Ethan & Choco's Book Club

Striving to make access to books and reading a core part of the care that SuperKids receive in the hospital, with the principal premise that literacy support for children fighting cancer and other life-threatening conditions can help promote cognitive development and social connections that are part of thriving through treatment and beyond


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A Successful Morning at PCRF’s Reaching for the Cure!

We had so much fun at Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation’s Reaching for the Cure race this morning. What a terrific event for such an important cause. It was really amazing to see so many people at one event all supporting pediatric cancer– MANY running for family or friends or even themselves who are currently battling cancer, survived cancer, or are no longer here. Ethan did a great job managing the spin wheel and giving out books and prizes while also sharing the mission of ECBC and spreading the word about BOOK IT! #2 (which will be on September 8th, 2019). A big thanks to Barry Ackerman/KIDS READ! for helping with our booth and providing gently used books to hand out to kids!

Ethan and I enjoyed walking the 5K as well, and we were especially thrilled when we realized that the event’s AWESOMELY ENERGETIC MC Andrea Kooiman is who we just hired to MC at BOOK IT 2019!!!


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Ethan’s September Title Talk (and August Thank-Yous)

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month! In honor of Ethan and his efforts to help kids thrive through treatment by creating a reading program and library at CHOC Children’s Library, please consider donating a special book or two! In this video, Ethan mentions why childhood cancer awareness month is so important, and he provides the list of ten books that he hopes are donated in the month of September. Please consider donating! You can do so by clicking on the link to ECBC’s Amazon Wish list which sends books directly to ECBC (click here), or by visiting Once Upon a Storybook in Tustin, which collects books that customers purchase to donate to ECBC. We need hardcover (for the permanent lending library) and paperback (for the Gifting Library for kids in isolation and for give-away events) versions of every book!

Thank you all so much for your donations!  We’re starting to get more books into the hands of patients, so we need the books to keep on coming!!

Click here for Ethan’s September Title Talk video.
Click here to purchase books to donate off our Amazon Wish List.


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ECBC’s Super Book Give-Away Was a Success!

ECBC had a terrific afternoon yesterday at our FIRST Super Book Give-Away alongside MaxLove Project at CHOC Children’s Hospital! We gave away approximately 70 books to hospitalized kids and their siblings, with our youngest recipient being 22 months and our oldest being a 14-year old boy who said he was allergic to reading but then found a book about Alcatraz that he walked away with eagerly. A CHOC nurse walked by and commented, “It is so great to see books in our lobby, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that!” And a parent of an oncology patient snuck away with a pile of books and whispered to me, “I have to home school my child now, but I always forget to bring books to the hospital. It is just never on my radar.” Both of these remarks confirm why we’re so passionate about ECBC’s mission to bring books and reading to hospitalized kids! It was so fun to put books in kids’ hands, see them reading in the lobby, and watch them walk away excitedly with a new book about a topic of interest!

Because we’re still waiting to get through CHOC’s lengthy volunteer on-boarding process in order to start “Reading Aloud in Every Room” (our bedside reading program), we are working on other ways to get books into the hands of patients NOW! We plan to join MaxLove Project regularly for their monthly BeSuper parties at CHOC, and we are working on setting up other ways to bring reading to CHOC as well (ways that don’t require volunteer approval). To be able to gift books to kids at these events, we need the new books to keep coming in — so PLEASE keep donating if you can. Here’s the link to our Wish List on Amazon — books purchased from this list will be sent directly to ECBC. 

Thank you to Kids READ!, Saddleback Educational Publishing, and PBS SoCal for providing the books for this event!


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Ethan loved delivering a special Read+Think+Thrive Box today!

Ethan was SO happy to drop off a Read+Think+Thrive (RTT) Box for his fellow Leukemia Warrior buddy Carter at CHOC today! After 648 days of treatment, Carter found out two weeks ago that his Leukemia relapsed — so he is now back inpatient and starting this battle all over again at Day 1. Ethan received chemo at the Outpatient Infusion Center this afternoon, and then we walked the box over to the hospital lobby to be delivered to Carter’s room (we could not personally deliver it, since Ethan is immuno-compromised and Carter is in isolation).  Ethan was super proud of this box, because he got to personally curate the variety of great titles that went in it — including picture books, beginning chapter books, and a family chapter book read aloud. 

Books and reading gave Ethan more opportunities to think hard, connect with others, and travel to other worlds while he was in the hospital. What a joy it is to be able to share this with other kids!!

We’re behind you Carter!  READ, THINK, AND THRIVE!!!

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Carter opening the RTT Box after waking up from his spinal tap!!!


