Our Programs

Classic Red Book Bag Program

Raising a Reader’s evidence-based Classic Red Book Bag Program fosters family bonding moments and develops critical literacy and social emotional skills through shared reading.

How it Works

Every week, children bring home a Red Book Bag filled with award-winning, multicultural books.

The caring adults in their lives read with them regularly, creating shared reading routines. These efforts are supported by easy-to-use materials and training to help families make the most of shared reading time and moments with their children. Families are connected with libraries to maintain the habit of borrowing and sharing books, long after the program is complete.

Classic Red Book Bag Program materials are meant to be used year-after year. The initial investment is designed to last for up to seven years.

The Raising a Reader book collection includes 3,000 books with titles in 13 languages.

Supporting Families

The book rotation is paired with parent training on how to effectively share books together with their children while instilling a love of learning.

Families are also connected with their local libraries to continue building a lifelong habit of reading.

Supporting Educators

The supportive community of practice provides training, coaching, peer learning, and professional development.

The program also provides turnkey materials that are easily incorporated into early literacy curricula.

Start a Program

Join the Community

With more than 3,000 implementation sites across the country, we reach over 150,000 children and their families through 286 Affiliate and program partners across the US—every year!

HOW TO START A PROGRAM