New Findings in Publishing Bilingual Children's Books When it comes to picking out books for your kids, you're probably running through a list of common questions. Are the pictures colorful, entertaining, playful? Would my kid enjoy these themes? (i.e animals, cars, fairy tales) Would this book hold up in a ...

This March, BookSpring brought on a new leadership team member to our small but powerful team. Joy Diaz, Associate Director, comes with a wealth of experience in education, media, and storytelling. Her passion for books and amplifying early literacy is undeniable, and we at BookSpring cannot be more excited for ...

A New Program Elevates Creativity We recently celebrated an exciting milestone: the print launch of our first six BookSpring Originals titles. This moment marked the culmination of months of thoughtful collaboration and commitment to families and children across Texas. BookSpring Originals is an ambitious new publishing initiative rooted in our ...

The Hidden Challenges: How Texas Families Experience Reading in 2025 In 2025, BookSpring conducted its comprehensive Texas Reading Survey to understand family reading habits, attitudes toward literacy, and book access across the state. With 320 responses from parents and caregivers of children 12 and under across 73 Texas counties, this year's ...

Supporting Early Brain Development with Reading The State and Power of Literacy Your child’s brain is growing faster in the first few years of life than it ever will again, and reading is one of the most powerful tools you have to shape that growth. In an ever-increasing screen-filled world, ...

Pathways to the Love of Reading BookSpring is proud to unveil our new five-year Strategic Plan: Pathways to the Love of Reading, a bold roadmap to deepen and expand our work across Texas from 2025 to 2030. This plan reflects months of thoughtful collaboration between our Board, staff, and community partners, ...

This April, BookSpring launched its first-ever Big Book Giveaway, an educator-focused initiative that brought nearly 20,000 books directly into the hands of teachers across the Greater Austin area. Designed to empower schools with limited resources and reignite classroom libraries, the event quickly became a standout success for the spring. While ...

On Saturday, May 3, 2025, over 1,270 attendees gathered under the Texas sun for BookSpring Fest: A Read-Aloud Celebration, a day filled with storytelling, games, laughter, and, most importantly, a shared love for books. This year’s festival was nothing short of phenomenal, featuring 29 guest readers, over 1,300 free books distributed, and raising more than $57,000 to help ...

BookSpring is proud to announce the official dedication of our headquarters as The Patterson Family Book Bank—a name that now stands as a lasting tribute to a family deeply devoted to literacy, community, and compassion. The dedication ceremony, held on March 26, 2025, celebrated the extraordinary generosity of the Living ...

Since its launch in April 2022, Books Beginning at Birth (B3) has been making a profound impact on early literacy by providing free books, digital resources, and family reading support to thousands of families across Texas. By empowering parents and caregivers with the tools to build strong reading habits from ...

In August and September 2024, BookSpring conducted its annual Texas Reading Survey to understand family reading habits, book ownership, and school engagement. With 752 responses from parents of children 12 and under, this year's findings shed light on significant trends, challenges, and opportunities for promoting book access and literacy across ...

by Emily Ball Cicchini, Ph.D. As I begin my tenth year as Executive Director of BookSpring, I am filled with anticipation and optimism for what lies ahead. The journey we’ve undertaken together has laid a strong foundation for the future, and I am energized by the opportunities we have to ...

Books Beginning at Birth (B3), our collaborative program with the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children, continues to make a significant impact in the lives of families and children across Texas. Our goal has always been to foster early literacy and create lasting family bonds through reading, and ...

Here at BookSpring, we're all about big dreams and even bigger hearts. But there's one statistic that hits close to home and demands our attention: Texas ranks 50th in the nation for the percentage of children under age six whose families read to them every day. In a state known ...

In a remarkable follow-up to our previous story, Anushka Godambe, a former student at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, has continued her incredible journey of giving. Since our last update, Anushka has expanded her efforts, and with her unwavering dedication, she has now collected and donated over 40,000 books ...

Two young souls are making a big difference in the world of literacy. Anushka Godambe, a senior at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, has spearheaded book drives for BookSpring, donating an incredible 25,000+ books over four years. Meanwhile, Caroline Masterson recently completed her own book drive for her Eaglescout ...

What is your job title at BookSpring and what does it mean to you? I am the Logistics Manager which means I help the organization run efficiently through oversight of processing systems. I help conduct our annual inventory, lead volunteering shifts, distribute books to community partners, and work with distributors ...

Aug 1, 2023 - In the past year, the Books Beginning at Birth program, offered in collaboration with BookSpring and the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TXAEYC), has made significant strides in promoting literacy and early childhood development across various communities. Through its initiatives, the program has ...

In the vibrant Central Texas business community, there exists a shared belief that doing good is not only virtuous but also essential for sustainable growth and prosperity. RecognizeGood's prestigious Ethics in Business Award program embodies this philosophy, aiming to illuminate and honor businesses, individuals, and nonprofits that prioritize ethical practices ...

A new report from the US Census Bureau indicates that tablet use among families with children has increased significantly in recent years, with 80% of such families reporting tablet ownership, including 60% of families with caregivers who have not completed a high school education. The share jumps to 75% in ...

Book Drives Give Back At St. Andrew's Episcopal School, students recently learned about the importance of giving back through a BookSpring Book Drive. The drive was a huge success, with students donating over 2,000 books to the cause. But the drive was about more than just collecting books - it ...

By: Jeannine Herron, et al. In this overview, learn how early literacy benefits from both print-to-speech and speech-to-print instruction, creating connections in the brain that link new knowledge about the alphabet to what children already know and are continuously learning about words. Introduction Recently there have been many discussions among ...

Parents and educators alike need timely information about how reading today may be different than it was in the past. In 2022, the pandemic, economic stress, and extreme weather events have all put stress on families with children and how they fit reading practices into their daily lives.  To address ...

By: María José Meneses, Originally published in Porch.com Parents and other family members can enhance the benefits kids can obtain by complementing reading with a few related activities. While you might think that school teachers have plenty of time for these types of activities, the truth is that there often isn’t ...

It's official!  BookSpring has moved our headquarters to a new location in South Austin, 1807 W. Slaughter Lane, Building #1.  Come visit us M-F, between 10-4, or sign up to volunteer in our new space or at our warehouse on Rutland Drive. NOTE:  Our new mailing address is BookSpring, PO ...

Summer Success 2022 Program Recap This May, BookSpring visited six campuses in three Central Texas cities—Austin, Del Valle, and Pflugerville—and distributed over 4,500 books to 564 elementary students through our Summer Success Program. The program serves first and second graders enrolled in Title I schools and provides each child with ...

In April, the Rodriguez Elementary library magically morphed into a science lab equipped with safety goggles, experiment materials, and an in-house scientist. The librarian, Ms. Mott, was mysteriously absent, and her cousin, Dr. Stein, had taken over. Dr. Stein instructed them to place their hands on the scanner when students ...

Fall Day of Caring Fall Day of Caring is a day that embraces and celebrates volunteerism through a day of service hosted by United Way for Greater Austin (UWATX). Corporate volunteer teams, individuals from the community, and organizations like BookSpring can participate. This year's Fall Day of Caring benefited members ...

For a young reader, having access to books is paramount. Research suggests that increasing the number of books available to students, especially at a young age, leads to higher reading scores and academic achievement overall. More books in the classroom and at home means a student has more to choose ...

One question that’s top of mind to everyone who has a child in school or works in a school is: What do we need to be doing right now to help kids make it through this challenging time? Our friends at First Book, a national non-profit clearinghouse for books for ...