First Book Names Libby Doggett as Chairman of the Board; Sharon Price John Appointed to the First Book Board; Andrew Roberts Joins First Book Advisory Council

Posted in: Press Room

Pictured from left to right: Sharon Price John, Libby Doggett, Andrew Roberts. Washington, D.C. – July 14, 2025 – First Book, the national nonprofit dedicated to furthering educational opportunity for children in low-income communities, named early childhood education leader Libby Doggett as chairman of the Board of Directors. In addition,... Read more

From Bus to Bookshelf: How the Free Book Bus and Johnson Elementary Nurture Young Readers 

Posted in: First Book Community Highlight, For Educators, Impact Stories

At First Book, we believe in the transformative power of stories, and are inspired by those who bring books to the hands of children who need them most. Two such inspiring examples are Sharon, the visionary behind The Free Book Bus, and the dedicated educators at Johnson Elementary. The Free... Read more

How Educators Use “All Are Welcome” in the Classroom

Posted in: For Educators, Our Bookshelf

From arts and craft projects that inspire students to own their uniqueness to conversations of diversity and inclusion, several educators have used All Are Welcome to create opportunities for students to celebrate inclusivity within their community. 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

Q&A with Mary Louise Sanchez, author of “The Wind Called My Name”

Posted in: Author Voices

Today we wish a happy “book birthday” to The Wind Called My Name – a middle-grade historical fiction novel about a young Latina girl & her family settling in Wyoming during The Great Depression. We here at First Book are particularly excited to see this title hit bookshelves today! Its author, Mary Louise... Read more

11 Books to Read If You Loved ‘The Hate U Give’

Posted in: Our Bookshelf

When we here at First Book first read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, we knew we had to get this title into the hands of the educators and kids we serve. We knew many young readers would see themselves in Starr, the book’s protagonist, and others would use... Read more

I Pledge Allegiance

Posted in: Author Voices

This blog was originally posted on June 20, 2014. It has been updated with new outbound links. Today’s guest blog post is by Libby Martinez, co-author of the children’s book I Pledge Allegiance, on teaching kids to be proud of the place they were born while being a proud American.... Read more

“It Gives Me a Tremendous Amount of Hope:” Author Hena Khan on Kids, Tolerance, and the Universal Experience of Middle School

Posted in: Author Voices

Middle school anxiety does not discriminate, Amina’s Voice author Hena Khan told First Book. It’s why we all can mirror each other’s experiences in some way, no matter where we’re from—and that gives Khan hope, she said. Read more about Hena, Amina, and the relatability of generous aunties in our... Read more

Andrea Davis Pinkney on Connecting the African American and Jewish American Experience

Posted in: Author Voices

First Book President and CEO Kyle Zimmer recently sat down with award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney for a conversation about her latest book, A Poem for Peter — a book she describes as her “love letter” to Ezra Jack Keats, creator of the iconic children’s classic, The Snowy Day. In researching... Read more

Q&A with Author Jason Reynolds

Posted in: Author Voices

Author Jason Reynolds’ books start the conversations about the difficult issues facing kids today. His experiences, as told through the characters in his stories, are very much like those of the children we serve – which is why we feel it’s so important for them to hear Jason’s voice. We... Read more