Winners Are Not Born; They Are Replied To

Congratulations to Andrew J., our first Breadline Books winner, a brave and honorable pioneer in the world of free book-getting. Andrew has chosen to receive Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and not for his own reading pleasure (or so he says) but for his free bookstore he operates from an empty classroom in his daughter's elementary school. A free bookstore. Sort of like this. Ironic, and very cool.

I sat down with Andrew (metaphorically) for an interview (one question), and here's how he answered:

"My book selection is for my daughter's elementary school's 'free bookstore' that we opened in January. I buy used books for 25 cents from a variety of sources, organizing and displaying them on shelves in our best attempt to create a bookstore-like experience. Students earn gold-colored "book bucks" as both an admission ticket and payment for the book they choose.

"I selected Diary of a Wimpy Kid for this contest because it's the most-requested book by our students and the hardest book for us to obtain. The first book was published in 2007, and copies won't be showing up en masse at yard sales for a few years. The second Wimpy Kid movie debuted in March, making the books just that more popular. It's a graphic novel with cartoonish illustrations, and some educators might turn their noses up at it, but my view is that anything that gets kids excited about reading is gold."

Check out Andrew's awesome blog, Thingamababy, and be ready for more information on how you can help support Andrew's bookstore.


One other note: The drawing for the final book of the March Breadline is still taking submissions until the end of the month, so keep sending in those requests! Chances of winning right now are one in twenty-two. Not Bad!