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Book Vending Machines in Schools
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message 2:
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Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
(last edited Mar 26, 2022 06:50PM)
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I see one of the Clementine books in there, too.
Excellent list.
Cheryl is busier irl atm. wrote: "Oh fantastic - I'm guessing that it's also motivating simply because it's *fun* to operate a vending machine.I see one of the Clementine books in there, too.
Excellent list."
Oh yes especially for the littles! I hope the local paper follows up in a few months to see how the program worked and if they'll continue it in the fall.
It's a success so far! The teachers stocked it from their Scholastic book points and covered it in brown paper overnight. When they unveiled it, some kids were disapointed it wasn't chips but many were excited. The principal says “Everything we do is based on reading here and it’s extremely important. Reading is fundamental, if you’re a good reader, you’re going to succeed in every subject matter whether you start in kindergarten and go all the way up to high school and that’s what we want for our students.”
Two years ago a teacher sent her an email with a link to something she had never seen before. A vending machine that dispensed books instead of soda or snacks.
“I said, ‘Boy, wouldn’t it be fantastic to bring this to our school because it’s another way to put books in the hands of kids,’’ said the principal.
State grants and additional funds from the School Department made the idea a reality.
“It sends a positive message and when you press those keys that machine also says, 'Great job, keep reading and working hard' it’s just another positive way to keep kids learning that might not have access to things all the time and this is an exciting way.”
Before stocking the vending machine they spoke with students about what kind of books they’re interested in.
“It holds about 125-130 books, so the trays are different sizes, the tops you’ll see there’s novels for the older kids, then the bottom trays, the coils, are a little bit bigger for younger children to have different size books.
AND... the students are sharing their books with their siblings. Many of the kids have thanked the teachers, stating they don't have books at home. (Books Are Wings collects and gives out gently used books in the underserved communities.)
The comments from the kids are cute.
“I saw that vending machine there I’m like what’s that?”’ said a 1st grader, “I think, oh that’s so cool I want one.”
“There are books that I’ve never seen before and I think it's cool, I want one,” said a 2nd grader.
“I’m going to try my best but I don’t know which one to get,” said a 3rd grader. “It’s cool because if you try your best you can get a book”
“I like it cause you get to earn stuff and this is the reason I really like it, not a lot of parents have too much money to like kids who don't have books they can earn a coin and get a book,” said a 1st grader.
Principal B said so far it's had a positive impact on everyone.
Even the older kids are going by, excited that they got a coin.
“I thought, 'I want to earn that', you know. I’ve just seen regular vending machines not like this,” said a 4th grader. “I like that they wanted to encourage us to read more.”
“Once I saw this I was like. ‘Woah, that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” said a 5th grader. “My teachers are really caring, they really care for us and our mental state and how we do stuff in this school especially with this.”
Books in stock include the ones I mentioned above and the following
The Shackleton Sabotage
Lost in the Tunnel of Time
The kids look so happy in the photos from the local news. All the city schools are way underperforming and rated among the lowest in the state so this is very encouaging and heartwarming to see them so excited about reading.
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Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
(last edited Apr 03, 2022 01:09PM)
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How heartwarming; y' all have made my day. :)
Books Are Wings was mentioned.
This is their website: https://www.booksarewings.org/
I wonder if other states/regions have similar programs....
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Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
(last edited Apr 03, 2022 01:12PM)
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(We're moving to Oklahoma this week, so I checked there.) I found https://www.treesforbooks.com/ which looks fabulous.
Cheryl is busier irl atm. wrote: "Ok, I decided to check. I simply googled "how to donate books to children in oklahoma"(We're moving to Oklahoma this week, so I checked there.) I found https://www.treesforbooks.com/ which looks f..."
That sounds great! What a wonderful idea. Good luck with the move.
I'm waiting to hear about the Books Are Wings book drive. I e-mailed them to see if I can donate more books to the kids in the community.
More schools are adding book vending machines. A teacher in Chicago is held a fundraiser to get money to restock the machine and met her goal. woohoo!Same story as the one here- kids who don't have access to books at home. Even better than the bookworm is a customized machine designed by the teacher with photos of students because she felt it was important kids saw themselves represented!
Wright said it’s important of nurture a child’s interest in reading and emphasized “the value of putting a book in a child’s hand.”
“When my kids were young, I read up to 10 books a night with them, and both of my children went into literary careers,” Wright said. “I started reading with them when they were little. Since they’ve learned to read themselves, I’ve hardly seen them without a book in their hands, and they’re in their 20s now.
“If we can put books in kids’ hands when they’re young, the idea is that these books will guide them through their next journeys in life and help them stay out of trouble.”
https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/02/...
https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/02/...
These have really caught on! They're now in all 50 states. The kids sound so excited.Inspired by a Buffalo Public School's request, Global Vending Group has now shipped custom book vending machines to all fifty states.
https://www.wgrz.com/article/entertai...
message 10:
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Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
(last edited Jul 16, 2025 05:47PM)
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Lots of schools have these now. I haven't heard any feedback about the one in my neighborhood. They have a Little Free Library outside their school and next door is a charter school (two schools in one building) that has two little free book boxes- one elementary and one middle/high/adult. The special thing about the vending machine is the books are brand new and that's apparently important to children who don't have books at home.
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Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Lost in the Tunnel of Time (other topics)The Talented Clementine (other topics)
The Talented Clementine (other topics)
Ralph S. Mouse (other topics)
Restart (other topics)
More...
The students are given a golden token as a reward for good behavior, attendance, etc. and they use the token to "buy" a book.
Here's the machine.
https://www.globalvendinggroup.com/bo...
I'm seeing the following books in the school's machine right now
Ralph S. Mouse
Restart
The Bad Guys: Episode 3: The Furball Strikes Back
Chrysanthemum
Meet Yasmin!
I can't make out the others but it looks like they're geared towards K-3. This school- all the public schools in my city- have a high percentage of English language learners and I think this school also has special ed. I hope the program is successful in introducing a love of reading to urban children who may not otherwise have access to books.