First Book Blog

Five Thousand Brand New Books to Kids From Military Families Courtesy of Pi Beta Phi

Posted in: Impact Stories

“I really loved being able to do something hands on for First Book.  Knowing that the backpack I put together at the convention gave each child five new books was extremely rewarding.” – Pi Beta Phi Virginia Gamma Chapter President and senior at the College of William and Mary, Caroline... Read more

Books of Their Own to Take Home: The Guru Krupa Foundation & Summer Reading

Posted in: Impact Stories

When Estrella Elementary opened their doors in 2010, they had barely any books available to students. A Title I school located in an impoverished Los Angeles neighborhood, Estrella can only supply a limited number of books and educational resources to each classroom, and has no books at all to help... Read more

My Brown is Beautiful, See it Please (Guest Post)

Posted in: For Educators, Impact Stories

Many thanks to Jasmine Villaverde-Mickens, Literacy Program Manager in Education, for this post. First graders at CentroNía’s DC Bilingual Public Charter School made self-portraits — with strokes of a brush, they were tasked to find their skin tone by mixing various colors of paint. “Look at my brown,” one student... Read more

Taylor Felice: How I Ran a Half Marathon to Bring Books to Kids in Need

Posted in: Impact Stories

Taylor Felice, a dedicated supporter of First Book, recently ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon. Not only did she accomplish the goal of running the race but she also accomplished something else – getting books into the hands of kids in need. Taylor aimed to raise $1800 through First Book to provide... Read more

5 Secrets Adults Won't Tell You – Kyle Zimmer's Commencement Speech at Saint Mary's College

Posted in: Focus on First Book

Our intrepid leader, CEO, and co-founder of First Book, Kyle Zimmer, shared some of the wit and wisdom that motivates the First Book team on a daily basis with a crowd of graduates of Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame this Saturday. Adults Are Not Really Certain of Anything. “In... Read more

The Stories for All Project: Latina Author Guadalupe Garcia McCall on Books as Hope

Posted in: Author Voices

 Our guest blogger today is author/poet Guadalupe Garcia McCall, whose book “Summer of the Mariposas”, from Lee & Low Books, is part of First Book’s Stories For All Project. “First Book’s mission to make books accessible to low-income families is very close to my heart. It fills me with joy to... Read more

The Stories for All Project: Author Pat Mora on the Connection Children Make with Books that Include their Culture and Language

Posted in: Author Voices

Our guest blogger today is author Pat Mora, whose book “Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico!”, from Lee & Low Books, is part of First Book’s Stories For All Project. “Once upon a time . . .” A magic phrase that can change our breathing. As far as we know, humans are the... Read more

The Stories for All Project: African American Author Tony Medina on Connecting Multicultural Books with Children of Color

Posted in: Author Voices

Our guest blogger today is author Tony Medina, whose book “DeShawn Days”, from Lee & Low Books, is part of First Book’s Stories For All Project. “As a child in the Throgs Neck Housing Projects in the Bronx, I did not grow up with books. The only person I saw reading... Read more

The Stories for All Project: Native American Author Joe Bruchac on Growing Up on the Reservation and the Power of Books

Posted in: Author Voices

Our guest blogger today is author Joseph Bruchac, whose book “Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path”, from Lee & Low Books, is part of First Book’s Stories For All Project. What does a book mean to a child? A book all his or her own? I can’t remember a time when I didn’t... Read more

Happy Birthday, Amelia Bedelia! A Q&A With Author, Herman Parish

Posted in: Author Voices

It’s been 50 years since the original author of Amelia Bedelia, Peggy Parish, debuted the popular children’s book series. Peggy passed away in 1988 but her Amelia Bedelia legacy lives on. Herman Parish, Peggy’s nephew, took over the series after Peggy’s passing. First Book recently interviewed Herman Parish about Amelia... Read more