Bridge to Books

Three years ago today we opened for enrollment! In our first 24 hours, we had over 200 kids enroll. In just a short amount of time, we have gifted over 32,600 books to 2,000 kids in the greater Stillwater area.

Thank you for supporting our mission and spreading the word to your family and friends!

If you have a little one in your life who is not receiving books, enroll them today at https://www.bridgetobooks.com/enroll

Many thanks to The St. Croix Valley Foundation for inviting us to the "Conversations of the Valley: First Thousand Days" presentation. We are honored to play a small part in supporting kids and their families in their first thousand days.

Earlier this year, Bridge to Books received a First Thousand Days grant thanks to the support of generous donors, allowing us to purchase 3,000+ new books for kids in our community!

Join us (virtually!) on June 18th for another "Conversations of the Valley: First Thousand Days." It is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about early brain development in our current landscape.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZIb_fbS0ROqq9inTrPP1qg?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3pBwKLKw3-kZFWD9QGlJrnx5xMDIuV1ORsKG6hFBu1uKTgC3yB0UYQ0U0_aem_AbDTkrttS9Lv660eCjh5U4ohc9q_WjogrCqIqWTILKa1MNONarsFbYLH0CdKlMkoLbtNxHqZpyZL4OfMsgqg8ipr #/registration

Happy Friday! We hope you enjoyed reading Cinderella-With Dogs! as much as Candice and Eleanor. Take a look at some of their favorite moments in this take of the classic story, and learn some tips along the way!

https://www.bridgetobooks.com/blog/cinderella-with-dogs

Send a message to learn more

We are enjoying the first signs of spring!💐🐥 What better book than Birding for Babies to encourage us to take a look around at the sights & sounds of spring around us!

Read along for some great tips and insights on how to engage your little reader in this month's blog!

Birding for Babies Backyard Birds — Bridge to Books by Chloe Goodhart illustrated by Gareth Lucas

Thank you Stillwater Rotary Club for your continued, generous support! Your grant allowed us to provide about 1,000 new books to local kids. Thank you, thank you!

We are pleased to announce that our club has awarded grants to the following local non-profit organizations as well as provided scholarships to graduating high school seniors. Thank you to these organizations who enrich our community!

Bridge to Books - St. Croix Valley Opera - United Way of Washington County - East - Limitless Cycling - Relay For Life of Stillwater - Stillwater Area Public Schools

Come visit us at the Stillwater Early Childhood Family Education baby shower! Come learn about the wonderful resources in our community for families with little ones & enter to win great door prizes. We are here until 3!

Any Llama Llama fans in the group?! Our kids born in 2023 received this book last month, and Candice has more ideas on how to engage while reading. Read along here!

Llama Llama Shapes — Bridge to Books This month’s book pick is Llama Llama Shapes. Illustrations were created by J.T. Morrow, based on the characters created by Anna Dewdney. This book is for our kids born in 2023. Reading our board book this month made me miss reading them to Eleanor when she was younger. Those years fly SO FAST! S

We are excited to be invited back to this wonderful event for new and expecting parents in the district! Come learn about our program and other resources available to you. See you there!

Send a message to learn more

Who received this classic this month?! Read what Candice's four-year-old, Eleanor, took away from it in this month's blog!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears — Bridge to Books February’s book pick is Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett. Children born in 2020 should be receiving this book this month! I'm excited about this pick because I LOVE when I can find a great version of a fairytale. They can sometimes be difficult to find, especially when you're looking fo...

"Hello Imagination Library readers and welcome to the New Year! We’re starting our blog for this year with a Caldecott Honor book, Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer. This beautifully illustrated book is for our older readers and inspires some silly questions for their brains to mull over."

Our favorite children's librarian, Candice, is back with another blog post to enhance your reading experience! This one is for parents of kiddos who received "Wonder Walkers" this month.

Read here👉https://www.bridgetobooks.com/blog/wonder-walkers 👈
👇and let us know in the comments if you received Wonder Walkers this month!👇

Wonder Walkers — Bridge to Books “Do mountains have bones? Are forests the mountains fur? I wonder. Me too.”

It's Give to the Max Day!

With a gift to Bridge to Books, you make an impact in the lives of our youngest community members through FREE monthly books. Provide the gift of literacy with your donation at: https://www.givemn.org/organization/Bridge-To-Books

It's time to Give to the Max! Join us in celebrating with a gift of
📚$25 provides a child with monthly books for a year
📚 $125 will provide monthly books to that child from birth to age 5!

