First Book Blog - Education News & Stories

4 Ways You Can Support First Book

Posted in: Our Partners

Guest blog post written by Emma Chuck, First Book Development Intern . Emma is is currently studying English and linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. When you donate to First Book, your generosity transforms the lives of children in historically underserved communities. With your support, First Book...

American Federation of Teachers Launches Campaign to “Stamp Out Racism”

Posted in: Our Partners, Press Room

Guest post written by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Imagine a world without racism. Now gather up some tools and put in the work to get us there. That’s what the AFT is doing with its campaign, Stamping Out Racism and Hate . Launched with partners NAACP and First Book, the campaign aims to make sure every...

First Book Launches Black Kids Matter Campaign

Posted in: Press Room

Presenting Sponsor National Grid to Support the Distribution of 10,000 Culturally Relevant Books to Kids in Need in Communities They Serve in Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island . TD Bank to Distribute an Additional 7,000 Books in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina . June 15, 2021 (Washington) – Fi...

Books to Inspire Your Student’s Activism

Posted in: Our Bookshelf

Guest blog post written by Alpha Diallo, First Book eCommerce Operations Intern Students and young people have a long history of activism in this country, pushing for change to define our future culture. As your students learn concepts such as fairness and democracy, invite them to continue the tradition of advocacy in...

Staff Picks to Make Summer Sweeter

Posted in: Our Bookshelf

Curling up with a book in the winter is great, but is there anything better than reading in the sunshine? First Book’s Book Nerds (a.k.a. the Title Selection & Merchandising teams) love tackling their to-be-read shelves during the summer months, so each staff member has selected four books they recommend for keeping th...

Celebrating Mo and Cher Willems

Posted in: Author Voices

Every May, the First Book family celebrates the Month of Mo and all the amazing stories that Mo Willems has brought to our network educators and their students. We celebrate with giveaways, Marketplace credits for teachers to stock their bookshelves, and by rereading our favorite Elephant & Piggie adventures. As an aut...

First Book’s Honor Roll

Posted in: First Book Communit Highlight

My mother was a high-school biology teacher for 32 years, every week was Teacher Appreciation Week in our house. To say I understood her impact on a child’s life is an understatement, but I hear of her impact often. “Oh, you’re Ms. Awad’s daughter? She was the best teacher I ever had. I know she technically taught biol...

Books for Baltimore: Impacting the Achievement Gap

Posted in: Impact Stories

The following is a guest blog post written by educators Loretta Holmberg and Ann Mengel, VIPTeach Global Online Teaching Fellows, First Book network educators, and leaders of the Books for Baltimore project. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of children have not been in physical classrooms with access to trade books...

How Diapers Break Down Barriers to Education

Posted in: Impact Stories

In 1992, First Book began with a mission to provide brand-new books to children in need. Throughout the years, the mission has stayed constant, but the needs have changed and expanded. Nearly 30 years later First Book continues to build a path out of poverty through educational equity and breaking down barriers beyond...

Books that Celebrate the Breadth of the Asian American Experience

Posted in: Our Bookshelf

To combat anti-Asian bias and discrimination, more educators are teaching about—and celebrating—the Asian American community. To assist educators, First Book is highlighting the breadth of Asian and Asian American stories. Our Marketplace Senior Manager of Merchandising, Yukari Matsuyama, put together the following lis...