At First Book, we believe in the transformative power of stories, and are inspired by those who bring books to the hands of children who need them most. Two such inspiring examples are Sharon, the visionary behind The Free Book Bus, and the dedicated educators at Johnson Elementary. The Free... Read more
First Book, alongside our friends at Ashoka, are excited to announce the winners of the Time for Change Youth Challenge! These young innovators from all corners of the U.S. are being awarded $1,000 grants to bring their inspiring ideas to life and make a positive impact in their schools and... Read more
This year is the 30th anniversary of Mary Pope Osborne’s beloved Magic Tree House series. The incredibly popular series, published by Penguin Random House, has sold over 143 million books worldwide and includes over one hundred titles. Those titles include the Merlin Missions subseries for advanced readers and the Magic... Read more
This summer, Tamika made First Book history by becoming the 550,000th educator to join the First Book Network. A teacher at a middle school in the New York public school system, Tamika attended a Reading Opens the World book give-away held in the Bronx by the United Federation of Teachers,... Read more
In 2021, the LEGO Group, a partner of First Book, worked to take a new approach to provide resources to our growing network of educators. Instead of creating resources based on corporate goals or assumptions, the LEGO Group worked with First Book to conduct research and create materials that were... Read more
My mother was a high-school biology teacher for 32 years, every week was Teacher Appreciation Week in our house. To say I understood her impact on a child’s life is an understatement, but I hear of her impact often. “Oh, you’re Ms. Awad’s daughter? She was the best teacher I... Read more
The following is a guest blog post written by educators Loretta Holmberg and Ann Mengel, VIPTeach Global Online Teaching Fellows, First Book network educators, and leaders of the Books for Baltimore project. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of children have not been in physical classrooms with access to... Read more
In 1992, First Book began with a mission to provide brand-new books to children in need. Throughout the years, the mission has stayed constant, but the needs have changed and expanded. Nearly 30 years later First Book continues to build a path out of poverty through educational equity and breaking... Read more
Dr. Faye Kokotos, a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Montefiore, recently described well-child visits during COVID-19 as an anxiety-ridden experience: “The waiting room is eerily quiet; the children are whisked into an examination room quickly. All the staff are wearing face masks.” In spite of this acknowledgment of the... Read more
There is no denying, life as we knew it prior to March of this year has been a challenge in so many ways. We have all had to maneuver our way through and attempt to keep our heads up high and make the best of it. Kudos to all of our... Read more