5 Million Books for Oregon Kids

Congratulations to SMART Reading on this incredible achievement and the commitment to improving literacy rates for Oregon’s children, particularly in underserved communities. This work is an investment in the bright future of our entire state. — Aimee Kotek Wilson, First Lady of Oregon

In March, SMART Reading celebrated a major milestone—we gave away our 5 millionth book to a child in Oregon! SMART Reading has been getting books into the hands and homes of kids for nearly 35 years. Through our shared reading and Book Bank programs, we currently give away approximately 200,000 high-interest and inclusive books to Oregon kids each year.

Research consistently shows that access to books profoundly impacts a child’s success in school and beyond. And when kids select books they’re interested in, as they do at SMART Reading, their reading enjoyment and motivation increases too!

Just for Fun

Graphic of 8 blue whales
5 million children’s books is a ton of books. Actually, it’s more like 1,250 tons! That’s equivalent to the weight of about 8 blue whales.
Graphic of four tall stacks of books, each reaching the height of Mt. Everest.
If we stacked them, they would reach four times higher than Mount Everest. 
A graphic of the West Coast of the United States with a line drawn from Portland to San Francisco
Laid end to end, they would stretch from Portland all the way down to San Francisco Bay.
A graphic of the planets circling the sun with the text "x 13,700"
And if you read one book per night, you would have 13,700 years of bedtime stories!

Get Involved

If you’re inspired to kick-start the next million books, we encourage you to get involved as a volunteer; donate new or gently used books to any SMART area office; hold a book drive; or donate to our online fundraiser, For the Love of Books, where we’re raising funds to purchase high-interest, inclusive books for kids across Oregon!