As a former high school English teacher, Larry Abrams knows a thing or two about the importance of literacy and instilling a love of reading in young children. He has also seen the effects of the literacy “summer slide” many students experience when they don’t have access to books during the summer months.
Larry founded BookSmiles in 2017 to combat the “book deserts” he witnessed among South Jersey communities. Since its founding, BookSmiles’ work has spread throughout all 21 New Jersey counties, Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley and now includes programs devoted to combating that summer slide in reading ability among underserved student populations.
“We are the largest kids’ book bank of our kind in the United States,” said Larry. BookSmiles is on track to donate 1.5 million books for children of all ages in 2025.
The nonprofit’s mission is to give new life to used books and distribute them to promote childhood literacy, inspire readers, support educators, and strengthen communities. Larry was honored with the Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award in 2021 for his work.
Summer book donations to boost children’s reading
Part of its summer donation program is to distribute to daycare centers and Head Start programs with summer sessions, and hosting giveaways for teachers at its 4,300-square-foot warehouse (available year ‘round) as well as through visits by the book van to low-income communities.
“During the summer we have massive giveaways at the book bank with forty to fifty teachers at a time, which we make into a party,” said Larry.
BookSmiles is also working on participating in the School District of Philadelphia’s annual Back-to-School Bus Tour. This program provides families with essential resources, supplies, and support as they prepare for the school year. The tour features events in various neighborhoods where families can access information; Larry hopes his book van will follow the bus later this summer to distribute books to older children beyond the early grades.
Giving thousands of children a literacy boost
About his organization’s mission, Larry explained that “The best way to solve the literacy problem among children in high-poverty, low-income areas is to make sure they have access to quality books starting as early as infancy. I believe every child should grow up with a library of their own. We can no longer allow kids to advance to kindergarten, having never touched a book in their lives.”
BookSmiles collects and distributes gently used books so children can build a library of their own and has enabled teachers to build their classroom libraries; it also exchanges adult books it receives from donors, big box stores, and online used-book sellers for student-appropriate books–and keeps all these volumes out of landfill. In addition to monetary donations, the organization generates revenue by occasionally selling non-children’s books through third parties.
Helping teachers help their students
Every Sunday and Wednesday, BookSmiles invites teachers to its Pennsauken book bank to hand pick as many books as they can haul away in one trip—some taking hundreds back to their classrooms and students, They do this for a nominal $25 donation for the year and are welcome to “shop” at the book bank as often as they want.
Boosting BookSmiles’ reach with the Making a Difference Award
Larry noted that being honored by the Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award enabled him to expand BookSmiles’ distribution capabilities by putting his cash award toward the purchase of a 16-foot box truck to replace his aging minivan. He also said that the visibility the award gave him contributed to his CNN Hero honor the following year.
“Nine months after the Making a Difference Award, I got a call from a CNN producer who expressed interest in doing a CNN Heroes segment on me. The award gave our work tremendous credibility,” he said.Read more about the inspiration for BookSmiles and its programs at https://www.booksmiles.org.
