Help Us Give Every NICU Family the Gift of Reading!

"Elliot's Little Library" is now just "Elliot's Library!"

We've grown to five Wisconsin NICUs and aren't "little" any more. We hope you'll continue to help us expand and give the gift of reading to every NICU family!

Elliot's Library gives books to local area NICUs to help families bond with their newborn babies who may be sick or premature.With your help, we would like to give every NICU family the gift of reading. Elliot’s Library is a wagon that features a selection of books that NICU families can pick from to keep and read to their NICU baby as often as they would like. We have book wagons at the Marshfield Children's Hospital NICU, the Anya Marie Jackson NICU at the Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Aspirus Stevens Point Hospital Special Care Nursery in Stevens Point, WI, the Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital NICU in Appleton, WI, and the SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital NICU in Madison, WI. In order to continue to make this a reality, we always welcome book donations from you!Please consider giving to Elliot's Library by purchasing a book off of our Amazon Wishlist or giving a monetary gift using the buttons above. Using the Wishlist will ensure the book gets delivered straight to our home and loaded up for delivery to the NICU.We also accept new children's books or checks made out to "Elliot's Library, Inc." at our P.O. Box:Elliot's Library
P.O. Box 954
Stevens Point, WI 54481-0954Please contact us if you'd like to give or help out in another way.

Our Story

The NICU is a place we never imagined we’d end up when planning our family. Our little boy Elliot was born at 25 weeks, 1 day. He weighed 1 lb, 12 oz. and was 13” long.Elliot spent 96 days in the NICU and we read to him every single night. The main reason we started reading to Elliot was to try and form a bond with him because there wasn’t much we could do except sit and watch him grow during his first crucial weeks. This turned into a nightly routine that we continue today. Reading is very important to all babies; the sound of their parents' voices is very soothing and it helps babies with their brain development. Reading also has a profound effect on the bonding between families and babies in the NICU.Today, Elliot is healthy, smart, and rambunctious. We always like to thank the Nurses, Doctors, and Staff at Marshfield Children's Hospital for their devotion to caring for the tiniest of patients, especially Elliot!

Library History

Here is a look back at how little Elliot’s Library used to be and how much it has grown thanks to our family, friends, and donors!We are proud to say book wagons are now in the Marshfield Children's Hospital NICU, the Anya Marie Jackson NICU at the Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Aspirus Stevens Point Hospital NICU in Stevens Point, WI, the Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital NICU in Appleton, WI, and the SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital NICU in Madison, WI. Any baby who is admitted into the NICU, regardless of how long their stay is, receives a book.

2017-2018: The beginning

In 2017 and 2018 our family donated 24 children’s books (one for each bed in the NICU) in honor of our son who was born at 25 weeks and spent 96 days in the Marshfield Children’s Hospital NICU. These books were to be donated to families with NICU stays that were likely going to be very long (much like ours), as determined by the NICU staff. We didn't have a wagon (yet), and we didn't know how big this would become.

2019 - One NICU, One Wagon

In 2019 we had a big dream of starting Elliot’s Library - a book wagon that could be in the NICU where parents could choose a book to have and read to their baby. We didn't want books to only be for long NICU stays though; we wanted books to be available to every family with a baby who was in the NICU for longer than a week. We reached out to family and friends, started a Facebook page, and in the end were blown away by peoples' generosity: we received 225 children’s books and any baby that had a Marshfield Children's Hospital NICU stay of longer than 1 week recieved a book that year.

2020 - Expanding to Three NICUs

In 2020 we again reached out to our family and friends and had a big goal of 500 books. We wanted to offer books to every family with a baby in the NICU, regardless of time of stay, along with hoping to introduce Elliot's Library to another area NICU. Much to our surprise we received 732 books! This allowed us to expand Elliot’s Library into 2 additional NICU’s in Central Wisconsin! Our son Elliot was also able to be much more involved this year, helping us sort books, count them, and deliver them to the NICUs. The pandemic definitely affected our ability to deliver books, but we were very grateful for the accommodating hospital staff who met us outside to ensure that Elliot got to see where the books were going!

2021 - More books for future opportunities

In 2021 we were overwhelmed once again with the support we received. We reached out to more local businesses for support and with the help of so many people we ended up with 1,045 book donations! This allowed us to start looking into our 4th Elliot’s Library location ❤️

2022 - Our Fourth NICU!

