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Rose’s Reading Round-Up
SuperKids: Skills to Read. Power to Lead. Great Shape! Inc., a First Book recipient program, highlights how they are using books from First Book in their education program. 2008 Year-End Online Book Lists It’s that time of the year – when “best of...
Fabulous Personalized Gifts for Kids (that help First Book as well)
If you are looking for an extraordinary holiday gift for a child in your life, check out I See Me! (www.iseeme.com). Their personalized children’s books and gifts are outstanding. I have given several books as gifts for new parents and f...
Celebrate the holiday spirit!
Dear First Book, I had a birthday party and instead of presents everyone donated money to you. My name is Nisha Follow Nisha’s example! Ask friends and family to join you in celebrating the spirit of the holidays by raising funds to give n...
Start a Story
Guest Blogger Rachael Walker is the Outreach Consultant for Reading Rockets, a national multimedia initiative which aims to inform and inspire parents, teachers, childcare providers, and others who touch the life of a child by providing comprehens...
Help Provide More Books through the Combined Federal Campaign
This holiday season, First Book is once again participating in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the world’s largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign providing federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality ...
Cats, Cupcakes and an amazing book tour
Guest blogger, Laura Numeroff, is the bestselling author of well loved children’s titles in the “If You Give…” series. She took a few moments from her current tour to tell us about her latest work, If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. To learn more abou...
Rose’s Reading Round-Up
First Book, first step to literacy First Book was featured in Wednesday’s Washington Times. Visit this link to read the article. National Novel Writing Month This month is National Novel Writing Month, where participants try to write a 50,000 word...
READ with First Book
Have you started making your holiday shopping list yet? Are you worried about making every dollar go farther? Give wonderful gifts to friends and family while providing brand-new books to kids in need. You can now get our original READ sticker ...
Bring The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Your Home
We recently got an email sharing a creative fundraiser being hosted locally by the First Book-Deschutes County, OR. To raise funds and provide more new books to kids in their community, the Advisory Board is raffling off this beautiful The Very Hu...
KPMG’s Family for Literacy Impacts a Newark Public School
I wanted to share this great photo taken at the KPMG’s Family for Literacy second year kick-off event at the Franklin Street School in Newark, NJ. Newark Mayor Cory Booker truly engaged a group of students with reading such books as Frog and Toad...
Volunteer at a First Book Distribution
First Book is looking for volunteers like you to help us distribute books to children in need through our National Book Bank distributions. We conduct book distributions throughout the year in cities and towns across the country. Distributions typ...
Donate Warehouse Space to First Book
The First Book National Book Bank (FBNBB) is always looking for new warehouse space in which to conduct book distributions. By donating space, you can bring books to children in need in your community as well as across the country. We are looking ...
Rose’s Reading Round-Up
Auctions Benefitting First Book Author Mindy Klasky offers eleven different ways you can support First Book, including ten auction items from jewelry to your name in a book and a fundraising recipe calendar. The auctions close at 12:00 noon ET on ...
First Book Officially Launches the 2008 Holiday Season!
The holiday season has begun here at First Book! Our homepage is decorated and our logo has been shielded from the cold with mittens. Check out the holiday homepage to see all of the wonderful things happening at First Book! Here are three easy...
Literacy and Citizenship in Action
After reading about the results of Tuesday’s election today, I’ve been reminded how important literacy is to our daily lives, and more specifically, how it effects our ability to be active participants in our democracy. Lynda, a First ...
Recipes (and More) for a Cause
Guest blogger and First Book supporter Mindy Klasky is the author of six fantasy novels, including the award-winning, best-selling The Glasswrights’ Apprentice and numerous short stories. Her latest trilogy, The Jane Madison Series, chronicles a l...
Building links between literacy and civic engagement: The election and the ELL classroom
Guest Blogger Lydia Breiseth is the manager of the bilingual English-Spanish website Colorín Colorado, whose mission is to provide educators and parents with information about teaching English language learners to read and succeed. Ms. Breiseth ...
