Imagine…
the special people in your life waking up on Christmas morning (or another winter holiday) to find a gift-wrapped book on their bed!
Be a part of this special holiday book tradition. Adopt it as your own and share it with all of the families you know! It’s easy and fun!
Start a lifelong, holiday tradition that gives the gift of reading in your own home and in your community!
How it’s done:
- Select a book. It can be a new book, a donated book, or a cherished book that is handed down from one generation to the next with a heartfelt inscription.
- Wrap it. A gift carefully wrapped, holds the mystery of what story or adventure is waiting to be discovered, and presents the book as the special gift it is!
- Place the book at the foot of a child’s bed. It will be the first thing she sees on Christmas morning, the first day of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any holiday you celebrate!
Why this campaign works:
- Grows with a child: A Book On Every Bed is a holiday tradition that every child will look forward to year after year, as his brain, body, and library of books grows!
- Increases book value: A beautifully wrapped book, carefully selected for a child, is a way for parents to promote the value of books and foster a lifelong love of reading.
- Deepens the relationship with books: Book ownership allows a child to return again and again to a cherished story, alone, or with a loved one.
- Fosters learning: When you give a book, you also give the promise of reading aloud together, frequently and pleasurably, which is a proven model for language acquisition and literacy.
Continue the tradition throughout the year: Any special day like a birthday, graduation, or last day of school could also be A Book On Every Bed Day!
Download the Book On Every Bed bookmark in English or in Spanish.
Donate so that other children will have books on their beds this holiday season!
Holiday Reading Traditions
Share a love of reading as a family activity during the holidays!
- Pick one family favorite book and read it aloud each year. Each time it is read, record the date and place where the book was read on the inside cover. Then take a photo of the family with the book and slip it in the book to look at next year.
- Plan a family trip to the library to choose books to read each night of Hanukkah or Kwanzaa.
- Start a collection of holiday/winter books for all ages. Enjoy them during this time of year, and then pack them away in a special box to open and rediscover year after year.
- Listen to a favorite audio book while you are baking cookies, driving to visit family and friends or wrapping presents.
- Plan holiday meals or decide on baked treats to make by reading cookbooks together.
- Draw names for book gift giving and select a different theme or genre each year. This works equally well with new books or giving hand-me-down books a second life.
- Help your child make bookmarks to enclose with a gift book they helped to pick out.
- Check out library books about another culture’s winter celebrations.
- Volunteer at a local hospital or nursing home and read holiday/seasonal books to children or residents.
Download the Holiday Reading Traditions bookmark with winter book list included!
