Donate books to StoryCycle
Give your pre-loved children's books a new purpose. Discover how your donations help improve literacy and reduce waste by supporting primary schools across the UK.
Why donate your books to StoryCycle?
With StoryCycle, your donated books don't just disappear into a general resale system. They are carefully checked, curated, and put directly into literacy packs for schools, where they can support multiple children over time.
Donors can see a clear purpose: their children’s outgrown books are reused to improve access to reading, reduce waste, and help classrooms that may not be able to afford fresh books.
What books can you donate?
We’re especially looking for high-quality books for children aged 1–10, including picture books, rhyming books, phonics and early readers, fiction, non-fiction, science and nature books, vocabulary books, wellbeing stories, and diverse children’s books.
We can only accept books that are clean, complete, and in good condition.
We cannot take books that are:
- Ripped, stained, mouldy, or heavily damaged
- Missing pages
- Scribbled in
- Outdated or inappropriate
- Filled-in activity or handwriting books
- Religious or political books unless specifically requested
- Books aimed mainly at teenagers or adults
The best donations are books another child would be excited to receive.
How to donate your books
The easiest way to donate is to complete our short book-donation form and tell us roughly how many books you have.
For smaller donations, books can be dropped at one of our local collection points.
For larger donations from schools, businesses, or community groups, we can arrange a collection where possible.
All donated books should be boxed or bagged securely and be suitable for children aged 1–10.
The journey of a donated book
Once books reach StoryCycle, they go through a simple quality and curation process to ensure they make the biggest impact in classrooms.
1. Checked
We inspect every book and remove anything damaged, incomplete, or unsuitable.
2. Cleaned and prepared
Suitable books are cleaned, labelled, and made classroom-ready.
3. Sorted
Books are organised by age, year group, reading level, subject, and literacy purpose.
4. Curated into packs
We build balanced packs containing fiction, non-fiction, vocabulary, science, wellbeing, and reading-for-pleasure books.
5. Delivered to schools
The finished packs are sent to classrooms, where children can explore and enjoy them throughout the term.
6. Reused again
At the end of the term, rotating packs are collected, checked, and prepared for their next school, helping each book reach more children.
Ready to make a difference?
Help us get more high-quality children's books into schools. Complete our quick donation form today.