Thank you for your support!

You helped us make a difference in 2023.

As 2023 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on the things we were able to do this year, with your consistent love and support. Thanks for believing in what we do—that every kid deserves to be a main character.

We’ve felt the love this year, and we wanted to make sure you knew what you helped us accomplish.

In January, we won a grant from the wonderful Mass Cultural Council to help us expand our reach through community projects.

This spring, we were able to engage with students at Arlington High School to talk about diverse books, the banned book movement, and the elements of what make a successful children’s book. These workshops also brought us our intern Cayla Kwok, who is also a published author of her own diverse children’s book! (We’ll be sharing more about that in January.)

Also in the spring, with our intern Andrew Yang, we gifted diverse children’s books to classrooms in Arlington Public Schools. High school students also did readings in K through 2 level classrooms as part of this initiative.

We’ve really enjoyed being out and about more than ever this year, with more opportunities to meet you in person. This summer, we ran a regular reading series at The Toyary, a sustainable toy lending platform and play space, where we engaged kids in crafts afterwards. We were able to run similar programs at the Somerville Growing Center and the Melrose Family Room later in the year.

You may have come and found us at our pop-ups at Colleen’s and The Village Playspace, both in Medford. We hope you came to visit at the Circle the Square event (thanks to CACHE in Medford).

We did all this all the while staying true to our core mission from 2020, which was to send diverse children's books to families across the United States. We enjoyed curating these books and learning more about how to talk about these important themes with young people.

In 2024, we have exciting plans:

• Donating more diverse book bundles to local classrooms
•  Adding a new category of books—diverse chapter books for ages 7-10! Stay tuned while we prepare to launch in 2024.
• READING AND CRAFT EVENT: You will find us on Friday, January 12 at 3:30 p.m. at the Medford Public Library for a reading and craft by Cayla!

We thank you for your continued support. Your donation is 100% tax deductible. No amount is too small, and together we can make a difference.

Best wishes,

Simmy

Diving into books at Circle the Square in Medford Square this June!

Diverse book reading at a local first grade classroom with high school volunteers.