CONNECT • INSPIRE • EMPOWER
Who We Are
The Noble Neighbor was founded in 2019 by The Novel Neighbor – a small independent bookstore in St. Louis County.
Bookstore’s owner Holland Saltsman saw firsthand how meeting an author can spark a love of reading in kids, and encourage them to explore their own writing and creative expression.
But to many publishers, author visits only make economic sense where they are likely to sell more books. It’s a fundamental inequity that disproportionately hurts kids in lower-income communities, especially children of color.
Holland was inspired to do something to address this problem when Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor came to St. Louis to promote her middle grade book, The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor, securing a donation from a loyal customer so that copies of the book could be donated to a systemically underserved school.
Since that first event, The Noble Neighbor has expanded our reach year over year. To date, we’ve given away over 19,000 free books (and counting!) to kids across the St. Louis region, hosting author visits from beloved writers like Jacqueline Woodson, and Katherine Applegate; celebrated illustrators like Christian Robinson and St. Louis’s own Cbabi Bayoc; athletes like NBA superstar Chris Paul and trailblazing Olympian Simi Adeagbo; and even celebrities like TV host and actor Terry Crews.
In 2023, we hosted our first arena-sized event, partnering with St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature to host 1500 area schoolchildren at the Chaifetz Arena for an event featuring literary superstar Jason Reynolds and award-winning illustrators The Pumphrey Brothers.
The Noble Neighbor is founded on the principle that every child should have access to books they love and the authors who write them – because children’s access to knowledge, joy, and inspiration should not be limited by their zip code. WE WORK TO:
CONNECT kids with specially-selected books and author visits that get them excited about reading;
EMPOWER children through programming that strengthens reading and writing skills, and boosts their confidence and sense of self-worth; and
INSPIRE kids to be the authors of their own life stories: to explore their own imagination, find their creative voice, and follow their dreams.
Board Members
The Noble Neighbor partners with schools, community centers/organizations, and other arts/literacy nonprofits to execute events. Without our programming, the kids we engage are far less likely to experience author visits: publishers typically only send authors to more affluent schools.
They are also far less likely to have access to books: an estimated 61 percent of kids in low-income households have zero age-appropriate books at home, and the schools and public libraries in their neighborhoods have far fewer books than wealthier communities. What books they do have are often older and most are written by/about white people.
- 84% of events have occurred in St. Louis City and Northern St. Louis County
- All school partners in St. Louis City and County are in Promise Zones and/or receive Title I funding
- 90% of students are non-white
SCHOOLS/DISTRICTS:
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- SLPS
- Normandy Collaborative
- Ferguson-Florissant
- Riverview Gardens
- University City
- Hazelwood
- Ritenour
- Pattonville
- City Academy
- East St. Louis
- Fox
- Afton, IL
- DeSoto, IL
OTHER:
- The Legacy Center (Normandy)
- St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature/Believe Projects
- The Community Impact Network (Normandy)
- Harris Stowe State University
- The Legacy Center (Normandy)
- Ready Readers
- The St. Louis County Juvenile Detention Center
- Turn The Page STL
- Metro Theater
- St. Louis City Public Library
- St. Louis County Public Library
The Noble Neighbor is organized around a central, fundamental principle of equity: EVERY child should have access to books they love and the authors who write them.
Just as importantly, we believe every child of color should have access to books written BY and ABOUT people who look and sound like them. We design our events so the students we engage – 90% of whom are children of color – see themselves reflected in the books they take home AND the artists who create them.
“Thank you so much for allowing us to host Zetta Elliott. So many students wanted to share their writing with me after listening to Zetta Elliott speak. Most of my students now say that they now see themselves as writers.”
Stephanie Goh, Librarian at Combs Intermediate School (3-5th grade), Ferguson/Florissant School District