Our 2022 book drives was an amazing success. By receiving 1,277 books Elliot’s Library expanded to its 4th location at Ascension St Elizabeth’s Hospital NICU located in Appleton, WI.

2023 - Elliot's Book Nook and Five NICUs!

2023 brought an exciting opportunity to provide books in a different way at Marshfield Children’s and an expansion to our 5th and largest NICU location.Abby Baker, a child life specialist at Marshfield Children's, reached out for our help installing “Elliot’s Little Book Nook” which is a place where parents can utilize books like an actual library. Abby says, “the book nook provides a variety of books for parents to borrow while spending time connecting with their babies. This book nook allows Elliot’s legacy to provide additional resources for families during their stay.”We also moved south to Madison, WI and delivered our 5th book wagon at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital.

Contact Us

We'd love to hear from you! Click one of the buttons or fill out the form below and we'll be in touch.

We also accept correspondence, book donations, or monetary gifts (checks should be made out to "Elliot's Library, Inc.") at our P.O. Box:Elliot's Library
P.O. Box 954
Stevens Point, WI 54481-0954

Thank You

We'll be in touch!

Change a Life for as little as $10: Donate to NICU Families in Wisconsin

Imagine the difference a single book can make to a baby and their family in the NICU. With Elliot's Library, you can provide hope, comfort, and connection. Whether you donate books from our Amazon Wish List or give just $10, your contribution can light up the lives of families during their most challenging times. Every dollar counts—will you make a difference today?

There are two main ways to give to Elliot's Library:

Option 1 - Pick which books you'd like to give via Amazon:

Option 2 - Make a monetary donation via our secure online form (100% of all donations go towards the purchase of books):

Elliot's Library gives books to Wisconsin NICUs to help families bond with their newborn babies who may be sick or premature.With your help, we would like to give every NICU family the gift of reading. Elliot’s Library is a wagon that features a selection of books that NICU families can pick from to keep and read to their NICU baby as often as they would like. In order to continue to make this a reality, we always welcome book donations from you!

Change a Life for as little as $10: Donate to NICU Families in Wisconsin. Donating only takes a minute. We only use your donation to buy books, nothing else!

Elliot's Library gives books to Wisconsin NICUs to help families bond with their newborn babies who may be sick or premature.With your help, we would like to give every NICU family the gift of reading. Elliot’s Library is a wagon that features a selection of books that NICU families can pick from to keep and read to their NICU baby as often as they would like.

If you'd rather, we also accept checks (made out to Elliot's Library) or brand new children's books mailed to our P.O. Box:

Elliot's Library
P.O. Box 954
Stevens Point, WI 54481-0954

Elliot's Library gives books to Wisconsin NICUs to help families bond with their newborn babies who may be sick or premature.With your help, we would like to give every NICU family the gift of reading. Elliot’s Library is a wagon that features a selection of books that NICU families can pick from to keep and read to their NICU baby as often as they would like. In order to continue to make this a reality, we always welcome book donations from you!

We hope this book has brought comfort to you and your family during your NICU journeyYour Elliot's Library book was made possible by a generous donor, please consider helping us give every NICU family the gift of reading!

We are looking for stories from families who received a book from Elliot's Library! If you'd like to be share your story, please contact us:

We also accept book donations via Amazon and monetary donations via our online giving platform:

Elliot's Library gives books to local area NICUs to help families bond with their newborn babies who may be sick or premature.With your help, we would like to give every NICU family the gift of reading. Elliot’s Library is a wagon that features a selection of books that NICU families can pick from to keep and read to their NICU baby as often as they would like. In order to continue to make this a reality, we always welcome book donations from you!

Elliot's Library - In the News

We're always very excited when news outlets feature our cause! Check out some of the news articles about Elliot's Library over the years.Note: Elliot's Library was formerly known as "Elliot's Little Library" until Mid-2024

10/26/2023 - WMTV 15 News (Madison, WI)
"Elliot’s Little Library brings books to Wisconsin hospitals" By Benjamin Cadigan

8/25/2022 - WSAW Newschannel 7
"Elliot's Little Library looks to expand" By Drew Sutherland

8/20/2022 - Stevens Point Gazette
"A little library for a considerable cause" By Kris Leonhardt

10/04/2020 - WSAW Newschannel 7
"Elliot’s Little Library donates 270 books to Marshfield NICU, expands" By Emerson Lehmann

9/02/2020 - WSAW Newschannel 7
"Family collecting new books for NICU at Marshfield Children’s Hospital" By Emerson Lehmann