First Book Blog

Educator Resource: The First Book Trauma Toolkit

Posted in: First Book Research & Insights, For Educators

We want all students to be happy, healthy, and prepared to reach their highest potential. These aspirations are most often possible when children have environments that provide safety, support, love, and nurturing. Unfortunately, this is far from reality for almost half of the children in the United States – about... Read more

Foundation for Appalachian Ohio and First Book Launch Partnership to Get Books to Kids in Need

Posted in: Press Room

Educators and other individuals serving children in under-resourced communities can register with First Book and FAO to access free and low-cost books, as well as other resources such as basic needs items. Read more

Brave Journeys: Beyond Accents and Silences

Posted in: Our Bookshelf, Our Partners

Today’s blog is a guest post, by Natalia Chamorro, Stony Brook University PhD candidate in Hispanic Languages and Literature and a Regional Economic Development Council/New York State Council on the Arts Fellow for Herstory Writers Workshop, the publishers of “Brave Journeys/Pasos Valientes” – a book that tells the stories of... Read more

“Voces Sin Fronteras”: Coming to a New Home

Posted in: Our Partners

Today’s blog is a guest post, originally posted on the WRAG Journalism Fellows program blog and reposted with permission from our publishing partner, Shout Mouse Press. The writer is an author of “Voces Sin Fronteras: Our Stories, Our Truth,” a graphic memoir collection by teen immigrants of the Latin American... Read more

Chicago Bears’ Kyle Long, in Partnership With First Book, to Bring More Than 12,000 New Books to Chicago Kids

Posted in: Press Room

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The Stars of the SHOWTIME Drama ‘The Chi’ and Author Jason Reynolds Visit Chicago with First Book

Posted in: Our Partners

We are proud to have taken part in one of the many ways SHOWTIME® gives back to the city that serves as the setting of their hit television show, “The Chi”. Through First Book, SHOWTIME® gifted approximately 10,000 new, contemporary, diverse books to public schools in Chicago’s South Side area.... Read more

Promoting Respect & Empathy: A Toolkit for Educators, by Educators

Posted in: For Educators

Teaching kids empathy and respect prepares them to create a more caring and compassionate world. In the absence of empathy, differences have the potential to breed conflict – especially during a child’s early years, when they are naturally inclined to think only of themselves and their immediate needs. Members of... Read more

Shout Mouse Press: There’s a Story Behind Every Book

Posted in: Our Bookshelf, Our Partners

Today’s blog is a guest post written by Lana Wong, Community Impact & Partnerships Director at Shout Mouse Press If children don’t read about people who look like them … they feel invisible. I feel this is an opportunity for them to see that they’re visible and their voice does... Read more

First Book Awards More Than $700,000 for New Books and eBooks to Schools and Programs Serving Kids in Need Across Nine States

Posted in: Press Room

First Book, the nonprofit social enterprise focused on equal access to quality education, has awarded more than $700,000 for new books and eBooks to schools and organizations serving more than 200,000 kids in need across nine states. Read more

Q&A with Gaia Cornwall, Author of Jabari Jumps

Posted in: Author Voices

Gaia Cornwall is an illustrator and children’s book author, best known for her book Jabari Jumps. We asked her about her creative process, what it’s like to read her book with children, and her tips on being brave. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Why This Story?... Read more