We’ve Made the Investment. We Have the Books Ready. We Just Need Help To Put Books Into the Hands of Arkansas Children.

Twenty-seven years ago, from the humble beginnings of a garage and a dream, our family opened the doors of Once Upon a Time Books with one simple belief: Books change lives.

Since then, that belief has grown and seen new and exciting adaptations. Now, all these years later, we have three bookstores, two warehouses, a bookmobile, have given millions of books a second chance, hosted school book fairs, donated hundreds of thousands of books to various organizations throughout our beautiful Natural State, and become a place where families throughout Northwest Arkansas – and customers around the world – have discovered their next favorite book.

We've watched children who first visited us from our earliest days of warehouse shopping, grow up and return with children of their own. We've celebrated first books, rare discoveries, and countless conversations between strangers brought together by a shared love of reading, collecting, and preservation of history and, most importantly, literacy.

Today, we're asking for something we never imagined we'd need to ask: we’re asking for help.

We could wax poetic about the nature of the book industry – used books in particular – and how much bookstores struggle, how difficult it is to keep people engaged with a tactile and tangible reading experience when the age of instant gratification and ever shorter attention spans continues to overtake our culture. But you already know how that story goes. In some ways, it’s our story, as much as it is anyone else who sets out to find discarded books a new purpose, a new home. Selling books isn’t about the money. If it was, then we and anyone else who has ever set out with that goal in mind would be sorely disappointed. Our mission has always been one of a single unified purpose: keep people reading and keep books in circulation. If we can continue to accomplish that every day, then that dream we set out with can live on.

And that’s where we need your help.

Last month, we applied and were selected to run an investment campaign through Honeycomb Credit. We saw this as an opportunity to creatively involve our community in securing funding for not only the future of Once Upon a Time Books, but to help with the investment into the Great Arkansas Book Giveaway. Folks were able to invest at a starting amount of $100, which was set by Honeycomb, not us. We received complaints from our community that the interface was hard to use, that it was incredibly difficult to go through signing up and through the investment process, and that the barrier of entry was simply too high – and we agreed!

We recognize that money is hard to talk about and that asking for money is even harder, but we have pivoted and chosen to do a GoFundMe campaign for a few reasons:

1. A donation of ANY denomination matters! Each person can make a huge difference. We have a massive community and if everyone donated even just $5 or $10, we would hit our goal and it would be a huge weight off our shoulders.

2. Our messaging, on our terms. We have full control of how we present ourselves and run this fundraising campaign.

3. We get to rely solely on our community. To keep things as personal and as close to home as we always have.

So, that was a lot of background and long-winded reasons for why you’re reading this. But what do you expect from a family all about reading and literacy?

We need your help to keep the shelves stocked, the lights on, our doors open, and to continue to help make, not only NWA, but the whole state of Arkansas moving in the right direction for education and literacy. Because our belief has never changed (and it never will), but books change lives, so we ask you, humbly, to help change ours.

A Dream Bigger Than Our Bookstores

Over the past several years, we've invested heavily in what we believe is the most important work we've ever undertaken. We started with opening a portion of our warehouse to the public with kids books that folks would literally dig through to find hidden gems. And even before that, we began partnering with schools and education communities to help host and curate book fairs as far as 50 miles out. As of today, we have branched out as far as 125 miles for those book fairs.

Today, nearly half a million children's books sit on our warehouse shelves, carefully sorted and ready to be placed into the hands of children across Arkansas. We've built a Bookmobile. We've expanded our warehouses. We've created the infrastructure to bring free books directly into elementary schools throughout Northwest Arkansas, the Arkansas River Valley, as well as communities across the entire state.

We believed so strongly in this vision that we invested first, and Once Upon a Time Books’ viability depends on the mission of the Great Arkansas Book Giveaway.

Building this program has required enormous resources, and those investments – combined with the challenges facing independent bookstores everywhere – have placed tremendous financial pressure on our business.

The reality is both simple and deeply personal: The future of Once Upon a Time Books is now closely tied to the future of the Great Arkansas Book Giveaway. We're not asking for help because we've given up. We're asking because we believe this dream is worth fighting for.

We've already done the hard part. The books are here. The Bookmobile is ready. Now we need your help putting those books into children's hands.

What is The Great Arkansas Book Giveaway?

Our vision is simple: We want every child in Arkansas to experience the joy of choosing books they can truly call their own. Through our Bookmobile, we visit elementary schools and transform an ordinary school day into a celebration of reading. Every student is invited aboard and encouraged to choose books that interest them – not books assigned to them, but books they are excited to read, take home, and keep forever.

For many children, these will be the very first books they have ever owned. Research consistently shows that children who grow up with books in their homes are more likely to become lifelong readers.

We believe every child deserves that opportunity.

Here's How You Can Help

For every book funded through a community donation, Once Upon a Time Books will match that book for book. Together, that allows us to visit an elementary school and place twice as many books into the hands of every Arkansas student.

For every $1,000 raised, we will be able to host a school’s Bookmobile event where each student gets to pick out books to keep at home.

Your gift doesn't simply fund a program.

It gives a child the opportunity to say, "These are my books."

Why This Matters

When children own books:

• They read more.

• Their confidence grows.

• Families read together.

• Teachers gain eager readers.

• Communities become stronger.

We want to be clear: this isn’t just a mission to save a bookstore. If all we wanted was to keep our doors open, we probably wouldn't be asking. We're asking because we've reached a point where preserving Once Upon a Time Books means preserving something much larger than ourselves. It means putting books into the hands of children who might never own one.

It means keeping our Bookmobile on the road. It means transforming nearly half a million books waiting on our warehouse shelves into stories that inspire children for years to come.

When you support this campaign, you're helping plan for and support the future of Once Upon a Time Books, but more importantly, so we can help keep books accessible, affordable, and foster a love of reading for thousands of Arkansas children.

Become a Once Upon a Time Bookworm

To put it simply: too many books, not enough worms!

If Once Upon a Time Books has ever helped you find the perfect book...

If your child discovered a love of reading in our aisles...

If you've found a hidden treasure on our shelves...

Or if you simply believe every child deserves books of their own...

Then we invite you to become one of our Bookworms.

Whether your gift is $5, $10, $20 or beyond, you're helping write the next chapter, not only for Once Upon a Time Books, but for generations of Arkansas children.

Together, we can build a generation of readers.

Thank you for believing in books.

Thank you for believing in children.

Thank you for believing in this dream.

Thank you for believing in us.

With gratitude,

The Giezentanner Family

No sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations made to this campaign.