First Book Blog

15,000 New Books on the National Mall, Plus Celebrities, Cabinet Secretaries and Cute Kids

Posted in: Focus on First Book, Impact Stories

On Saturday, volunteers from across the country joined First Book on the National Mall in Washington DC to celebrate President Obama’s National Day of Service by providing 15,000 brand-new books to DC-area children from low-income families. Click here to see photos of the event, including pictures of volunteers, political leaders,... Read more

Operation Bookitecture!

Posted in: Impact Stories

KPMG’s Family for Literacy brightened the holiday season for children across the country by bringing more than 49,000 brand new books to children in need as part of their firm-wide community service project, Operation Bookitecture. This was no ordinary book drive, however.  Nearly 3,000 KPMG employees in 70 offices across... Read more

Pi Beta Phi Brings Books About Great American Women to Kids in Need

Posted in: Focus on First Book, Impact Stories

This past November, First Book’s partner, Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women, celebrated their 100-year commitment to literacy service. To honor the momentous occasion, the Fraternity donated a special Pi Beta Phi edition of “Remember the Ladies: 100 Great American Women” to every student at Pi Beta Phi Elementary School... Read more

Our Big Year Together

Posted in: Focus on First Book

Happy holidays, from everyone at First Book! We had a big year here at First Book! I want to let you know everything we accomplished this year, and ask for your support as we continue our work to transform education by bringing new books to children from low-income families. First... Read more

Why I Wanted to be An Author

Posted in: Author Voices, For Educators, Impact Stories

When I was a little kid, I wanted to be an author because I wanted to find one of my books on the library shelves.  Seriously, that was my dream: a big “PE” (for PERL) sticker on the spine and everything.  While I must confess that seeing my books on... Read more

First Book and AFT Bring a Truckload of Books to Hurricane Sandy Victims

Posted in: Focus on First Book, Impact Stories

Last night, four First Book employees, with help from American Federation of Teachers’ volunteers, ventured to a small alley in the financial district of New York City to unload, label and sort 30,000 children’s books for victims of Hurricane Sandy. The American Federation of Teachers and their local New York... Read more

Banking On Books: TD Bank and First Book Bring 20,000 New Books to Kids in Need

Posted in: Focus on First Book, Impact Stories

We are excited to share the big news that our friends at TD Charitable Foundation are stepping up with $114,000 in grants to put books in the hands of kids in need! The TD Charitable Foundation and First Book have provided new books to 50 schools and programs for the... Read more

Lots of Noise, But No One in the Room

Posted in: Focus on First Book, Impact Stories

“There is a great deal of noise on the stairs but nobody comes into the room.” — John F. Kennedy President Kennedy was referencing a Chinese proverb when he said that, making the point that it was easy to talk about problems, but much more difficult to fix them. Kyle... Read more

35,000 Programs and Counting

Posted in: Impact Stories

Exciting news! There are now 35,000 schools and programs serving kids in need in the First Book network. That’s 35,000 classrooms, libraries, church groups, afterschool programs, homeless shelters, military programs and daycare centers; all with permanent, ongoing access to a steady stream of brand-new, high-quality books. But as pleased as... Read more

"Kids Can Have Their Own Books in Their Own Houses"

Posted in: Impact Stories

The thing that I like about First Book is that kids can have their own books in their own houses that their parents can read to them, and, later, that they can read themselves. — Jane Greene, First Book supporter Jane Greene is a longtime supporter of First Book. She... Read more