Give now at: https://www.bridgetobooks.com/donate

Give to the Max Day, MN's annual giving holiday, is this THURSDAY! Your gift of any size makes a direct impact on Stillwater area children by
⭐️Giving children access to high-quality books each month
⭐️Encouraging families to spend invaluable time reading together
⭐️Fostering a love of reading from a young age
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Empowering their futures with the lifelong effects of childhood literacy

Make your gift at: https://www.bridgetobooks.com/donate

👀 Keep your eyes peeled! 👀

🎉 Exciting news! Seven Dolly bookmarks are waiting to be found in September's Imagination Library books. 😍 If your child finds the bookmark, they could receive a magical surprise from Dolly herself! Keep an eye out for that special bookmark! 📖 https://bit.ly/3ZefMdV

Thank you to United Way of Washington County - East for being one of our Founding Supporters and for your gift from the Kay Clint Fund. Laurann had the opportunity to present at their Leadership Breakfast this morning. We are so grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful community members!

Have you heard!? Check your kids' books carefully this month for one of Dolly's magical bookmarks! Winners receive an amazing set of prizes, including a video chat with Dolly and 4 tickets to Dollywood!

📚✨ Attention, families! September is , and we have a special surprise for you! Check inside your child's book this month for a chance to find one of seven magical Dolly bookmarks. Your child could receive a video chat with Dolly & more! 🌟
imaginationlibrary.com/200-million-books

Another fun night at Lift Bridge! Thanks to those who came to have a drink with us, those that made a donation, and those that did both. Because of you, we can provide more FREE books to kids in our district!

Dolly will see you at Lift Bridge Brewing Co. Stillwater in 2 DAYS!

This is a family-friendly gathering. We’ll have juice boxes and snacks for the kiddos. The weather is looking great for throwing bags while you sip a refreshing beverage!

And of course, the best part, $1 from every beer/seltzer sale gets donated back to us!

Mark your calendar - 2 weeks!

We are the featured nonprofit for Townie Tuesday on July 11th. The more beer sold, the more books we can provide! Open house style - come when you can, stay as long as you can. Be sure to invite your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers for a fun night out for a great cause. We'll have juice boxes and snacks for the kiddos. See you there!

It's an emotional day at Bridge to Books! 🥹

As you may know, Bridge to Books was started when this little boy's aunt tried to enroll him in the Imagination Library, only to find it was not available in Stillwater. Together, his aunts and mom decided to make it happen: for him, his little brother, and all kids in the Stillwater District. Last night, Jack got his final book from Dolly. He received 20 books from the program since we started just under 2 years ago.

We are so proud of you, Jack! Look out, kindergarten, indeed!

Who else loves this book?! 🥹

Candice shares some ideas on how to talk to kids about their emotions – and ours!

“In our house, we talk about emotions quite often. As a parent, I do my best to be honest when I'm feeling something because I think it helps Eleanor understand that we all feel things, which is completely normal and okay. It's how we react that can be tricky.”

🐰Read more here 👇🏽🐰

The Rabbit Listened — Bridge to Books This month's book pick is The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld. This book happens to be one of my favorite picture books about emotions. Learning about emotions can be tough, especially when you're young, because life can be unpredictable.  In our house, we talk about emotions quite often

It was a beautiful night to support a good cause! Thank you for those that came out to Lift Bridge for Townie Tuesday.

Save the Date - we’ll be back on July 11th!

We'll see you at Lift Bridge Brewery in 4 days!

Join us in congratulating Katie Bang on her Outstanding Volunteer Award! As many of you know, Katie is one of our co-founders and our Treasurer. We cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award. Thank you for all you do for Bridge to Books and our community!

Community Involvement Awards 2023

Outstanding Volunteer Award: Katie Bang - Besides her leadership role in Stillwater Noon Rotary, Katie’s proudest accomplishment is organizing “Bridge for Books”, distributing 10,000 free books to children. She rallied her coworkers to volunteer and organized her family to pack meals at Valley Outreach. She demonstrates how caring for one another is a priority in our community.

Come visit Laurann and Nickie at the Baby Shower from 1-3pm today!

Meet our newly-elected Chair of the Board of Directors, Amanda Padula! Amanda has been with Bridge to Books since its inception, and Bridge to Books is fortunate to have her at the helm of the Board. Amanda shared with us why she serves and her goals for the future in this blog post: https://www.bridgetobooks.com/blog/meetamanda

If you are interested in joining our Board, please message us or apply here: https://forms.gle/wgWaPnfrDjQJvs5y7

Meet Amanda Padula — Bridge to Books Meet the Chair of the Bridge to Books Board of Directors, Amanda Padula!

Join us at Lift Bridge Brewery!

We can't wait to spread the word about the Imagination Library at Stillwater Early Childhood Family Education's Baby Shower event on April 15th! Come learn about all the wonderful services available for your family.

Registration is FREE: https://stillwater.ce.eleyo.com/course/ecfe/5693/summer-2023/stillwater-ecfe-baby-shower