How to Apply for a Book Love Grant

"There is something about that moment, when literature becomes accessible, and a door of the world opens."—Lois Lowry

All adolescents are reading less. There is a calamitous drop-off in students’ reading after age 13 and a downward trend in voluntary reading by youth at middle and high school levels over the past two decades.

 And yet… students who I believe are determined nonreaders become committed, passionate readers given the right books, time to read, and regular responses to their thinking. The pathway to difficult reading begins with books they enjoy. Once they’re reading, together we can reach for the challenging literature I want them to know. Rich and rewarding reading lives are within reach for all teenagers.

However, as public libraries struggle for funding and school libraries close, today many students do not have access to books. There is only one book for every 300 kids living in poverty in the United States. We can change this. We have to.

The Book Love Foundation is dedicated to teachers who inspire a love of reading. We provide classroom libraries of hundreds of books carefully chosen to meet teenagers where they are and lead them to the deep rewards of reading. We put those books into the hands of teachers who demonstrate a commitment to rich reading lives for all students.

Download the 2015 application form.

Applicant Requirements

The applicant…

•must be a full-time teacher in a middle school or high school in the United States or Canada.

•must have demonstrated a commitment to choice and independent reading, and have started the process of building a classroom library.

•must be willing to maintain the Book Love Foundation library in the applicant's classroom. The books received from this grant are not intended for a school-wide library.

•must be willing to be included in Book Love Foundation promotional materials including the website, and participate in research into the effectiveness of classroom libraries on student outcomes in reading.

•will collect data on books read from the Book Love Foundation library in order for us to create the next year's library list. We suggest using the Book Source classroom library app for checking out books.

 Grant applications must be completed and submitted electronically to booklovefoundation@gmail.com by May 1, 2015.

The Board of Directors will make grantee selections by July 1, 2015, and will notify grantees via email.

Books will be delivered to grant winners by Book Source as they are available. Our goal is to complete delivery for the start of the 2015-2016 school year.