A Book of One’s Own
By Maryann Manning

When I think about paring down my possessions, I can imagine parting with chairs or appliances; but when it comes to books, I don't think I could part with a single one. I love them all, even those I haven't opened in years. Each one reminds me of the person who gave it to me, where I first read it or where I was shopping when I found it. Many of my books have been moved several times, across town or across the country. My two-volume set of the complete works of Shakespeare won't survive another move, even though I only refer to it every few years. Some people tell me I can find the full text of my books online and store the contents of them on the hard drive, but the computer isn't exactly inviting. Reaching for the shelf and finding something tangible is much more fun than scrolling through pages of text online.

Book-rich from the get-go
Books occupy such a special place in my life because I was book-rich from birth. I grew up on a farm near a small town in Nebraska, where reading bestsellers was what filled the resting hours of my mother, grandmother and their friends. While some people today talk about television shows, I remember those who were close to me spending hours talking about books. Growing up, I thought that surely everybody's mother called up her friends to tell them about the book she was reading. Our family outings on Saturdays were spent at the library, where we often sat in on children's hour. We would check out our limit of books, and the mail would bring many more, bound in packages from Omaha and Lincoln, along with newspapers – the Norfolk Daily News and the Omaha World-Herald. I was teaching before I realized that not everyone is book-rich.

Books as a birthright
Reminiscing about books is a pleasure we all enjoy. Over the last 30 years, I've studied the home literacy episodes of children and the number of books in homes, and what I've learned has inspired my crusade to put books in the homes of children who have none. As a child, my personal book collection grew at every holiday, when relatives came to visit, when we went to bookstores and when we ordered books. But at least a third of all children do not have books in their homes, and if there are no books in the home, you can assume that those children are not having literacy episodes with friends or family members.

Some may argue that all children need is a good collection at school or in the public library, but those experiences are vastly different than owning a book. It is a child's birthright to have a collection of books in a place where they can touch and visit them repeatedly. Books can offer an emotional safety net, providing children security similar to that supplied by stuffed animals or favorite blankets. What are some of the reasons children need a collection of books in their home?

1. They feel ownership of the books, as well as a connection with them that inspires pride.

2. The presence of books in the home creates a print-rich environment where books are accessible. Parents will be more likely to read to their children if books are in their home.

3. Books inspire or nurture bonds between family members because reading can be a shared experience.

Some schools have large numbers of children who don't have books in their homes. Even in very affluent schools where students can order personal books from several excellent book clubs, there are some children who depend on the school for access to all their books.

You may have already begun crusading in your community to provide books for children who need them, so fortunately we aren't starting at ground zero. We can, however, always do more, which brings us to the big question: How can we help our students love books the way we do?

Become a book benefactor
In Birmingham, AL, there is a man named Bill Tevendale. As a young man, Bill couldn't support a family on his teaching salary, so he took a job at State Farm Insurance, where he worked his way up the corporate ladder all the way to vice president. Throughout his career, he never forgot about his commitment to education. He became especially interested in helping teachers establish and grow their own classroom collections of literature and in helping them find personal copies of books for their students. He founded the nonprofit organization A+ Education Foundation Reading up to Par, which solicits corporations, civic groups and individuals for money to buy books. Bill's wife, Jacque, graciously allows him to store the books in their basement and, often times, in their car. Thousands of books are in homes and classrooms now because of Bill's initiative and dedication.

If your community doesn't have a Bill Tevendale, there are many other places (as listed below) to find books for your students' personal collections.

Community Resources

• Write grants to community foundations

• Install drop-boxes in malls and outside of grocery stores for previously loved and new books

• Consult Kiwanis clubs, the Junior League and other civic groups

• Attend library book sales

• Frequent thrift stores

• Go to garage sales

Low-cost Books and Clubs

• Scholastic Book Clubs (includes TrollCarnival and Trumpet)
• Half.com
  A division of eBay, Half.com features thousands of new and gently used books from individual sellers.
• Overstock.com
  They liquidate excess inventory and provide the same brand-name products found in traditional retail stores at deep discounts.

You don't have to be as book crazy as I am, and you don't have to expect your students to be, either – though that would be nice! What you can expect is that when you provide a child with a book, you are helping to create a book-rich home and, hopefully, a lifelong reader. And that is no small feat, indeed.

Maryann Manning is on the faculty of the School of Education, the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Updated February 2009
October 2005, Vol.36, No.2