On Monday the 27th, the 2014 “Jingle Book” campaign started. The Jingle Book campaign is a program that gets books to children in kindergarten through third grade. The end goal is to have children become proficient readers by the end of their third grade year.

The coordinator of the campaign, Greta Gissel, said, “If kids who exit third grade are not proficient readers, they tend to struggle in the fourth grade and higher,” in an interview with the Coeur d’Alene Press. You can drop off your donations at collections boxes that you can find at schools, libraries, chambers of commerce, district offices, and businesses around town. Bring your new or gently used books in so that a child in town can hopefully come to realize his or her love for reading.

If you aren’t sure what books kids would enjoy but you still want to donate, you can contact Karen Yother at the Hayden Library for list of appropriate books. Another way to donate is financially. Direct financial contributions can be made to Learning Life Company at:

Learning Life Company c/o Jingle Books, 2900 N. Government Way #51, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83815.

The books will be distributed to the classes during the third week of December, so send them in and get the kids of Coeur d’Alene reading!