First Book Blog

Thanks To You, I’m More Motivated Than Ever

Posted in: Impact Stories

Today’s guest blogger is Andrea Brunk, a physical therapist at the National Children’s Center Early Learning Center in Washington, DC. I work with children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism and other disabilities. The children in my program range from infants to five year olds. Our families do their best... Read more

Feeling at Home this Holiday

Posted in: Focus on First Book, Impact Stories

Today’s guest blogger is Linette Claudio, Bilingual Coordinator at McAuliffe Elementary School in Chicago, IL. Remember a book character from your childhood that helped you through a time of growth and change? One that inspired you, helped you feel at home in our own skin and made you realize you... Read more

Investing in My Students

Posted in: Impact Stories

Today’s guest blogger is Lindsey Roache, Assistant Principal at University Heights Preparatory Academy in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a principal, I know that if my students are going to care about school, they have to know their school cares about them. Sometimes this means our school buys clothes, purchases bus passes,... Read more

Meet the Reading Dogs

Posted in: Impact Stories

Today’s guest blogger is Robyn Douglas from Down East Dog Scouts Troop 159 in Hancock County, ME. I want to tell you about Cirra. In her six years as a reading buddy, Cirra has given hundreds of books to kids. She’s helped dozens of children improve their reading and comprehension.... Read more

First Book & UTR Keep Military Families Connected

Posted in: Impact Stories

“When Rex is deployed there is a very large hole in our family dynamic.  He feels like by not being here and being able to do the things he usually does with the kids, he isn’t as connected to them.” Veronica and Rex Boblett have four children ages four to... Read more

Books for Kids in Ebola-Affected Liberia

Posted in: Focus on First Book, Impact Stories

Since the outbreak of Ebola in Liberia, schools across the region have closed — leaving children without access to traditional education opportunities and the moral support teachers provide during times of crisis. So when we received a call from our friends at the International Book Bank and the We Care... Read more

Welcoming We Give Books to the First Book Family

Posted in: Focus on First Book

Our New Partner: We Give Books We can’t keep it a secret any longer! As of today, We Give Books has a new home at First Book. The online platform, which features nearly 300 digitally-optimized children’s books, enables anyone with access to the Internet to put books in the hands of... Read more

On Creativity and Culture: Yuyi Morales

Posted in: Author Voices

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we had the opportunity to talk with the award-winning author and illustrator Yuyi Morales about why she became an author and illustrator, the role of children’s books in understanding and celebrating cultures and her new book, “Viva Frida.” Click here to read this blog in Spanish.... Read more

First Book and ALAS: Better Serving Latino Youth

Posted in: Impact Stories

Veronica Rivera serves as the Executive Director for the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS), which leads at the national level to ensure every school in America effectively serves the educational needs of all students, with an emphasis on Latino youth. She recently joined us for a Q&A session... Read more

A Path Appears

Posted in: Focus on First Book, Impact Stories

Today’s blog post is an excerpt from A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity, the latest book from New York Times’ columnist and best-selling authors Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. In A Path Appears, which was released yesterday by Random House, Nick and Sheryl highlight “some of today’s most successful... Read more