First Book and KPMG’s Family for Literacy Team Up for a Second Year
On Friday, First Book and KPMG’s Family for Literacy announced a sweet Halloween treat: a promise to bring more books to kids in need! In a kick-off event at the Franklin School in Newark, New Jersey, our very own Kyle Zimmer joined Newark Mayor ...
First Book and the Chili Bowl Caper
This year marked the 4th annual Halloween outing to Ben’s Chili Bowl- a Washington, DC landmark. As in past years, the First Book staff paraded through downtown Washington, DC as all sorts of characters including the Publisher’s Cleari...
Rose’s Reading Round-Up
Flickr: Literary Halloween Costumes Happy Halloween! Visit this Flickr group to see some Halloween costumes inspired by books and authors. Candidates Name Their Favorite Books Local literati rate candidates’ reading lists Since Election Day is...
First Book attends Advance Screening of The Secret Life of Bees
Last Thursday Washington, D.C. saw an advance screening of Fox Searchlight Pictures Feature Film’s The Secret Life of Bees – based on the best-selling and critically acclaimed book by Sue Monk Kidd. As one of the movie’s promotional partners...
Merci!
This fun kid note came to us from a program that received Hooked on French kits from Hooked on Phonics. We agree- more books to children is a great thing in any language!
And the winner is… Kentucky!
We asked you to share the memory of the book that got you hooked, then vote for the state to receive 50,000 new books – and you did! We are excited to annouce the winner of this year’s What Book Got You Hooked? campaign…(drumroll pleas...
Rose’s Reading Round-Up
Kyle Zimmer Gives Children Their First Book Check out this great interview of First Book’s president and co-founder with WOW! Women On Writing. Online literacy is a lesser kind The debate on online reading continues with this article. Studi...
First Book Celebrates The Carle Honors!
On Tuesday night, First Book had the incredible pleasure of attending the third annual Carle Honors event, held at the University Club in New York City! The Carle Honors, sponsored by the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, is a unique set of a...
Remembering Helen Coffey
We are deeply saddened to share that a beloved friend of First Book’s and a great lady, Helen Coffey, has passed away. She was an architect of First Book and her influence on the organization is unmistakable. Helen was one of the first peopl...
My Book Stork and First Book Provide New Books to Children in Need
My Book Stork is a new and innovative online children’s book registry, and they have recently joined forces with First Book in an effort to provide more books to children in need. My Book Stork offers parents the option to create their own person...
First Book’s Top Ten Reasons to Read
All of us at First Book love to read books. We’re partial to them as a first choice for entertainment. We love to give them as gifts. In fact, if you walk around our offices, you can’t help picking up a children’s book and flipping through the pag...
First Book Podcast: Tuck Everlasting Author Natalie Babbitt Chats With First Book!
First Book recently had the pleasure of speaking with author and illustrator Natalie Babbitt , the author of the classic ALA Notable Childrenrsquo;s book Tuck ...
Rose’s Reading Round-Up
Check mate! Idaho tries chess to boost math, reading skills In Idaho, second- and third-graders are taught chess once a week in an effort to build stronger math and reading skills. A Woman Dreams of Opening a Bookstore, and Defying the Trends De...
Meet Me in St. Louis
First Book University traveled to the Gateway City to conduct an FBU Seminar as part of Pi Beta Phi’s Officers Workshop on Friday, September 5. Pi Beta Phi, a women’s fraternity dedicated to service, launched a partnership with First Book in 2007...
Advisory Board Spotlight: Cheryl Jackson, First Book-Orange County
Cheryl Jackson- Former Chair, First Book-Orange County, NY, (submitted by the current Advisory Board members to honor their founder). Cheryl Jackson was determined to bring First Book to Orange County, New York. She began by reaching out to friend...
Justin Tuck Launches Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy in NYC!
One child was moved to tears after having taken a photograph with him, while another student enthusiastically high-fived some friends after shaking his hand. All others had huge grins on their faces after receiving books from him. These were the...
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with books and more!
