar efforts, Page Ahead will be receiving a $14,000 grant from our friends at First Tech Federal Credit Union (yes, $14,000—nearly twice the planned original amount of $7,500!).

    Because of your votes, this grant will build home libraries of 12 books each for 280 students—that’s 3,360 brand-new books on kids’ shelves that weren’t there before. That’s the equivalent of building home libraries for every single kindergartner, first grader, and second grader at a school like Mark Twain Elementary in Federal Way—pretty powerful stuff!

    Thank you to our community of supporters and champions of children’s literacy! And, especially to First Tech!

    Give the gift of reading in someone’s honor

    Have someone who is just impossible to shop for? Or someone who just doesn’t want any more “stuff”? A donation to Page Ahead in their honor is the PERFECT way to make sure your gift sparks joy!

    When you make a gift to Page Ahead through the above link, you’ll receive a special gift certificate you can share with your recipient.

    You can either send them the certificate digitally or, if you really want to emphasize season’s readings, you can print it and slip it into a book you’re giving them!

    What your support makes possible: preschool reading

    We recently shipped copies of Kitten and the Night Watchman, Caps for Sale, and Not Norman to 1,503 preschoolers across Washington as part of our Story Leaders program. Teachers read each book using shared-reading techniques we train them in, and kids get copies of each book to take home! Learn more here.

    Save the date for A Taste for Reading

    Please mark your calendar for Page Ahead’s A Taste for Reading benefit luncheon on April 18, 2023. We’ll be in person at the Seattle Westin as well as streaming online, and we can’t wait to celebrate the power of reading with you!

    Find out about sponsorship opportunities 
    Sign up to be notified when registration opens

    Microsoft Give

    During the month of October, more than 70 Microsoft employees volunteered to make bookplate packets and design bookmarks for our literacy programs. When children select a new Page Ahead book, they write their name on a bookplate sticker and affix it to the inside cover.

    Not only did Microsoft provide us with amazing volunteers, but the company also matched the volunteer hours with a monetary donation to Page Ahead. This donation will help give more than 420 new books to kids in need. Thank you, Microsoft employees!

    Microsoft teams made bookplate packets at the Redmond campus in October 2022—one team did so many that the leftover rolls from the bookplate stickers made a pretty impressive pyramid!

    All of us here at Page Ahead send warm holiday wishes to you—our heroes!

    Thanks to your advocacy, financial support, and volunteering, thousands of kids in communities of concentrated low income across Washington State experienced the joy of choosing great new books to read and building their home libraries in 2022. What a wonderful gift—thank you!

    What you’re doing for young readers in the Yakima Valley

    Posted on by Lisa Ceniceros

    With the help of supporters like you, Page Ahead has served Granger students from preschool through second grade, through both our Story Leaders and Book Up Summer programs, and the work is making a difference!

    Story Leaders

    The Granger Early Childhood Center ECEAP* preschool program serves families with income at or below 36% of Washington’s median income. The Center’s six classrooms serve nearly 100 students, 83% of whom are Hispanic/Latinx. All preschoolers participate in Page Ahead’s Story Leaders program, receiving eight free books that they read in class to take home. We also provide professional development for teachers on “hear-and-say” reading techniques to engage students with stories and that they share with their families so the reading practice can continue at home.

    * Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program

    Story Leaders is part of Granger’s strategy to help incoming kindergartners get a strong start with reading and be better prepared for elementary school.

    Book Up Summer

    A Roosevelt Elementary student stacks up his Book Up Summer finds in spring 2022

    Roosevelt Elementary is Granger’s only elementary school. With about 600 students (twice the population of a typical Seattle elementary), Roosevelt’s families are majority Hispanic/Latinx (95%) and many are experiencing low income (88%). Last year, your support made it possible for all Roosevelt K–2 students to select 12 brand-new books for summer reading through Book Up Summer book fairs.

    With about 600 students (twice the population of a typical Seattle elementary), families at Granger’s Roosevelt Elementary are majority Hispanic/Latinx (95%) and many are experiencing low income (88%). Last year, your support made it possible for all Roosevelt K–2 students to select 12 brand-new books for summer reading through Book Up Summer book fairs.

    According to census data, only 14% of Granger homes have 100+ books of any kind at home . . . but thanks to you, Page Ahead families have at least that many kids’ books alone! “Él ama los libros para el un libro nuevo es muy emocionante,” a parent of a Roosevelt kindergartner told us. “He loves books, so a new book is very exciting!”

    By the time Roosevelt readers enter third grade, they have at least 36 Page Ahead books at home—and if they attended the Granger Early Childhood Center for preschool, that number jumps to 52! For families with two siblings who go through both programs, that’s at least 104 Page Ahead books on their shelves.

    Would you like to help us put kids’ books on shelves in Granger and dozens of other Washington communities?

    Make a gift now

    Rising Star Firebirds are fired up about reading!

    Posted on by Lisa Ceniceros

    Rising Star Elementary, located just up the hill from Boeing Field in South Seattle, is home to the Rising Star Firebirds. In Jonah Randolph’s first grade classroom, a community of scholars is thriving—and Page Ahead books are a big part of that. We asked Jonah about his teaching philosophy and what reading means to him and his kids.

    Page Ahead: What is the most important thing you want your students to take away from their time in first grade with you?

    First, I want them to understand they are seen and welcome to come to school as who they are. Their whole authentic selves, and not just the “school appropriate” version is always welcome. Next, once we are able to consistently be together in authenticity, we understand each of us is 100% responsible for the quality of our own learning. The adults in the room will lead the way: in authenticity, responsibility to all, and in modeling sacred approach to joy of learning. Finally, collectively and individually, anything less than our best will equate to less learning. And since learning is a joy, less learning = less joy.