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Ethan’s May 2017 Title Talk (and April Thank-You’s)

Twins Amie and Aidan give ECBC a HUGE donation of new books in honor of their birthday!!!

Here’s Ethan’s May 2017 Title Talk (#5), the list of books he hopes will be donated to ECBC in the month of May! Please donate hardcover (for the permanent Lending Library) or paperback (for the Gifting Library for kids in isolation) versions of these books, or any new book, from ECBC’s Amazon Wish List and help us build a library at CHOC Children’s Hospital! Books will be sent directly to ECBC. The link to the wish list is: https://amzn.com/w/BLD7UEVPPPO

This awesome little Once Upon a Storybook customer is donating a book to ECBC in honor of her friend’s birthday!

In this video, Ethan also thanks all of our April book donors, including: Mrs. Stephanie Lukkes and her 2nd grade class, children’s author Salina Yoon for donating so many of her own books, 8-year-old twins Amie and Aidan for donating 138 new books rather than receiving birthday gifts, and of course Once Upon a Storybook for their ongoing monthly donations!  

Click here for Ethan’s May Title Talk video.
Click here to purchase books to donate off our Amazon Wish List.


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Ethan’s Book Flash #3, Book Scavenger (by Jennifer Bertman)

Here’s Ethan’s Book Flash #3, his request for a specific title that he wants to make sure is in the library that ECBC is building at CHOC Children’s Hospital! Please check out his video and consider donating this book or any of the other books on the ECBC Wish List on Amazon (link below).  Books purchased from this list will be sent directly to ECBC.  Thank you!

 

 

Click HERE for Book Flash #3.

Click HERE to go to ECBC’s Wish List on Amazon.


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Thank you Arroyo Ripple Kids for supporting ECBC!

Third grade Girl Scout Trop #3307 selling their unicorn-themed treats

Ethan, Caleb, and their buddies selling their homemade “Light Jars”

Maddy and her friends selling homemade “Stuff to Squish” — stress balls and slime!

Sophie Hsu, Sophie Ly-Pang, and Colin successfully selling the awesome clay charm jewelry they made!

These awesome kiddos did an amazing job raising money for ECBC at the Arroyo Ripple Kids Fair this week! Their unicorn-themed goodies, handmade clay charm jewelry, light jars, and “stuff to squish” brought in over $600 — thank you for helping to bring books and reading to hospitalized kids in our community!


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Ethan’s April 2017 Title Talk (and March Thank-You’s)

Here’s Ethan’s April 2017 Title Talk (#4), the list of books he hopes will be donated to ECBC in the month of April! Please donate hardcover (for the permanent Lending Library) or paperback (for the Gifting Library for kids in isolation) versions of these books, or any new book, from ECBC’s Amazon Wish List and help us build a library at CHOC Children’s Hospital! Books will be sent directly to ECBC. The link to the wish list is: https://amzn.com/w/BLD7UEVPPPO

Ethan with his teacher Mrs. Kelly and the box of books he just received from his class’s Scholastic book order!

Ethan with a box of fantastic books from DOGO Books!

A huge thank you to everyone who donated books in the month of March! And thank you so much to Once Upon a Storybook, Girl Scout Troop #3152, Mrs. Suzanne Tarnay Kelly and her 4th grade class, and DOGO Books for their super generous donations in the month of March!

Click here for Ethan’s April Title Talk video.
Click here to purchase books to donate off our Amazon Wish List.


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Ethan’s Book Flash #2, Save Me a Seat (by Sarah Weeks)

Here’s Ethan’s Book Flash #2, his request for a specific title that he wants to make sure is in the library that ECBC is building at CHOC Children’s Hospital! Please check out his video and consider donating this book or any of the other books on the ECBC Wish List on Amazon (link below).  Books purchased from this list will be sent directly to ECBC.  Thank you!

 

Click HERE for Book Flash #2.

Click HERE to go to ECBC’s Wish List on Amazon.


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Troop #3152 is Holding a Book Drive at Once Upon a Storybook, Sunday 12:30-5:30

Thank you Girl Scout Troop #3152 for teaming up with Ethan & Choco’s Book Club for your Bronze Award project!!  This awesome troop is holding a book drive to benefit ECBC at Once Upon a Storybook this Sunday from 12:30-5:30. A portion of every book sale between these hours will go to ECBC if you mention Troop 3152 at checkout. Please come by to support the troop’s efforts, ECBC, and our wonderful local bookstore!!

Please re-post and share!

 

Click here to view the troop’s ECBC BookFair Flyer.

Click here to view the troop’s You Tube video.