Getting books into the hands of students and their families

By JESSICA KOPP

After months of conversations and planning, Hamline Elementary is excited to announce its partnership with a growing local organization—Children’s Book Express. Founded by Phil Martin, a retired Minneapolis Community and Technical College English instructor, its mission is to help families build their home libraries through community book donations.

According to Martin, there was both personal and professional inspiration for this program, “My son’s early love for books was the most important motivator. He loved the books we read and loved going to the library. As a college English teacher, I saw how few of my students, who had children, had books in their homes. We agreed to take action.”

To get the program started at Hamline Elementary, the school needed a book collection box for community donations. It had to be large enough to hold several books at once and sturdy enough to endure repeated use. It only took a short conversation with Hamline Midway neighbor Peter Hoh at the St. Paul Tool Library to get the ball rolling. After a few more conversations and a little time in the shop,

Peter designed and built a box well-suited to its purpose—and even delivered it to the Hamline Elementary Fall Festival where community members painted it (photo left provided), giving it a beautiful, vibrant exterior—perfect for an elementary school.

Once in place, the collection box will be the first stop for book donations. Then, members of Hamline’s Student Leadership Team will sort, organize, and display the books; creating a small, lovely book nook from which families can choose books to make their own.

Building home libraries does two very important things: it creates additional opportunities for family engagement and improves reading outcomes for students.

Children’s Book Express makes these things possible while also encouraging students to take responsibility for running the program in their community.

Photo left: In the hallway, there is a donation box on the left and the “take home” shelves on the right. A large sign designates the area the “Children’s Book Express.” (Photo provided)

And what happens next is all about community—inviting school staff, families, neighbors, local businesses and organizations to donate new or gently used books for kids of all ages. Those books can range from picture books to chapter books, fiction and non-fiction, any book to help families bring the joy of reading home.

For people with books ready to share, we’re happy to make them available to Hamline families; unread books on your shelf come to life in the hands of children and their families. And for those who want to buy new books to donate, that’s cool too. Folks looking for book suggestions for our diverse community of learners can find them at the Discover Hamline Elementary Facebook page or by e-mailing the Hamline PTA at hamlineelementarypta@gmail.com.

Phil Martin is optimistic about the future of Children’s Book Express, “Next year I hope we have grown to many more sites in St. Paul, and with a track record of growth, I hope we can grow to other cities.” Hamline Elementary is pleased to be part of the expansion of this literacy-boosting, book-loving, family-supporting program.