First Book: Books for Children in Poverty

It was several years ago that I started my master’s thesis in reading research when I came onto one of the most startling statistics in my teaching career: children in poverty have twenty-five books to be read to them by the time they reach kindergarten, while the affluent children have well over a thousand. I couldn’t help wanting to make a difference in my student’s children’s lives. It was a fact that spurred me to searching for books I could give freely to those in lower income households..

As a teacher in a prison, I began to realize how fortunate I was as youngster to have a mother go to the library every week and bring home a sack full of books to read to me during the week, – only to go back week after week and do the same thing. As I learned from my mother, I did the same thing for my three children because money back then wasn’t plentiful.

I wanted to do more so during my lunch hour I searched for free things for my students. I contacted several Reading Associations to which I belonged and found about First Book and their mission – to put as many books into the hands of low income children as possible. These books are donated from many companies and publishers.

This past year, I have had the privilege of securing over six hundred books from First Book for my students both on my Education Pod as well as for fathers during the holidays to give books to their children. It is our responsibility to help those in need and this is one way we can give back and help their children.

As I recently listened to the new Miss America, her passion and concern for children of prisoners – I, too, shared the same concerns. Please take time to make literacy and reading one of your priorities. We can all make a difference in our classroom, in our communities and in our nation. Contact First Book at www.firstbook.org, to see how you can access free books for children in need.

by: Cheri Wontor
Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility