Many of you know that I volunteer at Bernie’s Book Bank, a fantastic organization that provides books to kids in under-resourced areas. The founder of Bernie’s was a reading tutor and realized that many of the kids he worked with couldn’t practice reading at home because they had NO BOOKS! (Anyone visiting my blog understands the tragedy in this statement.) Well, he decided to do something about it, and now Bernie’s has given out more than 20 MILLION books!
Bernie’s gets lots of books from their partners (I’m including a pic down at the bottom of this post since these publishers, distributors and resellers deserve all the praise for their contributions), but they also rely on individuals who donate their gently-used kids’ books.
In 2020 and 2021, we did some major purging of my kids’ (and my) bookcases and donated a TON of books. Here’s just one example of a haul from 2020:
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Since we already did the huge purge, this year I’ve just been donating a few books at a time when I volunteer. But I thought it would be fun to keep track of what I’m donating, so at the beginning of February I started taking pics each time I donate (I think I had one stack of books that I brought in January, but I hadn’t thought of this yet, so I missed those.
I’ve found that donating to Bernie’s has even changed my book buying and review-requesting. I find myself picking a book out specifically because I think I’d like to donate it once I’m through reading! (This is especially true for POC books since Bernie’s is really trying to increase the number of these books they’re providing to the community.) I’ve forced myself to part with books I loved. I’ve even sometimes found myself buying a book specifically to donate because I already read it and just know the kids Bernie’s serves would love it. There’s something special about knowing that you’re putting a really great book into the hands of a kid who might not otherwise get a chance to read it!
Well, here they are!
Books I’ve Donated to Bernie’s So Far in 2022
| Title | Author | Source | Date Donated | |
| 1 | For Every Little Thing | June Corner, Nancy Tupper Ling | ARC/Publisher | 2/4/2022 |
| 2 | My Magic Wand: Growing with the Seasons | Pat Mora | ARC/Publisher | 2/4/2022 |
| 3 | Your Friend, Parker | Jessica Curry, Parker Curry | ARC/Publisher | 2/4/2022 |
| 4 | Parker Dresses Up | Jessica Curry, Parker Curry | ARC/Publisher | 2/4/2022 |
| 5 | Parker Shines On: Another Extraordinary Moment | Jessica Curry, Parker Curry | ARC/Publisher | 2/11/2022 |
| 6 | Ghosts | Raina Telgemeier | Purchased | 2/4/2022 |
| 7 | Rez Dogs | Joseph Bruchac | ARC/Publisher | 2/4/2022 |
| 8 | Tiger Honor | Yoon Ha Lee | ARC/Publisher | 2/4/2022 |
| 9 | Jillian vs. Parasite Planet | Nicole Kornher-Stace | ARC/Publisher | 2/4/2022 |
| 10 | Dragon Pearl | Yoon Ha Lee | ARC/Publisher | 2/4/2022 |
| 11 | I Wish I Had a Wookiee and Other Poems for Our Galaxy | Ian Doescher | ARC/Publisher | 2/4/2022 |
| 12 | Mercy Watson to the Rescue | Kate DiCamillo | Gift | 2/4/2022 |
| 13 | The Dark Talent | Brandon Sanderson | Purchased | 2/11/2022 |
| 14 | Violets Are Blue | Barbara Dee | ARC/Publisher | 2/11/2022 |
| 15 | Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna | Alda P. Dobbs | ARC/Publisher | 2/11/2022 |
| 16 | Inkling | Kenneth Oppel | ARC/Publisher | 2/11/2022 |
| 17 | Frankie & Bug | Gayle Forman | ARC/Publisher | 2/11/2022 |
| 18 | Moving Forward: From Space-Age Rides to Civil Rights Sit-Ins with Airman Alton Yates | Chris Barton | ARC/Publisher | 2/11/2022 |
| 19 | Ada Twist and the Perilous Pants | Andrea Beaty | Purchased | 2/17/2022 |
