The school district has partnered with Reading Heart, Every Neighborhood Partnership, and CalViva Health to install book bins at dozens of schools.
"Our goal is to outfit each elementary school over the next two to three years," said Karen Laughlin, a spokesperson for Fresno Unified. "And we hope to place them on campus or in front of the campus so that it is for the kids, and for the community, so that all kids that can't afford a book, have access to a book."
For many kids, summer is a time to read whatever books they want without worrying about exams or book reports.
"Trust me, when you find a book on your own and you actually enjoy it, then reading is going to be a lot more fun," said Danay Ferguson, the founder of Reading Heart.
Ferguson started the non-profit when she was just eight years old and is now a sophomore who still has the same passion to get others to read more.
"I want to have magical powers too, I want to go on this quest, and like, reading a book is like my own way of doing that. I find that fun and I want to share that experience with other people," she said.
The school district plans to hand out 50,000 free books so that every student has a book for the summer. The books are free, but readers are encouraged to exchange the books they take with others.
If you'd like to donate or volunteer for Reading Hearts, click here.