    Mr. Randolph’s class building closeness and community on “reading island” (i.e. the rug!)

    PA: The phrase “farthest from educational educational justice” is used often when talking about equity in education. What does that mean to you?

    A common tactic of imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal culture (thanks, bell hooks) is to apply labels of deficiency to those white supremacy needs to devalue in order to continue to exist. Our use of the term “farthest from educational justice” is, in my view, simply a way of boxing Black and brown students into a deficient category.

    First grade teacher Jonah Randolph

    The truth is that we—the teachers and educational system—are the ones “far from educational justice.” Our students are simply “educational justice” personified. As students grow to their true potential, they are showing us what educational justice looks like. We are the ones in need of help and rescue. Adults and society need to be the ones to do the work. Labeling our own deficiency goes a lot farther than projecting it elsewhere. The kids will show us if the work we are doing lives up to our sacred responsibility—to nurture them toward just futures.

    PA: What role does reading play in that work? How does Book Up Summer fit in?

    High-quality books, our shared love of stories, and our ability to write and share our own books is a shortcut to better understanding and ultimately a way of “seeing” ourselves. For all children, across all cultures, stories and learning are intimately connected.

    The Page Ahead home libraries of twelve books each child chooses through Book Up Summer are another means of self-expression and a pathway to escape into worlds of imagination/possibility/curiosity/learning—all summer long. These books can embody a very personal type of JOY for my students.

    Those new, special books with their name sticker inside carry them into the summer and continue the spirit of joy we’ve spent the whole first grade year cultivating. I am aware that the bubble we are creating in first grade will be besieged by the reality of our exploitative white supremacist society, but planting the seed of joyful reading and learning deeply and watering it well gives it the best chance to survive and thrive. Page Ahead books are one last tool to stretch that vibe into summer—even months and years after my students leave our co-created classroom community.

    Thank you, Jonah, for all your work and partnership in delivering Book Up Summer. And thank you, Firebirds, for sharing your reading joy with us!

    Want to help build home libraries for these Firebirds (and thousands of other young scholars like them across the state)?

    Make a gift now

    YOU built 19,216 home libraries through Book Up Summer!

    Posted on by Lisa Ceniceros

    More than 19,000 Washington kids came back to school this fall after spending the summer reading 12 brand-new books that they chose themselves at Book Up Summer book fairs. Those home libraries were made possible by you, Page Ahead’s amazing community of supporters! And those books have made a difference. “We are really financially struggling, and those books were such a wonderful treat!” a parent of a kindergartner at Arlington Elementary in Spokane told us. “We read two before bed last night, and he’s looking forward to reading two more for bed tonight. I can’t thank you enough!!!”

    Find out more about what our community has made possible for young readers:

    Educational justice: Rising Star Firebirds

    Early reading impacts in Granger, Washington

    Martha Feldman’s powerful legacy

    Inspired by what we can do for young readers when we work together?

    Make a gift now

    A legacy of imagination

    Posted on by Lisa Ceniceros

    Page Ahead remembers supporter Martha Feldman, who passed away in June 2020. Martha was committed to her work in the medical field, which included time as an affiliated associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington and her work as founder and president of a company that helped others navigate the FDA approvals process, but she was really passionate about stories.

    Her favorite genres in books and movies were science fiction and detective stories—bonus points for any authors who could incorporate both, like Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick. Those fiction genres drew on the scientific investigation and discovery she loved in her work, and also included the joy that comes from imagination and big “what if?” questions.

    “Martha was one of a kind,” says her brother, Robert Feldman. “She wanted to make sure that every child had the opportunity to get lost in a fantasy world and use their imagination to make our world a better place.” To help make that possible, she included Page Ahead in her estate plans, and now 1,118 young readers will receive home libraries of 12 books each—just think of the futures those libraries will create!

    Would you like to leave a legacy as powerful as Martha’s? It’s easy to include Page Ahead in your estate plan; talk with your financial advisor or reach out to us at info@pageahead.org to learn more.

    Give the gift of reading in someone’s honor

    Posted on by Lisa Ceniceros

    Have someone who is just impossible to shop for? Or someone who just doesn’t want any more “stuff”? A donation to Page Ahead in their honor is the PERFECT way to make sure your gift sparks joy!

    To make a gift in someone’s honor, complete the secure form below, and you’ll get a special certificate to share with your recipient.

    What kind of difference can a holiday gift make?

    Last year, Page Ahead supporters Gregg and Jane gave their adult children a new kind of gift. “In an effort to inspire our children to be thinking about charitable giving as they advance through their careers, we asked them to pick an organization that spoke to their interests and we agreed to fund a contribution,” Gregg says. “Typically, we are not giving much in the way of gifts to family members, but saw this as a special opportunity.”

    Their son Michael had volunteered with us in the past and selected Page Ahead, so Gregg and Jane made a powerful gift of $1,000—the equivalent of 12 books each for 20 kids participating in our Book Up Summer program. That’s like a gifting home libraries to an entire kindergarten classroom!

    Kars4Kids features Page Ahead

    Posted on by Lisa Ceniceros

    Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program is doing something novel, so to speak, to further literacy in underserved Seattle neighborhoods. They have created little “book nooks” for children where they can discover the joy of holding a book; look at the pictures; and if all goes well, eventually read the book to completion. It’s one new way to get books into the hands of those who need them the most.

    Read more at Kars4Kids.