The Take Home Book Program

A school-based program of family literacy

Additional Program Background

Book Selection Books were selected by Bay Area teachers and reviewed by St. Mary’s College Early Literacy Center. Kindergarten titles include: The Very Busy Spider, Where the Wild Things Are, Good Night Moon, and My Five Senses. First Grade titles include: Adventures of Taxi Dog, Officer Buckle and Gloria, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Stone Soup, and The Missing Tooth. Second Grade titles include: Blueberries for Sal, What the Moon is Like, Frog and Toad are Friends, and The Case of the Hungry Stranger.

Program Growth and Maintenance THBP has grown at a rate of 300 classrooms per year since its inception by building strategic partnerships with school districts, county offices of education, foundations, and other community-based non-profit organizations. Districts take ownership of the program and schools sign a Letter of Agreement to maintain the program by replacing lost book and bags. The amount of loss is one book and bag per classroom per year. The replacement cost is $12.

Advisory Board Members of the Take Home Book Program Advisory Board are: Pat Dawson, Literary Specialist for Palo Alto Unified School District; Dr. Linda Kroll, Professor Mills College and former Hewlett-Annenberg board member; Dawn Hawk, Program Officer, Philanthropic Ventures Foundation; Dave Severns, President, Severns Family Foundation; Joan Wylie, Program Director, the Take Home Book Program.

Fiscal Agent Philanthropic Ventures Foundation serves as the fiscal depository for the Take Home Book Program. PVF receives all contributions to THBP and maintains the fiscal administration of the program. Contact Dawn Hawk, dhawk@venturesfoundation.org.

Program Administration Joan Wylie, Program Director, joanwylie@hotmail.com.