Page Ahead Children's Literacy Program

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All Book Up for Summer (Reading)!

It was a record breaking year for Book Up Summer! Serving 23,638 students in 129 elementary schools here in Washington state, Book Up Summer distributed 299,032 books this year—the most ever since its inception in 2012.

We could not have done this without the support from all of our volunteers: 207 volunteers gave 664 hours of their time to help ensure that every child has the chance to read this summer. Thank you, volunteers, for all that you do to champion literacy for EVERY child.

Book Up Summer helps prevent the “summer slide.” Summer slide refers to the phenomenon where during their summer vacation, students lose some of the skills they learned and worked on throughout the school year. When students go home with 12 brand new books that they have self-selected, they are able to practice and work on reading in a way that is exciting and enjoyable to them. This ensures they start the next school year ready to learn and build on their current skills!

Summer Story Times

Happy summer vacation! This year we are once again serving young readers with outdoor story times in the Ballard and High Point neighborhoods.

If you have a young reader in your life, we would love for you to join us at the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens at the Ballard Locks for a summer story time session!

This year, we’ve doubled the number of story time sessions. Page Ahead readers will be at the Ballard Locks every Tuesday and Thursday from 11am – 12pm until the end of August.

We hope to see you there!

Thank you NACUA!

The National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) held its annual conference in Seattle this year and chose Page Ahead as one of the local charitable beneficiaries of the event. Conference attendees were invited to participate in a book drive by purchasing a book to donate at the Page Ahead pop-up shop or bringing one to the conference with them. The book drive was a resounding success, bringing in 411 books for students here in Washington!

Thank you so much to the NACUA attendees for championing literacy for all kids.

Volunteers from BYU and NACUA at the Page Ahead table

Local Business Partner: Old Stove Brewing Co.

On Tuesday, July 8th, please join us at Old Stove Gardens in Ballard as part of their Giving in the Gardens promotion! Page Ahead will have a table there and $1 from every pint sold will be donated to us.

Bring a friend or a good book and join us on their outside patio for a fun evening. See you there!

Summer reading resources for you

Summer reading isn’t just fun for kids, it’s fun for the whole family. Here are some resources for all ages to get you started. Happy reading!

Summer Reading Challenges:

Adult Book Bingo (King County)

Teen Book Bingo & Kids Book Bingo (Seattle)

Summer Reading Program (Yakima Valley all ages)

Summer Reading Club (Spokane all ages)

Kids Summer Reading Challenge (Sno-Isle)

Summer of Stories (Pierce County all ages)

Seattle Seahawks 12 Pages

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program

BookIt x Pizza Hut: Free Personal Pan Pizza

Real DAWGS Read

Half Price Books Summer Reading Camp

Literacy Events:

Seattle Arts and Lectures has author events year-round

University of Washington iSchool Read-Alongs (virtual)

Check out your local library branch for events

Check out your local independent bookstore to see if they have author events and/or story times scheduled for the summer

What we’re reading…

Annabel Wrightsman has been a volunteer with Page Ahead for the last 2 years. She helps with a variety of projects, from sending books to our school partners to supporting special events. A lover of children’s books, Annabel has worked on writing her own stories and will be starting at the University of Washington’s iSchool in the fall to pursue her MLIS. Here’s what she has to say about a book she’s recently finished:

“I recently read Kristiana Kahakauwila’s middle grade novel Clairboyance, which is a 2025 Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) Children’s Honor Book.
It’s a beautiful story about a Hawaiian girl named Clara, who loves to draw, whittle, and help her grandmother tend to the taro patches of their home on Oahu’s North Shore. But Clara does not love how awkward 6th grade has become, which makes her want to move away to live with her dad in Arizona.
When Clara accidentally gains an ancestral power that allows her to hear what boys are thinking, she thinks she can more quickly make her getaway dream a reality. But things get way more awkward, before, eventually, Clara learns to listen to her heart, make new friends, regain old ones, and deepen her knowledge of her heritage.
Having grown up in Hawaii, I particularly appreciate Kahakauwila’s deft use of languages (including Hawaiian and the English-based creole language known as Hawaiian Pidgin), and her sensitive depiction of a child navigating long-distance relationships. And as someone who now lives in Seattle, I love that one of Clara’s new friends is from here.”

