May is Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month – a time to celebrate the rich culture and history of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Here at First Book, we celebrate this time the way we celebrate most things – with stories! We often cite Rudine Sims Bishop’s essay that states that literature… Read More

This post first appeared on Medium, April 20, 2018. Pamela Paul is right. No school library should have shelves that look like this. But too many school library shelves look just exactly like this. It is more than counter-intuitive — it’s harmful. … Read More

Laura Geringer Bass, author of The Girl With More Than One Heart, and Saradine Nazaire, whom she mentors through Girls Write Now. First Book talked to author Laura Geringer Bass about her latest book, The Girl With More Than One Heart (Abrams), and her extensive work… Read More

First Book recently spoke with Natasha Collins, social impact manager for Pizza Hut. Through April 22, Pizza Hut: The Literacy Project – the company’s global commitment to literacy – and First Book are partnering to enable access to books and educational resources, empower teachers, and inspire… Read More

  Children’s Day, Book Day/El día de los niños, Día de los libros (commonly known as Día) is the annual celebration of bookjoy created by children’s book author Pat Mora. The nationally recognized initiative emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children, from all backgrounds… Read More

Movements are born from the stories we share. On the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, we remember his legacy and share stories inspired by his amazing life. We remember the movements that changed the world as we know it, and use these histories to continue to create… Read More

Debbi Michiko Florence, the author who brought us eight-year-old mochi-loving, flamingo-focused Jasmine Toguchi, was about eight years old herself before she realized eating a side of rice with a plate of spaghetti was not necessarily universal. That experience, which came as part of what Florence describes as growing up both… Read More

This blog post has been re-published from Upworthy. Click here to read the full original post. Last year, librarian Rajeeni Galloway met a student that others had already deemed a lost cause. This student’s record was riddled with suspensions, and her grades had suffered… Read More

Guest post from our partner, Every Child a Reader. Educators, it’s time for your students to vote! Every Child a Reader wants kids and teens to choose the winners of 11th annual Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards—the only national book awards chosen by kids! We have tons… Read More

It all started last Fall, when we received a call from Zoobean, the creators of the Beanstack reading app, congratulating us on being chosen as charitable donation recipients for the Winter Reading Challenge 2018. Naturally, we were surprised and excited. More than 100 libraries all over… Read More