| 20 | It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood | Trevor Noah | Purchased | 2/17/2022 |
| 21 | Sandapalooza Shake-Up | Chris Grabenstein | ARC/Publisher | 2/24/2022 |
| 22 | Drama | Raina Telgemeier | Purchased | 2/24/2022 |
| 23 | Nightingale | Deva Fagan | ARC/Publisher | 2/24/2022 |
| 24 | Walk Two Moons | Sharon Creech | Purchased | 2/24/2022 |
| 25 | The Copper Gauntlet | Holly Black, Cassandra Clare | ARC/Publisher | 2/24/2022 |
| 26 | Beach Battle Blowout | Chris Grabenstein | ARC/Publisher | 3/3/2022 |
| 27 | Werewolf Weekend | B.A. Fraid, Stacia Deutsch | ARC/Publisher | 3/3/2022 |
| 28 | Breaking the News | Robin Terry Brown | ARC/Publisher | 3/10/2022 |
| 29 | Pretty Perfect Kitty-Corn | Shannon Hale | Purchased | 3/10/2022 |
| 30 | New From Here | Kelly Yang | ARC/Publisher | 3/24/2022 |
| 31 | El Cucuy Is Scared, Too! | Donna Barba Higuera | ARC/Publisher | 3/24/2022 |
| 32 | When the Sea Turned to Silver | Grace Lin | ARC/Publisher | 4/14/2022 |
| 33 | Ghost | Jason Reynolds | Purchased | 4/14/2022 |
| 34 | The Hair Book | Latonya Yvette | ARC/Publisher | 4/29/2022 |
| 35 | Crazy in Poughkeepsie | Daniel Pinkwater | ARC/Publisher | 4/29/2022 |
| 36 | New From Here | Kelly Yang | ARC/Publisher | 4/29/2022 |
| 37 | Lia Park and the Missing Jewel | Jenna Yoon | ARC/Publisher | 7/13/2022 |
| 38 | When Stars Are Scattered | Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed | Gift | 7/13/2022 |
| 39 | The Natural Genius of Ants | Betty Culley | ARC/Publisher | 7/13/2022 |
| 40 | Spineless | Samantha San Miguel | ARC/Publisher | 7/13/2022 |
| 41 | The Pants Project | Cat Clarke | ARC/Publisher | 7/13/2022 |
| 42 | Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality | Roshani Chokshi | ARC/Publisher | 7/13/2022 |
| 43 | Refugee | Alan Gratz | Gift | 7/13/2022 |
| 44 | Booked | Kwame Alexander | Gift | 7/13/2022 |
Bernie’s Book Bank Partners:
This sounds like a wonderful organization! When I have books to donate I usually take them to my local library, since they can use them for their friends of the library book sales. I haven’t donated many lately, though, because I’ve been buying more ebooks than physical ones.
My local library only accepts books for their sale for a couple of weeks a year, but I do usually donate some YA and adult books to them. There’s a Little Free Library at our mall, so I bring YA books there throughout the year too.
What a wonderful way to recycle books. I love this idea. I don’t often have many physical books anymore, but I’ll be sure to look into this organization
You are too sweet, requesting books that will ultimately be donated. I love it! I threw away so many ARCs. I wish I had had somewhere to bring them.
[…] MID-YEAR BERNIE’S BOOK BANK CHECK-IN: BOOKS I’VE DONATED THIS YEAR […]
What a fabulous place to be able to donate books! I just take mine to our local library, they have book sales twice a year and then use that money to buy new books. But I wish we had something like Bernie’s out by us. Love this post!
Such a great thing to do and fun to keep track of! I always buy books during the holiday to donate with my purchases at Barnes & Noble for the deal they do, but don’t do much else other than when I just donate to Good Will or other places like that. I will have to look for a similar organization near me. Although I honestly don’t buy a ton of books other than ones I know I want on my shelves!
I just love all of this. What a wonderful nonprofit and I wish I had something similar. I love that you donate a lot of the books you get for review that you think kids would enjoy. That’s so sweet!!!
Lauren