Author Archive: Brian Minter

Free Books for Teachers Serving Kids in Need

Posted in: Focus on First Book, For Educators

Let’s say you’re an educator or program leader serving children in need who needs to fill your bookshelves and stock your classroom with free books and resources. You’ve just recently signed up with First Book — now what? Book Distributions In Your Area When funding is available through sponsors and... Read more

A Market-Driven Solution to the Need for Diverse Books

Posted in: Focus on First Book

Last week, hundreds of thousands of parents, educators and readers of all ages issued a call for more diversity in children’s literature, rallying under the banner of #WeNeedDiverseBooks. The campaign spread quickly from Twitter to media outlets around the world as people shared powerful stories about the need for all... Read more

Four Ways to Engage Parents and Families in Reading Time

Posted in: For Educators

Today is National Family Literacy Day, created by our friends at the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) to celebrate families who are improving their lives through continued learning. This issue is an important one for the classrooms and community programs that First Book serves. We recently asked hundreds of... Read more

Across America in an RV With First Book

Posted in: Impact Stories

Today’s blog post is by Brenda Berg, who loaded her family into an RV and spent over half a year traveling across the country. They called their adventure the Gump Trip, and along the way they distributed 6,000 brand-new books to kids in need at local schools and community programs... Read more

First Book and Mind in The Making's Ellen Galinsky: Reading Time as a Missed Opportunity for Life-Skills Learning

Posted in: Our Partners

The following is a guest blog post by Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute and author of ‘Mind in the Making‘. First Book and Mind in The Making have teamed up to create book lists and tip sheets that help educators and parents teach life skills during... Read more

5 Secrets Adults Won't Tell You – Kyle Zimmer's Commencement Speech at Saint Mary's College

Posted in: Focus on First Book

Our intrepid leader, CEO, and co-founder of First Book, Kyle Zimmer, shared some of the wit and wisdom that motivates the First Book team on a daily basis with a crowd of graduates of Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame this Saturday. Adults Are Not Really Certain of Anything. “In... Read more

First Book Supports 50,000 Local Schools and Community Programs. (Yes! 50,000!)

Posted in: Focus on First Book

Last year First Book made it a goal to reach more kids in need by doubling the number of local schools and community programs in our national network, from 25,000 to 50,000. We’ve reached that number! Over 50,000 Title I classrooms, early childhood education programs, afterschool programs, museums and libraries,... Read more

15,000 New Books on the National Mall, Plus Celebrities, Cabinet Secretaries and Cute Kids

Posted in: Focus on First Book, Impact Stories

On Saturday, volunteers from across the country joined First Book on the National Mall in Washington DC to celebrate President Obama’s National Day of Service by providing 15,000 brand-new books to DC-area children from low-income families. Click here to see photos of the event, including pictures of volunteers, political leaders,... Read more

Lots of Noise, But No One in the Room

Posted in: Focus on First Book, Impact Stories

“There is a great deal of noise on the stairs but nobody comes into the room.” — John F. Kennedy President Kennedy was referencing a Chinese proverb when he said that, making the point that it was easy to talk about problems, but much more difficult to fix them. Kyle... Read more

35,000 Programs and Counting

Posted in: Impact Stories

Exciting news! There are now 35,000 schools and programs serving kids in need in the First Book network. That’s 35,000 classrooms, libraries, church groups, afterschool programs, homeless shelters, military programs and daycare centers; all with permanent, ongoing access to a steady stream of brand-new, high-quality books. But as pleased as... Read more