Soft Cloth Books

These are books generally made of cloth that can be crinkled, twisted or chewed, and are especially popular with the babies who want to put things in their mouths.  We greatly appreciate any donation in this category, as they are generally more expensive.  (Due to health regulations, hand-made books cannot be accepted.)

Board Books

Board books are stiff and have thick cardboard pages, and are typically geared toward infants and toddlers. These are some of our most often picked books.

  • Lift-the-flap
  • Touch-and-feel
  • Books that make noise
  • ABC, alphabet or animal
  • Books by Eric Carle
  • Books by Sandra Boynton
  • books by Karen Katz

Picture Books

These books have paper pages and either a hard or soft cover. Our biggest need is for those books with popular characters that the children know and thus bring them comfort.

  • Dr. Seuss books
  • Dora the Explorer
  • Disney, including princesses, pirates and movie characters
  • Thomas the Tank Engine
  • Clifford the Big Red Dog
  • Sesame Street
  • Curious George
  • Any book about cars, trains, planes, animals, super heroes, princesses and fairies
  • Book that are current movies

Read Aloud Books

This category includes books that parents might read to their children, specifically babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  Many times, parents can't hold their child, so it is soothing for a child to hear a parent read one of these classics:

  • Good Night Moon
  • Runaway Bunny
  • Love You Forever
  • Guess How Much I Love You
  • On The Night You Were Born
  • Any book about a parent's love
  • Nursery rhymes and bedtime stories

Young Adult / Chapter Books

These books generally include chapters and are for kids to read on their own.

  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, Dork Diaries
  • Anything currently/recently playing in a movie theater
  • Sports figure biographies (especially the Colts)
  • Guinness Book of World Records
  • Fun/scary/gross/weird/true/amazing facts
  • Any current teen best seller
  • Books by Sarah Dessen, James Patterson, Rick Riordan, Richard Paul Evans

Activity Books

These books can often keep the kids entertained with things to do when they may not be feeling up to reading.

  • Stickers
  • Puzzles, Mazes and Dot to Dot
  • Coloring, including adult
  • How to draw
  • Joke books

Gift Cards

Gift cards to any store that sells books would also be appreciated.

  • Barnes & Noble
  • Walmart
  • Amazon

Things to Remember When Choosing Books

When choosing books for Kate’s Kart, please remember that it is our goal that these books bring an enjoyable distraction to the children in the hospital.  We encourage you to select “fun” books with popular characters that the children love and adore.  These characters bring an amazing sense of security and comfort to the children during a very frightening time.  We also ask that these books be BRAND NEW and recently purchased from the store.  It is our goal to provide a meaningful gift to a child, as well as keep germs associated with used books as far away from the hospital as possible.  We would prefer 1 high quality book over 10 smaller books from dollar stores. Thank you!

Like To Shop On Amazon?

Do you like to shop online at amazon.com? If so, please view our curated Wish List on Amazon to purchase the books we are in need of most! When purchasing books from this wishlist, you can have the books shipped directly to our office.  You will need to fill in the below address.

Kate's Kart
10376 Leo Road, Suite A
Fort Wayne, IN 46825

View Amazon Wish List