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Book Up Summer

We are one month into Book Up Summer and what an incredible month it has been! But we’re not done yet—students all over Washington continue to select their 12 free books for summer reading—building their home libraries and sustaining the reading skills they’ve learned this school year. Because of Book Up Summer, students will be able to read to their heart’s content this summer, minimizing summer learning loss, and ensuring that when next school year starts, they’ll be able to hit the ground running.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered as a book fair helper already. It is because of each of you that we are able to provide home libraries to even more students this year.

It’s not too late to volunteer! You can sign up for shifts here (registration required if new user) or email Laura to sign your group or company up. See you at the book fair!

Partner Spotlight: Amazon

It’s a 3-peat! Amazon is graciously supporting several of our Seattle schools for the third year in a row. Their support has always gone beyond financial contributions—Amazon team members roll up their sleeves and dive into the joy of being Book Buddies at schools each year. But this year, Amazon volunteers have taken on an extra responsibility in setting up the book fairs, ensuring that every step of the process is smooth sailing for our school partners, and especially for our students.

To Amazon, we say a resounding THANK YOU for making a difference in our city, and shaping the future of our kids—one book at a time!

Getting ‘A Taste for Reading’

It was so exciting to have a completely full house at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel on Wednesday, April 30th for our 22nd annual benefit luncheon, A Taste for Reading. What a treat to spend the lunch hour with a room full of literacy champions!

The program was full of amazing testimonials and success stories. We were honored to have Governor Ferguson kick us off, sharing his own reading memories and values and reminding us that we can all work together to build a better future for our kids. Keynote speaker, Kathy Emerick, Executive Director of School and Leadership Success for the Kent School District, shared her firsthand experience as an educator and as a mother about the impact that books and reading have on children. Finally, Story Time reader Linda Gainer spoke about how something as simple as reading with children can build strong readers and habits.

If you weren’t able to attend (or if you did attend but would like to relive the event!), you can watch the recorded event here:

Book Drive Highlight: Annie W.

Annie W (left) poses with her books and Page Ahead staff member, Laura Le

Annie W. is one of Page Ahead’s youngest and most active supporters. Each year Annie partners with Magnolia’s Bookstore in her neighborhood, and hosts a book drive for Page Ahead. This year, Annie collected over 40 brand new books worth over $500!

We are so excited to see young leadership helping support literacy for all. Thank you, Annie, for sharing your love of reading with other children in Washington!

You gaveBIG!

We’d like to thank all of the donors who gave to Page Ahead for GiveBIG 2025! Thank you for making sure all kids get a great start with reading. Your gifts helped give more than 75 children a home library of their own this summer.

Dear Donors, thank you SO much for paying for our books

and thank you for your act of kindness

and I can’t wait to read all my boooks.

Sincerely, Leila

Literacy Fair with TeamRead

On Sunday, June 15th, Team Read and the Seattle Public Library will be hosting a literacy fair at the Beacon Hill Branch Library.

Page Ahead will have a table at this event to share information to families about our programs and our involvement in their children’s schools. Want to help? You can volunteer at this event as a set-up volunteer or as an information table volunteer. Please email Laura if you’re interested!

The literacy fair will have summer reading resources for families, sign up help for library cards, and entertainment for the kids with snacks and a magic show! We hope to see you there!

Meet Sofia – Our Newest Team Member

Hi, I’m Sofia! I’m a rising junior at Loyola University Chicago studying Environmental Studies and Anthropology with a minor in Education Policy. I’m joining Page Ahead as a Programs Intern this summer to help our events run smoothly and start some planning for next year’s Story Leaders.

I grew up in Seattle and was an avid reader, often getting in trouble for staying up past my bedtime to finish a book. I was inspired to go into education by my mom, a former first-grade teacher, and my partner, a preschool teacher. I love being able to connect with kids and watch them grow their skills. I have a strong sense of justice and am passionate about equity in education. In my free time, I enjoy crocheting, yoga, and listening to podcasts.

I just finished reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire. I have been familiar with the Wizard of Oz film and Wicked the musical for a long time and was surprised it took me so long to pick up the book. It is a prequel to the Wizard of Oz that explains the life of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and why she became evil. It explores and questions the nature of good and evil. It’s more different from the musical/movie than I was expecting!

Tag: luncheon

June 2025 newsletter