Rock The Drop

readergirlz bookplate

There is nothing like a good book on a dark day.  In this case ‘good’ means an escape hatch from the moment, a journey away from reality, a respite for the mind and body.  Operation Teen Book Drop is all about finding these ‘good’ books and getting them into the hands of teenagers who need them most.  Operation TBD ,or Rock the Drop,  is sponsored by the Young Adult Library Association Services (a division of ALA), readergirlz and Guys Lit Wire and takes place today, on Teen Literature Day (as part of National Library Week).

There are about a gazillion literacy groups with the mission of fostering young children’s literacy and love of reading (who can resist those sweet faces and cute, rhyming books?), but what about the teenagers?  Anyone who has seen, heard, raised or watched one on t.v. knows that teenagers are different.  They are not supersized kids and, even though they look it, they are not all grown up.  As teenagers morph into adult bodies they sort through a swampland of issues, ideas and conflicts as they attempt to form their identity, discover who they are and find some direction.  They can be a little intimidating (on a good day) but they need our support and providing books is one way we can help.  Thousands of under-served teenagers lack access to quality YA books due to physical and mental health problems, poverty and geographic limitations.

Operation Book Drop has come to the rescue.  

On April 14th tens of thousands of new YA books are “dropped” at pediatric hospitals, Native American Reservations and other “surprising” locations.  According to an article in School Library Journal, readergirlz cofounder, Justina Chen Headley, discovered the need in hospitals while writing her book; “while touring my local children's hospital to research my novel, Girl Overboard (Little, Brown, 2008), I couldn't help noticing that teen patients didn't seem to have the comfort objects that the little ones did," she says. "As an author, I knew that YA books—books with exceptional characters and fabulous stories—could provide teen patients with some of the escape and inspiration they needed.”  

The program grew and joined forces with ‘If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything’, a national reading club for Native American children.  Last year 44 organizations around the country received thousands of new YA books thanks to the drop.  

Now readergirlz has added a good Samaritan twist.  Visit their website and download a “Rock the Drop” bookplate that says, “graciously donated by readergirlz and friends for you to enjoy”.  Glue it into your book and then, the fun part, drop the book in a public space (hopefully one that teens might inhabit) and get that warm, fuzzy feeling of altruism.  Readergirlz and figment.com (an online writing community for YAs) are hosting pictures of dropped books to share the fun (you can email a picture of your drop to them if you like).  Check out the video of Micol Ostow and her Boston Terrier rocking the drop in NYC last year.   

What a great idea, don’t you love the thought of all those ‘good’ books dropping into the laps of kids in need?  Can you imagine a teenager finding your book at a bus stop or on a table in Chik-a-filet and tentatively reading the first pages?  What a inspiring way to send a message of hope, caring and power of books.