Children's books are now travelling

My thoughts today turned to ebay as I pondered the purchase of a groovy looking pair of pants.  These ebay parcels crisscross the world every day.  I know people who sell items on ebay.  I made a call and I now have my books crisscrossing the country with already purchased ebay items.  I am just wondering how her customers will feel when not only do they get the lipstick they bid on but also a free children's book with a note asking them to find a child who will enjoy it.  Time will tell.

ANY TEACHERS OUT THERE????


Are there any teachers out there who would be willing to have some children's books of various age groups posted to their class and have their students take on the responsibility of distributing the books, perhaps even after they have been read ???

Please email me.

Distribution of the books

I now have many books to send out into the world for people to enjoy. However my aim is for the books to end up in the hands of strangers. So now I find myself constantly thinking about methods to get these books distributed.
As "A Friend Like Henry" is my first book and I really wanted to make sure this books does the rounds for at least a year. So I opted to have it read by a girlfriend who is a teacher. I heard from her today and she has completed the book (apparently couldn't put it down). She has written her name in it and ensures me she has forwarded it onto a girlfriend of hers who lives a few hours away. So soon it will be in the hands of a stranger. My girlfriend is also going to help me to get a few other books distributed by posting them to people she knows. Not my perfect solution, but at least it will get a few books out there travelling to begin the process.
Over time posting off books will become expensive and cut into my household budget.  I have purchased however a dozen post packs to assist in getting some books out there and travelling.  Once these post packs are gone they are gone.  So hence the thinking cap went on today about how to distribute these books. After all my aim is for there to be no cost to anybody, so I don't want to be requesting friends to post books on to someone else.  I just want to encourage everyone I can to read a book, find enjoyment and then pass it onto someone else.
I have been having day dreams about people on a plane, a bus or even a train reading one of my books and when they have completed it, they pass it to a complete stranger in the next aisle for them to enjoy. People finding one of my books left on a bench seat in a park. I have thought about putting some of my books into medical waiting rooms in the hope someone will take it home and forget their health concerns for a few hours and be transported to an imaginary world. The day dreams have been taking over all of my thoughts today. Very little else is getting done on my  “to do list”.
I decided this morning to get a few books and put them into a bag in the car. I had to head into town to pick up a few things. I took The Black Candle by Catherine Cookson, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt and Read Better, Remember More by Elizabeth Chelsa. I was hoping that an opportunity of some sort would raise itself on who I could give the books to or where I could leave them for someone to pick up.


I am trying to remain as anonymous as possible at present so I can't exactly just walk up to someone and hand them a book. After all I live in a country town and everyone knows everyone.  So it wouldn't take long for the rumour mill to start working.  Also I have no idea of what people's prefered taste in books is. So I just left it in the hands of fate and hoped I would find a way to distribute the books.
I am pleased to report I did.  As I headed into town I passed the local caravan park filled with tourists.  The first three caravans had people sitting outside enjoying the sunshine and reading. I had found the books destination.   I pulled the car up near the ablution blocks around the corner and collected my three books and headed for the building.  Thankfully no-one seemed to be concerned with me walking through the park.  I put the books into the laundry on the bench with notices on them that they are travelling books.  I am now day dreaming about an avid reader who is travelling Australia picking up the books, reading them on their way to their next destination and leaving them at another caravan park for someone else to enjoy.  One can only hope.
So I am now at day two of distribution and I have managed so far to get four books travelling.

 


Children's books


After a few hours of surfing the web it has come as a shock on how many Australia Children are actually staring at a screen each day for hours.  Are the literacy rates of Australian students getting worse with each passing year ?

I am very grateful that I have children who are readers. 

I am now on a mission to get as many Children's Travelling books out into the worlds as I can, in the hope some-one will read the book to a child or a child will be inspired to read.

Here goes.

My Local Op Shop

Thank you op shops.

They have been a wonderful supply of  books for my mission.   I cannot believe how many children's books they have for sale and so many of them are brand new, never been opened, never even had a page corner turned over as a page mark, not even a crease in the spine to indicate it has been read and many still have the price tag on them.  Perhaps an unwanted gift?

A note to anyone looking to buy books for a child, try your local secondhand store they are full of them.

My mission is to buy the books in my local op shop that are still new and get them travelling.  My goal is having another impact on the world around me, I am now donating money to charity as well.