Change a Child's Life Through Reading

Your Gift Matched: Every $3 donated helps give two new books to a child in need this holiday season.

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Join the Book Club That Gives Back

You're invited to a community of book lovers invested in making a lasting difference for kids in need.

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Top Barrier to Learning: Toxic Stress

Educators identified the toxic stress of poverty as the most common barrier to learning for kids in need.

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First Book Removes Barriers to Learning

From books to backpacks and technology to toothpaste, First Book delivers tools for learning.

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Match: Double the Books

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First Book Research & Insights

Our Marketplace

Our Mission

We believe that education is the best path out of poverty for kids in need.

But access to quality education is far from equal. Significant barriers stand in the way for kids in low-income communities, including scarce books and learning materials and a lack of diversity in the books that do reach them. Even the most basic needs go unmet for many of these children. First Book’s mission is to remove these barriers so every child has the chance to learn.

Video generously funded by C&S Wholesale Grocers.

The Need

Our Solution

First Book's models are built to address the systemic causes of educational inequity and create permanent change—not simply in the life of one child who wants to learn, but across the entire education system.

The First Book Network

The First Book Network is made up of more than 450,000 educators who exclusively serve kids in need.

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The First Book Marketplace

The First Book Marketplace offers high-quality, new books and educational resources deeply discounted prices -or free - to First Book’s network of more than 450,000 registered educators who serve kids in need.

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First Book Research & Insights

First Book Research & Insights is a highly-focused research capacity that aggregates and amplifies the voices of more than 450,000 educators serving children in need.

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The First Book Accelerator

The First Book Accelerator collaborates with leading academic institutions and other experts to quickly develop, package and distribute actionable, research-based best practices to educators serving kids in need.

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First Book Community Connect

First Book Community Connect matches nonprofit organizations with local classrooms and programs serving children in need, giving partners the opportunity to reach more kids, decrease the cost of scaling up, and increase impact.

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First Book Impact Funds

First Book Impact Funds offer the opportunity for hyper-targeted gifts, addressing need and allowing donors to focus their giving.

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Give Stories of Hope

You can help unlock a child's full potential.

Thanks to a match from Penguin Random House, your donation this holiday season will help give twice as many books and resources to kids who need them most. For many of the kids we serve, your gift may be the first books they ever get to call their own.

Your Gift Matched

Latest from First Book

Find out what makes First Book a leading voice in the movement for educational equality.

First Book Research & Insights, Press Releases

First Book Research & Insights: Support for Toxic Stress of Poverty Most Important Learning Tool for Kids in Need

Focus on First Book

How to Give Books to Kids in Need this Holiday

Focus on First Book, For Educators

First Book Calls on Its Community of Educators to Promote Respect and Empathy

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Featured Partners

First Book’s dedicated partners deliver possibilities to educators and kids in need.

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