Founded in 2007, The Children's Book Bank is a national charitable organization designed to support children's literacy in lower income neighbourhoods by enabling children to select and own books at no cost.

Through its first Toronto location at 350 Berkeley Street, The Children's Book Bank offers a range of gently used and new books secured through donation, school and community book drives. Staffed by volunteers and working within the community, The Children's Book Bank focuses on the literacy needs of children aged 2-12 and works to support and develop each child's interest in and success with reading. In addition to providing books, The Children's Book Bank offers literacy support and programming.

Why a Children's Book Bank?

Many children in Canada do not own their own books. Studies show that while reading and book ownership correlate to higher levels of childhood literacy, large numbers of Canadian low-income families do not purchase books.

At the same time, there are many Canadian families and organizations with large numbers of quality children's books that they have outgrown or cannot use. Because there is no easy mechanism for disposing of used books, they wind up in landfill or the recycling system.

The Children's Book Bank addresses these issues by:

• Putting books into the hands of children who need them most.
• Providing children with a safe and welcoming environment where they can experience the joy of books.
• Supporting responsible recycling by providing a second home for gently used books.
• Promoting community sharing through a book collection model (book drives) adopted by our participating schools and organizations.

A Visit to The Children's Book Bank

A visit to The Children's Book Bank is much like a visit to a familiar and well loved children's book store except that the books are free of charge. Children are permitted to take one book per visit, and there is no limit on the number of visits a child can make. The books are stamped to indicate that they are a gift from The Children’s Book Bank and are not for re-sale.

Our Books

The Children's Book Bank offers a wide range of quality books including fiction, non-fiction, story, and picture books. These books are available free of charge to the children who visit. Books are obtained through ongoing community and private donation. The Children's Book Bank relies on the support of schools and other local community organizations to ensure the steady supply of a wide range of gently used books of interest to all children from pre-school through Grade Six.

Literacy Support for Children and Their Parents

Trained volunteers work to assist the children in selecting appropriate books and are available to read with them. The Children's Book Bank also offers informal literacy programs to complement and enhance ongoing community literacy initiatives. Group visits from local schools and community organizations are available upon request.

Recycling Books - A Win-Win For You and The Environment

The Children's Book Bank is committed to a program of recycling to sustain its inventory. Recycling saves trees, water, oil, landfill space and energy. By sending gently used books to The Children's Book Bank, not only are you helping to sustain our environment, you are also helping other children to experience the joy of reading, and helping them to build their confidence and success with literacy skills.

For information on School or Community Book Drives or Book Donation please go to How To Donate.

Community Service and Partnering Opportunities

The Children's Book Bank provides a wide range of community service opportunities for adults and children. School and community book drives provide a great opportunity for all children to become involved in a "hands on" community service activity and encourage community spirit and responsible recycling.