How does Books for K work?

Our new video explaining Book Harvest's Books for K program, animated by Drive 80 Studies.

Did you know that the reading achievement gap seen in third grade is already fully formed by the time kindergarten ends? That's why Book Harvest's Books for K program is dedicated to giving every kindergartener a strong start, beginning with their very first days of school. Kindergarten is a key moment in which many lasting routines are formed, making it a formative moment to build home libraries of books they can keep forever.

Our new Books for K animation about the program, above and linked here, illustrates the program in practice and highlights the research backing its lasting positive effects on literacy.

At the start of the school year, kindergarteners at participating school districts get to choose 10 brand-new books to bring home and keep forever. The selection includes a wide array of favorite characters, classic stories, and new titles from which kids can personalize their own home libraries. This agency of choice, built together in collaboration between Book Harvest and school districts, allows for an authentic love of reading to grow over the course of the year.

And the research doesn’t lie: studies reveal that having books at home is key to a child’s future academic success, influencing their engagement with learning throughout life. Notably, through Books for K, children can build strong family habits of reading together, one of the most effective practices for building literacy. And by letting children pick their own books, they can form these habits surrounding stories and characters that they are inherently excited about. Read more about the research backing the program here!

Want to bring Books for K to children in your community? Share this video with others in your school district and reach out to Rachel Stine at rachel@bookharvest.org to learn more!

Animation by Drive 80 Studios.