Judy Payne lined her coffee table with books, hoping one would halt her then 6-year-old son who bicycled around the living room. “I felt as though I was a librarian,” recalls Payne. “I remember reading how important it was to read with your kids. I took that to heart.”
Her belief in reading paid off: Her son became fond of author and illustrator Richard Scarry’s colorful stories of Busytown. And now as co-founder and executive director of the Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank, she’s delivering the same joy to kids in low-income families.
“Two out of every three low-income kids do not own a single book,” she says.
Payne and Kids’ Book Bank co-founder Judi Kovach witnessed that fact firsthand two years ago while stocking more than 100 Little Free Libraries in Northeast Ohio. The kiosks invite readers to “take a book, leave a book.” But in low-income areas, kids didn’t have books of their own to leave.
“I turned to Judi and said, ‘I can’t continue rolling out [these] libraries until we figure this out,’ ” says Payne.
Kovach stumbled upon Discover Books, one of the largest used book distributors in the world. She called and was instantly offered a truckload of books. “It was like we struck gold,” Kovach says. “They bring millions of books in, and every month they send more than 100,000 amazing kids’ books to recycling.”
Hastened by the thought of shredded book spines, they leased a warehouse last February, spilling boxes of books in the space. Since their first shipment March 1 last year, they’ve given more than 350,000 books — from illustrated children’s books to young adult titles — to about 3,500 families. With the help of partners such as Starting Point and Help Me Grow, they distribute books to home day care providers and outreach workers who teach parents to read with their kids. Books are also given to students at pediatrician offices and area school districts.
Payne hopes to distribute 40,000 to 50,000 books a month this year and believes the Kids’ Book Bank is well on its way to giving every low-income child in Cuyahoga County books of their own.
“I feel as though I’m on a magic carpet ride,” Payne says. ”We’re going to transform Cleveland in a way that we never could have dreamed of.”
Read Up: The Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank has Delivered More Than 350,000 Books
Co-founders Judy Payne and Judi Kovach want every low-income kid in Cuyahoga County to have their own books.
