Books Are Wings

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Books Are Wings

Books Are Wings is an RI based non-profit organization putting free books in the hands of children.

We believe the power of literacy transforms the lives of children, their families and communities for the better. Books Are Wings seeks to provide every child with regular access to books. BAW works to engage students in their classrooms, at school functions, community events, and playgrounds. We believe that offering books to children in different environments instills a consistent message that reading is not just school work- it’s a way of life!

06/06/2026

The Day of Action is off to a wonderful start. With well over a hundred volunteers, and thousands of book donations to sort through, United Way of Rhode Island’s annual community volunteering event is an amazing effort! Thanks to supporters like you, the book donations from the months of the annual drive UWRI hosts each year will allow us to get books to young readers for months to come. Stay tuned for more throughout the day from this incredible partnership!

06/04/2026

June is Pride Month and we're celebrating by reading together! We've compiled a list of titles and resources local to Rhode Island to read this month and beyond that can serve as a resource to spark conversations around allyship, LGBTQIA+ history,
and more.

- One Day in June: A Story Inspired by the Life and Activism of Marsha P. Johnson By Tourmaline
- Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope By Jodie Patterson
- Family is Family By Melissa Marr
- Love Makes a Family By Sophie Beer
-Stonewall by Rob Sanders
- Tío and Tío The Ring Bearers By Ross Mathews and Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews
- Pink, Blue, and You! Questions for Kids about Gender Stereotypes By Elise Gravel and Mykaell Blais
- Papa's Coming Home By Chasten Buttigieg

Read more in our latest blog: https://www.booksarewings.org/post/read-to-celebrate-pride-month

06/01/2026

Summer should be a time of growth, exploration, and joy for all children. Yet for too many young learners, the summer months bring an invisible setback known as "summer slide" – the loss of reading skills and academic progress that occurs when children lack access to books at home.

Books Are Wings must bridge a widening gap to ensure every child has access to books during the critical summer months. Research shows that students without home libraries can lose more than a month of reading progress over summer break – a loss that compounds year after year.

Your support this summer will directly combat learning loss and keep young minds engaged, curious, and growing. Whether through a financial contribution book donation, or by sharing the campaign, you can give a child a chance to spend their summer months reading so they are ready to succeed again in the fall.

Learn more: www.booksarewings.org/invest -slide

05/29/2026

Summer should be a time of growth, exploration, and joy for all children. Yet for too many young learners, the summer months bring an invisible setback known as "summer slide" – the loss of reading skills and academic progress that occurs when children lack access to books at home.

With your support, Books Are Wings can bridge the widening gap to ensure every child has access to books during the critical summer months. Research shows that students without home libraries can lose more than a month of reading progress over summer break – a loss that compounds year after year.

Your support this summer will directly combat learning loss and keep young minds engaged, curious, and growing. Whether through a financial contribution or book donation, you can give a child a chance to spend their summer months reading so they are back to succeeding academically in the fall. Our campaign officially launches June 1, but you can give today at: https://tinyurl.com/stss2026

05/26/2026

United Way of Rhode Island's 14th annual Children's Book Drive ends May 31 and culminates in the Day of Action on Saturday, June 6, 10am-2pm at Waterfire Arts Center in Providence.

Register at the link below and join the June 6 effort to sort, label, and prepare the books donated to this drive for distribution to children in Books Are Wings' summer learning and afterschool programs.

Still have gently used or new children's books for birth through grade five to donate? Visit United Way of RI's page to learn how you can donate!

Donate: https://www.unitedwayri.org/press-release/united-way-hosts-14th-childrens-book-drive/
Register: https://uwriweb.org/comm/SinglePageRegEvent.jsp?EventKeyHex=3137353538

05/24/2026

Books Are Wings attended Touch-A-Truck earlier this month, a special community event where children were able to interact with all of their favorite big rigs, firetrucks, police cars, school buses and more! The event, put on by Club of Cranston also included face painting, balloon animals, crafts, treats, and of course, books!

Books Are Wings staff and volunteers were there ready with a wide variety of books for children to take home for their home libraries!

05/16/2026

May is Mental Health Month, and like many topics that can feel challenging to discuss with children, books can be a great tool to spark conversation. With young children, starting simple conversations around what they are feeling will help them understand their own emotions and prepare them for bigger conversations and ideas around mental health in the future.

Check out these titles in the month of May and beyond:

- The Boy with Big, Big Feelings by Britney Winn Lee
- Calmness: The Worry Monster by Dr. Catherine Cook-Cottone
- How Are You Feeling Today? by Molly Potter
- How Big Are Your Worries? (Little Bear) by Jayneen Sanders
- Breathing Makes It Better by Christopher Willard & Wendy O’Leary
- Feeling all the Feelings Workbook by Brad Petersen
- Ruby's Worry (Ruby Finds a Worry) by Tom Percival

05/13/2026

We'd like to say a big thank you to all who participated in our Where's Dolly Campaign throughout April!

We had a great time visiting the Pawtucket businesses that hosted our Dolly Parton cutout, getting to know owners and staff, and sharing information about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Offered through Books Are Wings, this free book distribution program is available to families with children under five living in Pawtucket’s 02861 zip code.

Sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/3ymkc4fa

Special thanks to Dolly's hosts over the past month:
- 579 Benefit Street Restaurant
- Spumoni's
- Notes Coffee Co.
- Coastal1 Credit Union
- Joyful Hearts Early Education Center
- Marti's Cupcakes & More
- Rose Bud Florist
- Central Sports Cards
- Natalie's Pizza
- J's Brothers Restaurant

05/11/2026

Books Are Wings had a great group volunteer from AAA Northeast. The team came to sort through thousands of children's books in April. In total, they got through 1,200 books in less than 2 hours! Thank you AAA for being a constant supporter of our cause!

Address

1005 Main Street Suite 711B
Pawtucket, RI
02860

Telephone

+14014754882

Website

http://www.booksarewings.org/

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