Visit our curated wish list to share your BOOK JOY with eager young readers today!

There are several ways to donate books to children in Find Book Joy! We accept good quality, previously loved children's books in excellent condition from private donors to redistribute book wealth to children eager to own their own books. All rehomed books must have their covers and all of their pages intact. Every book placed in a child's hands creates a promising opportunity for young readers to develop pride in book ownership and build a personally curated home library collection.

To align with the mission of Find Book Joy, donated books should support inclusive values that foster authentic representation of diversity and help every child see themselves in the stories they read while developing understanding and empathy for others in their community. We also accept new book donations from our Amazon wish list of inclusive children's books. These books have been chosen by the young readers in our program and curated by Dr. Carolyn Polchinski. Our books meet evidence-based criteria for inclusive children’s literature supported by the scholarly literature 

(Ford et al., 2019; Hayden & Prince, 2023;  Heineke et al., 2022; Kleekamp & Zapata, 2018; Page, 2017; Pennell et al., 2018; Sharma & Christ, 2017; Tondreau & Rabinowitz, 2021). The Amazon wish list books can be accessed on every page of our site from the "Donate Books" button. Thank you for sharing your BOOK JOY with children on our waitlist eager to own their own books!

We provide choice in free inclusive books to young readers in kindergarten through sixth grade (K-6). Children are free to choose their own selections a our no-cost book fairs, as choice is a core value of Find Book Joy. Early readers (K-2) are always in urgent need. We accept picture books, early readers, chapter books, graphic novels, poetry collections, biographies, and developmentally appropriate fiction and non-fiction titles to inspire and engage our avid readers and enthusiastic book collectors. At any time, feel free to reach out to us at FindBookJoy@Gmail.com to inquire about current needs.

We also support early childhood literacy development by providing board books to younger children from birth to age 5 who are siblings of our school-age book recipients. We are especially interested in inclusive books that reflect diverse voices, identities, cultures, perspectives, and lived experiences across genres. As noted, our inclusive book collection maintains an intentional focus on authentic representation that fosters children's pride in book ownership, develops empathy, inspires hope, expands book joy, and deepens their understanding of differences (Kleekamp & Zapata, 2019). Thank you for sharing your BOOK JOY with our eager young readers! 

YES! We are especially grateful for books that feature characters, setting, and plot that span a broad continuum of backgrounds, identities, cultures, languages, abilities, families, lifestyles, and experiences that foster identity exploration and increase hope and resilience (Ford et al., 2019; Hayden & Prince, 2023;  Heineke et al., 2022; Kleekamp & Zapata, 2018; Page, 2017; Pennell et al., 2018; Sharma & Christ, 2017; Tondreau & Rabinowitz, 2021). Children connect to the characters' journeys of self-discovery in inclusive books, as these immersive reading encounters reinforce the transformative power of hope in young readers’ lives.  

At Find Book Joy, we believe that for choice in book selection to truly matter, books must accurately represent diversity reflected in the identities, perspectives, and lived experiences of the individuals living in the communities we serve (Neuman, 2022). Our inclusive approach is rooted in the vital importance of children seeing their lived experiences represented in the books they read and in the books we read to them.

Expanded access to books and choice in book selection creates pride in book ownership that increases book joy experiences, empowers children to build home book collections, and transforms how they see themselves as readers. Further, pride in book ownership shaped children's individuality as readers, supported them in defining their reading purpose(s), and expanded their reading engagement, which included increased reading volume and motivation to read. Book ownership provides young readers with pride, dignity, and joy, while strengthening their self-perceptions as readers and influencing their choices and decisions about reading, a core principle in their reader identity development (Vaughn et al., 2020). These findings affirm that providing children with books they can keep builds their identities as confident, independent readers. 

Sure! We are always grateful for help sorting books and providing support for our on-site events and no-cost book fairs! Please reach out via email at: FindBookJoy@Gmail.com to learn more about volunteer opportunities today!