Books in Every Bag

Program Overview

Books in Every Bag is a literacy initiative to help prepare children for success in kindergarten and schooling beyond. South Carolina's economy is booming and advanced global manufacturing companies have brought jobs to our state that require deeper reading and analytical skills. The single most significant factor influencing a child's early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school (National Commission on Reading, 1985).

Books in Every Bag is a FREE program to ALL children from birth to five years of age in the Tri-County Charleston, South Carolina, metropolitan area. Children enrolled in the program receive a bookstore quality, age-specific book sent to their home or daycare center every month until their fifth birthday. With each book parents receive a newsletter with literacy information related to the child's development with tips on how to best read to the child to stimulate comprehension and increase the enjoyment of reading together. If there are multiple children in the household under five years of age, each child receives a monthly book appropriate for their age and stage of development. Book specific activity pages are included with each book to enhance the joy of reading.

With hospital agreement, board books will be sent home in a cloth bag with each newborn when they leave the hospital. Each book will include a newsletter to the parents with guides on how to start reading with their child. Also included in the bag is a flyer from South Carolina Early Childhood Advisory Council, SCECAC, with information about the First 5 online resource tool that is available to all parents.

Children who are read to day in and day out thrive. "Those with less exposure to books face tougher learning challenges in school and beyond" (Campbell et al, 2002). The Books in Every Bag program enables every child to have the best start in life. The brain develops faster than at any other time between birth and three years of age. This is the critical time to foster literacy during this pivotal stage to ensure that children enter kindergarten with the skills necessary for them to learn and have success in later schooling and life.

Parents may enroll all their children age birth to five years through the website booksineverybag.org or by clicking on the QR code to access the website. Additional information can be obtained by calling 1-843-532-3708 or by sending questions to P.O. Box 894, Hollywood, SC, 29449. Comments can also be posted on our Facebook page Books in Every Bag.

Cost Info

Student and Volunteer Success Stories

Impacting literacy outcomes is essential to strengthening our community. A person's intellectual and emotional growth can be irreparably harmed by illiteracy, which also frequently inhibits one's ability to lead a fulfilling and successful adult life. According to the US NCES, 4% of the children in the fourth grade are below the basic reading level; 31% of them are below the proficient reading level. By working together to improve literacy outcomes, communities can increase the number of students who are kindergarten ready, who read on grade level by the fourth grade, and who graduate from high school. Our community is doing its part as we implement the Books in Every Bag program." (Ferst Readers, January 2023).