Blog, Press, and News!

On the morning of May 15, 2026, something remarkable happened at Wilton Elementary School in Franklinton, North Carolina: a child picked up a book — the millionth book harvested during our Books on Break program.

Partnership and advocacy for children comes in different forms. The following three experiences with early childhood and literacy champions on the Hill continue to inspire me.

2025 Book Babies Annual Caregiver Survey: Key Findings and Program Impact Book Harvest's 2025 Book Babies Annual Caregiver Survey gathered responses from 148 families across Durham, Forsyth, and Wake counties, documenting measurable gains in home reading frequency, caregiver confidence, and daily literacy routines. Findings indicate that 100% of responding families read together three or more times per week, 98% report that program-provided books make building a home reading

Books ignite the imagination. They inspire curiosity, broaden our horizons, and help us grow. Few people have embodied that truth more fully than Isabel Geffner — and today, after 10.5 remarkable years, is her last official day at Book Harvest.

This National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we are especially grateful for our incredible team of Book Harvest volunteers! Two longtime volunteers – Linda Hoke and Sharon Barrell – took the time to share their volunteer journeys with us in celebration of this week.

Memorial Hospital of South Bend is launching Books from Birth this week, becoming the first hospital in Indiana — and the latest across a select group of hospitals nationwide — to send every newborn home with a starter library of new board books.

It was a chilly winter day in 2011. I was feeling a bit nervous, not really sure what I was doing. I entered the waiting room of the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service in Carrboro, North Carolina, lugging a bookshelf and grocery bags full of donated children’s books.

Events and storytimes offer a special opportunity to connect with our community, bring new families into the space, and infuse reading with a sense of joy and celebration. But most importantly, Book Harvest storytimes don’t end on the last page; they extend into the home. Every attending family and child gets to keep a copy of the featured story to read again and again, building their home libraries with meaningful and memorable titles.

On March 26th, Book Harvest was honored to receive the 2026 James B. Hunt, Jr. Celebrate Literacy Award from the North Carolina Reading Association (NCRA). The award recognizes local North Carolina reading councils, organizations, or individuals for service in promoting literacy among children and adults and in developing reading and writing communities.

We are thrilled to share that Book Harvest is endorsing the Open Books, Open Doors Act, introduced yesterday by Senator Andy Kim (NJ) who believes, as we do, that every child deserves a home library brimming with opportunity and possibility.

One year ago, we highlighted our Books in a Box program in the blog post 200 Kids and Counting: Help Us Reach More Families! Today, we are excited to report that in the following year, between February 2025 and January 2026, the program has served 195 more children and 135 incarcerated parents across North Carolina—and we are just getting started.

Each year, beginning on the last Sunday in February, Black Children’s Book Week inspires bookstores, libraries, literacy organizations, and readers of all ages to amplify children’s stories with Black representation. At Book Harvest, celebrating Black Children’s Book Week comes second-nature; every day, we witness firsthand how books provide windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for young readers .

Seven Years of Book Drives: The Birthday Tradition That Keeps on Giving Hendrix and his family have done it again! If you’ve been a part of the Book Harvest community for a while, you’re probably familiar with Hendrix’s annual birthday book drive: every year since his first birthday, Hendrix and his family have run a community book drive for Dream Big. That first book drive was in 2020, making this year their seventh annual book drive ! Hendrix also turned seven this year,

Book Harvest’s Books for K Expands to Houston: A Partnership Empowering Parents and Young Readers Book Harvest’s Books for K program has landed in Houston, Texas! This past November, 50 children at Blackshear Elementary each chose 10 brand new books to take home and keep forever, helping them transition through winter break and into the second half of their Kindergarten year. What is Books for K? Book Harvest’s Books for K program welcomes kindergarten students to school with

At Book Harvest, our work is grounded in a simple truth: families are the heart of early learning. When we honor the cultural practices, traditions, and strengths that families bring, engagement deepens, leading to stronger relationships and richer learning outcomes.

After reviewing the numbers from Dream Big (thank you to our data collection volunteers!), we recorded a total of 122 book drives throughout December and January, easily surpassing our goal of 100. THANK YOU!

Monday was a day to remember! At Book Harvest's 15th Annual Dream Big Book Drive & Community Celebration, our incredible community brought in 22,861 books in just 3 hours!

Dream Big is Book Harvest’s signature community book drive and celebration, bringing families together around stories, choice, and the simple magic of growing up surrounded by books. It’s a day designed for families and volunteers, powered by generosity, and rooted in the belief that every child deserves an abundant home library.

At Book Harvest, we believe something both simple and profound: every child deserves the chance to grow up surrounded by books, and every family deserves the support to build joyful early reading routines from birth. Literacy isn’t a luxury — it is foundational to development, opportunity, and lifelong flourishing.

As the year winds down, there’s a certain feeling in the air—a pause between what’s been and what’s coming next. It’s a season for reflection, for togetherness, and for gratitude. At Book Harvest, it’s also a moment to look back on a year filled with stories, smiles, and thousands of books finding their way into children’s homes.