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A smiling boy with brown skin and curly dark hair reads a picture book on a couch
A smiling boy with brown skin and curly dark hair reads a picture book on a couch

Literacy Works!

Magic happens when children see themselves in stories.

Our mission is to bring joy, learning, and empowerment to children in Roxbury, by building home libraries, supporting educators, and strengthening literacy in our community.

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Our Story

We’ve run Changing Minds Bookstore (formerly Frugal Bookstore) for nearly twenty years in Roxbury, the historic Black heart of Boston.

Everyone benefits when they read. And reading can be life-changing for young people when they see themselves on a book’s cover and dive into their story.

Since our first years, we have always donated books to children through schools and libraries and housing developments. In 2025, we partnered with a national philanthropic organization to expand that work.

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Please help us Build home libraries.

Your support will help fund workshops, memberships, reading groups. Join us to show that, Literacy Works!

Warm editorial photography of a mother and her three-year-old child sitting on a cozy rug, sharing a large picture book under soft, diffused morning window light, shallow depth of field, 35mm film.
Warm editorial photography of a mother and her three-year-old child sitting on a cozy rug, sharing a large picture book under soft, diffused morning window light, shallow depth of field, 35mm film.
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Mission‑Forward

Nurturing early habits at home

In late 2025, Frugal Bookstore received generous funding from a national philanthropic organization to support what we consider the heart and soul of our business “Changing Minds One Book at A Time," by highlighting books written by authors of color, focusing on representation. All people benefit from the stories and information they read in books but when children/young people, see themselves on the cover and read about themselves in a book, it is life changing

Rooted in Changing Minds’ community trust and powered by Literacy Works’ mission to expand literacy equity, the Home Library Initiative transforms reading from a school‑based skill into a home‑anchored habit. It ensures that every child, especially in our neighborhoods, begins at HOME with a library that reflects them, affirms them, and grows with them.

Close-up of a father's hand and a toddler's small fingers pointing together at colorful illustrations in a worn, well-loved children's book, cozy warm lighting, soft muted earth tones.
Close-up of a father's hand and a toddler's small fingers pointing together at colorful illustrations in a worn, well-loved children's book, cozy warm lighting, soft muted earth tones.

THE EVOLUTION STORY”

Frugal Bookstore grew into Changing Minds Bookstore — and now Literacy Works

Three names. One mission— One Book at a Time

Our Story—From Frugal Bookstore to Literacy Works

For nearly twenty years, our bookstore has been rooted in one belief: change begins with a book. As we evolved into Changing Minds Bookstore, we expanded that legacy with a renewed focus on representation, empowerment, and access. Literacy Works is the next chapter in that story — the non-profit initiative that transforms our bookstore’s values into programs that build home libraries, support educators, and strengthen literacy to ensure every child has books that reflect their identity, history, and possibilities.

We haven’t closed. We’ve grown.