Today’s guest blogger is Cary Hanson, the librarian at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School in Washington D.C. Summer break is approaching … and soon summer reading lists will pop up in classrooms and libraries across the country. As a librarian, I love helping students find something… Read More

This week is First Book’s Summer Reading Week! Summer is an exciting time of year that provides students with the opportunity to relax and take a break from the demands of school. It is also the time of year when many students suffer summer learning and… Read More

Today’s guest blog post is from Sheila Frye (teachingliteracy). Sheila has been in education for over thirteen years serving as a Special Educator, Gifted and Talented Teacher, Reading Teacher, Reading Specialist, and Adjunct Professor of graduate education. A lifelong lover of reading, Sheila is currently… Read More

Over the past year, the issue of childhood bullying has ignited national discussion and debate. We have heard countless stories of children, parents, and teachers who have felt powerless in the face of school bullying. Many of us wonder how we can reach young people who are being abused and change the culture of bullying in schools and communities throughout the nation. First Book firmly believes that books are a part of the answer. There is no denying that books can equip young people with the tools to better cope with and fight bullying. Through engaging and poignant storytelling, books can teach us about our own personal strength and resilience. A great story can give a child a sense of value and self-esteem. Books can also open the minds and hearts of young people and engender a sense of tolerance and acceptance. Books can save lives. Read More

Welcome to the second installment of the First Book Blogger Book Club, wherein book bloggers share their thoughts about a young adult book that we carry on the First Book Marketplace. It's a way to let people know about the great titles that schools and programs serving low-income kids can get through First Book, and get people talking about some of the books we love. This month's selection was: Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart. Read on to find out what our book club members thought: Read More

Did you know that it's National Poetry Month? That’s right; April is the month that we celebrate our favorite poems and poets. Do you remember the first poem that inspired you or touched your life in the way that only poetry can? This month, we invite you to celebrate the poems that inspired your imagination and taught you the extraordinary power of words.  We also invite you to share the beauty of poetry with children so that they too can learn how transformative and magical poetry can be. Read More

First Book loves March Madness! We even have a "friendly" bracket competition going on in the office - although President Obama's bracket was beating all of us the last time we checked. Even in the midst of the drama and excitement of the tournament, we recognize that basketball teaches so many meaningful life lessons: courage, cooperation, dedication and hard work. Many of the inspirational lessons taught on the basketball court can also be found in the basketball-related titles that we carry in the First Book Marketplace. Read More

This week First Book is sharing stories about science and engineering from some of our friends at Lockheed Martin. Today’s guest blogger is Brian Hershberger, an aeronautic engineer with Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (Skunk Works) in Palmdale, Calif. When I visit a school to discuss engineering I always ask the students, "What do engineers do?" The answer: Predict the future! Read More

This week First Book is sharing stories about science and engineering from some of our friends at Lockheed Martin. Today’s guest blogger is Steven Koski, an electrical engineer with Lockheed Martin. I grew up in Troy, MI in the suburbs of Detroit. I knew about engineering because my dad was an engineer and I decided to pursue it at the University of Michigan because I knew it was a very flexible degree. Even after graduating with my undergraduate degree, I was still very unsure of where I wanted to take my career. I tried many different fields from working as a software engineer to researching drug delivery and neuro-engineering as a graduate student in Biomedical Engineering with thoughts of going to med school. I finally found my true aspirations of being in charge of large-scale projects as an engineer and I am currently in the progress of obtaining my Masters in Business Administration to complement my technical background in order to work in the future as a Program Manager. Read More

This week First Book is sharing stories about science and engineering from some of our friends at Lockheed Martin. Today’s guest blogger is Sarah Brown, a systems engineer with Lockheed Martin in Syracuse, New York. I was exposed to engineering from an early age because both my parents are software engineers. But I never really understood what an engineer did beyond sit at a computer. Read More