Rochester, New York was recently ranked one of the poorest cities in the United States. More than half of its children live in poverty. But on an early summer day, the students in the Rochester City School District have a spring in their step as they walk down the hallway… Read More

At the heart of First Book’s mission to help children in need read, learn and succeed is the distribution of educational content. Breaking down the barriers to accessing books and other information can lift the kids we serve and their communities out of poverty and into bright futures. When… Read More

Today’s Guest Blogger is Amy Bartilotti, the Communities in Schools Site Coordinator at Bellwood Elementary School in Chesterfield, VA. Summer is particularly difficult for kids from low-income families. With few books at home and limited access to libraries, they often fall behind. Last year, my colleagues and I… Read More

Summer is almost here. But that doesn’t mean teachers, program leaders and the kids they serve don’t need books. Kids need books year-round, and this is especially true in the summer. During the school year, kids rely on their classroom and school libraries for books and other… Read More

Today’s blog post is part of our Stories For All Project series, focused on sharing the latest announcements and impact stories about our effort to put diverse, inclusive books into the hands of kids. On May 6th, we hosted a Twitter chat to talk about how books featuring diverse… Read More

Today’s blog post is part of our Stories For All Project series, focused on sharing the latest announcements and impact stories about our effort to put diverse, inclusive books into the hands of kids. Today’s guest blogger is Melissa Spradlin, Executive Director of Book’em in Nashville, TN. Every day I… Read More

Today’s blog post is part of our Stories For All Project series, focused on sharing the latest announcements and impact stories about our effort to put diverse, inclusive books into the hands of kids. Cathy Gaudio reads aloud to a group of students in Phoenix, Arizona.  It’s a special day… Read More

There’s very little for kids to do in the town of Bluefield, West Virginia. But once a week, eighteen students from different walks of life gather to talk about books. Suzette Sims, the program services coordinator at the Craft Memorial Library, organized the book club a few years ago. It… Read More

Sarah’s students practicing “counting on” When it’s time for a math lesson, Sarah Richardson’s kindergarten class sits in a group, with one hand on their heads, counting on the other hand in front of them.  They’re learning addition using a method called “counting on”. This can be a… Read More

Dr. Shirley Johnson, in her words, is an educator to the depths of her soul. Over the last 40 years, she has been a teacher, administrator, union leader, curriculum supervisor and an education advocate.  Most recently, she opened The Resource Room, an afterschool education program for children ages… Read More