Guest Blogger Lydia Breiseth is the manager of the bilingual English-Spanish website Colorín Colorado, whose mission is to provide educators and parents with information about teaching English language learners to read and succeed. Ms. Breiseth ...
Last Call to Vote!
Today marks the last day of voting for “What Book Got You Hooked?” — the online contest that will bring 50,000 new books to children in need in one lucky state. Voting closes at midnight tonight, Eastern time. Visit the site to ...
First Book and Lunchables are Helping Children Reach their Reading Potential
The following is a guest post from The Lunchables Team. Below, Cheyenne Givens, 8, puts a pair of “head boppers” on Lori Loughlin at an event to announce the Lunchables Million Page Mission. Loughlin, star of CW’s new “902...
Rose’s Reading Round-Up
Roald Dahl Day! Tomorrow, September 13, is Roald Dahl Day! Check out this web site to download materials for your own celebration or view photos from events held last year. Why Libraries Are Back in Style A library is one of the most popular ro...
First Book Podcast: Mary Brigid Barrett Welcomes You to “Our White House!”
As some of our readers know, First Bookrsquo;s office happens to be located just a few short blocks from what is perhaps one of the ...
What Inspires a Bestselling Author Most?
What do Charlotte’s Web, Peanuts cartoons, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and The Lord of the Rings have in common, you ask? They all served to inspire bestselling authors Nancy Yi Fan, Mo Willems, Jeff Kinney , and Rick Riordan to get hooked on...
Rose’s Reading Round-Up
Katrina hit US adult literacy More than 40% of New Orleans’ adults lack the literacy skills to understand basic government forms, making the application process for government assistance even more difficult. When Hurricane Katrina hit the city ...
Tune-in Alert: Don’t miss author Nancy Yi Fan on Oprah!
In May of this year, Oprah Winfrey devoted an entire episode of her show to the “world’s smartest kids” and their incredible accomplishments. One of the featured kids on the program was none other than HarperCollins’ youngest best-selling ch...
Community Spotlight: Baby Peaches of Atlanta, GA
Wondering where all the books go? Periodically we profile one of the many community programs that receive books from First Book for the children they serve. Recipient Group name and location: Baby Peaches was formed in December 2002 in Atlanta, Ge...
Staff Outtakes: Last Take
They say you can tell everything about a person by the books they read. So what books got these First Book staff members hooked? It was Curious George for this Community Development manager. Choose Your Own Adventure for this Book Bank Director...
Launching a Great New School Year
Guest Blogger Rachael Walker is the Outreach Consultant for Reading Rockets, a national multimedia initiative which aims to inform and inspire parents, teachers, childcare providers, and others who touch the life of a child by providing comprehens...
Happy Labor Day!
Whether you are hitting the beach for one last summer get away, or gearing up to go back to school, have a wonderful long weekend from everyone at First Book! Below is a “refreshing” thank you we received from Zachary. Enjoy! “...
Rose’s Reading Round-Up
Here are a few links for you to browse through during Labor Day Weekend… PBS Launches An ABC’s Offensive With New Shows The executive producer of the new television show Martha Speaks explains how the series teaches pre-reading skills to chi...
Back to School Specials on the First Book Marketplace
Gear up for Back To School with the First Book Marketplace! This month’s features include school-themed specials, books in Spanish, Encyclopædia Britannica resources, biography and history titles, and a special assortment of bilingual chunky mini ...
It’s Anyone’s Game Now.
Less than 19 days remain before the end of “What Book Got You Hooked?” — the once-a-year campaign that honors the books that made us readers by inviting visitors to help decide the state to receive 50,000 new books for kids in ne...
Over 57,000 Handshakes!
If you have to work on a weekend, this is definitely the job to have! Friday my colleague Bonnie and I flew out to San Diego for the last port of call on the 2008 Handshake Tour, featuring First Book as the signature charity of the United States ...
Nonprofit Marketer of the Year
Every now and then, something great comes along for First Book, and we really feel shiny and proud. Of late, our co-founder and President, Kyle Zimmer, trekked down a few blocks in DC to the site of the 2008 American Marketing Association Nonprofi...