BOOKS Celebrates 5 Years
Free-book children's literacy program expands

What started as a simple way to comfort a weeping child in Ben Taub Hospital’s pediatric emergency center in 1998 has grown to BOOKS, HCHD’s successful children’s book give-away and literacy program now located at seven health centers, Quentin Mease Hospital and most recently at LBJ Hospital.  

The program celebrates its fifth anniversary August 25. 

“I tried to calm him down, but he just wouldn’t,” recalled Dr. Carla Scott in an earlier edition of The BEAT. “I gave him a toy. I gave him candy, but he still wouldn’t calm down. Then I gave him a book and he just got quiet.” 

Scott was so moved by the experience that she pursued funding for the program she called BOOKS, Ben Taub Our Community Our Kids, later shortened to just BOOKS. 

Over the years, BOOKS has collected almost 240,000 books and handed out nearly 70,000. Titles like Goodnight Moon, Sweet Valley High and Clifford the Big Red Dog or any in the product line of Barney, Sesame Street and Disney remain popular among youngsters, reports Ashley Erickson, Executive Director of BOOKS.  

Despite its successful book drives, one area Erickson wants to improve is the availability of Spanish and other foreign language books and board books for toddlers. 

BOOKS, an extension of the national literacy program “Reach Out and Read,” is different because it targets more than pre-schoolers. HCHD’s program, targeting children from birth to age 17 uses doctors and nurses who discuss and provide books to youngsters using “prescription slips.” Every child gets a free book and parents are encouraged to help their children read.  

Erickson calls the program success “phenomenal” and credits staff’s involvement. “BOOKS is more than giving children a sticker or a lollipop,” she said. “It’s giving them something that will improve their lives.” 

Support for BOOKS has also grown over the years. The $80,000 a year program functions because of major supporters such as the HCHD Foundation, Baylor College of Medicine and Half Price Books. Individual supporters include the parents of Ben Taub pediatrician Dr. Shea Palamountain, who secured a donation of 150,000 books last year from a company going out of business. 

“It was amazing, seeing eighteen 18-wheelers loaded with books for our patients,” Erickson said. “We’ve gotten so many books, we’ve had to give some away to other programs.”

In early June, LBJ opened its BOOKS mobile library through a partnership with Half Price Books, so every child visiting LBJ now also receives a free book to take home. 

Dr. José García, Chief of Pediatrics at LBJ, applauded the expansion of BOOKS to LBJ calling it a way to take care of a patient’s “whole range of needs” beyond healthcare.  

Over the years, Girl Scouts, elementary school children, local businesses and other organizations have donated thousands of books to BOOKS. Erickson sees the program expanding to all HCHD facilities in the future.