Nonprofit Storyshares launches a book sale with a feel-good twist: Paperbacks That Give Back. The "Give One, Get One" campaign's goal is to support literacy by providing diverse high-interest books for preteens through adults who are working to improve their literacy skills.
PHILADELPHIA, June 7, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Just in time for summer, Storyshares announces a "Give One, Get One" campaign to sell its award-winning books to the public.
For every paperback purchased before June 21, Storyshares will donate a second copy to a reader in need. Their goal? To get 1,000 more engaging books into the hands of 1,000 readers in just 14 days. Books can be ordered online at http://www.storyshares.org/paperbacks.
Specialized book bundles called "Level Up Library Ladders" are also making their debut, which include 80 titles (40 each for middle school and high school students) at ascending reading levels, providing compelling choices that are increasingly more complex as reading skills improve.
Storyshares, a nonprofit literacy organization, empowers and inspires many kinds of struggling readers including multilingual learners, students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, and students from underserved communities who have fallen behind in literacy skills and reading comprehension.
By purchasing Paperbacks that Give Back, the public can help get these needed books in the hands of preteens through adults working to improve their literacy skills.
"If you're a 9th grader reading at a 2nd grade level, what books do you read?" says Louise Baigelman, Storyshares executive director. "You're not going to engage with choices like 'The Pout-Pout Fish.' But the books intended for your age group are too difficult. This is a significant issue for struggling readers in late elementary school and above. Without the right choices, students often give up on reading. We hear from teachers around the world who are seeking diverse and compelling books to support and entice their students."
She adds that teachers need to be able to provide choices that are relatable and readable at a range of lower levels.
According to the US Department of Education, only 15% of African-American & Hispanic 4th graders score 'proficient' in reading. The other 85% face a disconnect between their maturity level and their reading level—from that point on. Literacy is fundamental to every facet of life, and those who lack skills endure many systemic and day-to-day challenges.
"Our books fill that gap. These choices make it so that striving readers in middle and high school can actually get excited about what they're reading, wherever they are with their skill level," says Baigelman.
With summer lurking around the corner, the timing of this campaign is significant. The long days at home pose challenges to student literacy. Referred to as the summer slide, research shows that students tend to lose ground in their reading skills during the summer.
Why? Because reading proficiency is founded on reading practice. Without practice, students slide backwards in their learning growth. This phenomenon affects all students, but especially those in low-income and underserved communities, where access to reading materials is disproportionately low.
With books specially crafted to connect with striving readers ages 10 and up, Storyshares titles have begun to reverse this cycle for readers around the world. Their high-interest choices, which resemble the length of novellas, can keep students reading all summer long.
Nearly half of the nonprofit's 450 books are available in print. All stories published to the library originate from the annual Storyshares writing contest, a crowdsourcing effort to engage the community to build a more diverse body of content. With contributing writers from every corner of the globe (from Arizona Zambia!), the latest contest yielded carefully woven works of romance, magic, folklore, and danger: some fictional, and others very, very true.
The resulting library collection (including both paperbacks and eBooks) is deeply varied, providing something for every reader. And it brings the annual promise of an influx of content – from new and veteran writers who participate in the story contest.
Proceeds from the Paperbacks that Give Back sale will go to support the organization's mission to inspire reading practice and improve literacy skills. Storyshares has reached over 500,000 readers across all 50 states and 180 countries. They have big plans to reach more.
To help put the right books into the hands of the students that need them most, the public can "Give One, Get One" at http://www.storyshares.org/paperbacks.
To place bulk orders, or to sponsor a library: contact [email protected].
ABOUT STORY SHARES
Storyshares works to empower and inspire struggling readers of all kinds, including English language learners, students with learning differences such as dyslexia, and students from low-income communities who have fallen behind in reading. The organization has been recognized by The Library of Congress, Forbes, the International Literacy Association, and Teach for America for its innovative approach and impact in the field. Their work is a testament to the belief that, "everyone is a reader, some just haven't found the right book yet."
More information about the their mission and work can be found at http://www.storyshares.org
Media Contact
Angela Dell'Isola, Storyshares, 1 774-200-8791, [email protected]
SOURCE Storyshares
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