How to use this Page

Today’s blog post is part of our Stories For All Project series, focused on sharing the latest announcements and impact stories about our effort to put diverse, inclusive books into the hands of kids.

Jessixa Bagley and Laurie Ann Thompson authored two of our 2015 Stories for All Project title selections. The new picture book authors recently joined us for a Twitter chat to discuss their books “Boats for Papa” and ”Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah” and why diversity and inclusion are important in children’s stories.

Here are some of the highlights. You can see full answers to all seven questions and questions from our audience on the Storify for this chat.

Why do you think it is important that diverse books are available to all children?

How can books featuring diverse voices and experiences contribute to inclusivity?

 How have you seen your book affect a reader?

Find out more! View the Storify of this Twitter chat.

The post Jessixa Bagley and Laurie Ann Thompson Chat with First Book appeared first on First Book Blog.

Today’s blog post is part of our Stories For All Project series, focused on sharing the latest announcements and impact stories about our effort to put diverse, inclusive books into the hands of kids.

On May 6th, we hosted a Twitter chat to talk about how books featuring diverse voices help children learn and grow. Educators from across the country joined publishers, thought leaders, supporters and partners to share their thoughts.

Here are just a few highlights from the conversation. View the entire Twitter chat on Storify.

What does the #StoriesforAll Project mean to you?

Why is it important that diverse books are available to all children?

Today’s blog post is part of our Stories For All Project series, focused on sharing the latest announcements and impact stories about our effort to put diverse, inclusive books into the hands of kids.

Today’s guest blogger is Melissa Spradlin, Executive Director of Book’em in Nashville, TN.

Having the right book at the right time can make a difference in a child’s life – sometimes forever. That is why having a variety of books to choose from is so important to our program.

Every day I work with Book’em in Nashville to make kids and teens owners of books, helping them discover the joy of reading.

Our public schools serve over 80,000 students of different ages and different backgrounds. They represent more than 100 different countries, many different ethnicities, races and languages.  They are creative, giving, curious, caring, amazing kids.

Because we have such a diverse population, it is extremely important to showcase diversity in the books we have available for our children. You never know what book might turn a child into a reader, but books that speak to their experience get enthusiastic readers  even more excited and inspire  readers who are a bit more reluctant.

Being able to choose from a variety of diverse books allows our kids to see themselves represented in ways they can relate to. It also helps broaden our students’ horizons and pave the way for a more inclusive future.

We are grateful that First Book’s Stories for All Project™ has allowed us to provide diverse, inclusive books to the children we serve.

The post The Right Book at the Right Time appeared first on First Book Blog.

Today’s blog post is part of our Stories For All Project series, focused on sharing the latest announcements and impact stories about our effort to put diverse, inclusive books into the hands of kids.

Last week, we announced our latest action in the Stories for All Project – we selected six outstanding titles that showcase characters and storylines often underrepresented in  children’s literature and are making 10,000 copies of each title available in affordable trade paperback format for the first time ever.

The first three titles are available now on the First Book Marketplace and in Target stores nationwide.

“Niño Wrestles the World”

Written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales, celebrates play and the power of the imagination through the unforgettable, underpants-wearing Niño. Pulling from Mexican folklore, Morales pits a series of silly, slightly spooky opponents against Niño. But no foe can stand up to the cunning competitor. He takes down his challengers with a Slish! Boop! Crunch! – playfully defeating each one. Winner of the Pura Belpre Illustrator Award for affirming Latino culture and experience, and the SCBWI Golden Kite Picture Book Illustration Honor.

“And Tango Makes Three”

Written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole, follows two male penguins in the Central Park Zoo through their fruitless efforts to hatch a rock. One day a zookeeper gives the dedicated fathers-to-be an extra egg that needs to be cared for. From this egg comes Tango, the very first penguin in the zoo to have two daddies. Based on a true story, winner of the ASPCA Henry Bergh Award.

“Tiger in My Soup“

Written by Kashmira Sheth and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler, features a young Indian-American boy determined to make his older sister read aloud his favorite story about a ferocious tiger. When she repeatedly puts him off, his imagination takes over and the tiger springs from his alphabet soup. An epic battle between boy and tiger commences, all behind the back of the distracted sister. While the hero eventually gets both his story and his reheated soup, he keeps a wary eye out for the tiger’s return.

“Boats for Papa”

Written and illustrated by new author/illustrator Jessixa Bagley, explores the healing love between a child and parent. Buckley the beaver loves to carve toy boats out of driftwood from the beach nearby. With Mama’s permission, he sends a boat out to sea for his father, whom he misses very much. Buckley believes that if the boat does not come back, it must have reached his Papa. He sends boat after boat to Papa, each one more beautiful that the last. Then one day

Buckley finds all of his boats carefully collected and kept by his Mama. Buckley sends one last boat – this time with a new message.

“Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah”

Written by first-time picture book author Laurie Ann Thompson and illustrated by Sean Qualls, is an inspiring true story about triumph over adversity. Born in Ghana with one disabled leg, Emmanuel was dismissed by most people, but taught by his mother to reach for his dreams. He hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age 13 to provide for his family, and eventually became a cyclist. In 2011, he rode an astonishing four hundred miles across Ghana spreading his powerful message: disability is not inability.

“Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me”

Written by Daniel Beaty and illustrated by Bryan Collier, is a heartbreaking and hopeful story about love and loss. Every morning, a boy and his father play a game. While the boy pretends to sleep, his father knocks on the door and approaches the bed to say, “I love you.” One day, there is no knock. This powerful and inspiring book shows the love that an absent parent can leave behind and the strength that children find in themselves as they grow up and follow their dreams. Winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award.

The post Six Diverse Stories: Our 2015 Stories for All Project Selections appeared first on First Book Blog.

Today’s blog post is part of our Stories For All Project series, focused on sharing the latest announcements and impact stories about our effort to put diverse, inclusive books into the hands of kids in need.

Cathy Gaudio reads aloud to a group of students in Phoenix, Arizona.  It’s a special day – every child at Sun Canyon Elementary is going home with a book of their own. The book, “Pelitos” by Sandra Cisneros, is bilingual. She reads one page in English, soon echoed by her bright-eyed helper reading the page in Spanish.  The children are thrilled.

“’Pelitos’ talks about how we all have different kinds of hair – showing that everyone’s differences are worth celebrating” explains Cathy.

Cathy, the Program Manager of AARP Foundation Experience Corps Phoenix, is joined by the school’s reading tutors for the celebration.   For an hour every week, 90 retiree volunteers from the program tutor 300 children in ten schools throughout the city. Sun Canyon is one such school.

On this day, the students gained more than reading skills from their tutors.  They saw themselves in the book they enjoyed.

“When these students can see themselves in books, they get more excited about reading, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to inspire in them,” says Cathy. “There’s one reference to very long hair that’s shiny. After we finished reading one little girl went to her book and opened to that page saying ‘This is me!  This is my hair!”

The young girl’s discovery created a larger conversation in the classroom.

“But this is me!” said one child.

“But I have curly hair, so this is me,” said another.

“At that age, they all accept each other and can find something very personal in that book,” Cathy observes.

Every child was able to find a reflection of themselves and they were overjoyed.

The post These Children Saw Themselves in a Book appeared first on First Book Blog.

When children see their lives reflected in the books they read they become more enthusiastic readers. Their educational outcomes improve. They succeed in school and in life.

But few books actually reflect the cultures and circumstances of the kids First Book serves, all of whom live in low-income households and many of whom are of minority backgrounds. In fact, a mere 11 percent of 3,500 children’s books reviewed by Cooperative Children’s Book Center this year are about people of color.

This is the reason we created the Stories for All Project^TM – the only market-driven solution to increase diverse voices and promote inclusivity in children’s literature.

Today, we’re proud to share our latest news with you: With support from Target, KPMG and Jet Blue Airways, First Book is making 60,000 copies of outstanding children’s titles featuring diverse characters and storylines available for the first time ever in affordable trade paperback format, to fuel learning and educational equity.

We chose these titles from hundreds submitted by publishers with input from the 175,000 educators and program leaders we serve. By aggregating the demand and purchasing power of this educator community, we have become the first organization to create a viable and vibrant market for books that reflect race, ability, sexual orientation and family structure in our ever-diversifying world.

Each of our selections contributes unique perspectives underrepresented in children’s literature while remaining relatable to all readers. As part of this current effort, First Book is thrilled to make available two titles by new picture book authors:

• “Niño Wrestles the World” written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales
• “And Tango Makes Three” written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole
• “Tiger in My Soup” written by Kashmira Sheth and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler
• “Boats for Papa” written and illustrated by new author/illustrator Jessixa Bagley
• “Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah,” written by first-time children’s author Laurie Ann Thompson and illustrated by Sean Qualls,
• “Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me,” written by Daniel Beaty and illustrated by Bryan Collier

Copies of all six titles will be available through the First Book Marketplace.  The first three titles are also available for the first time in paperback format on Target.com and at Target stores nationwide.

Every day, in communities around the country and around the world, we see the critical need to further our human understanding and embrace the gifts and experience each of us brings. The Stories for All Project and promotes understanding, empathy and inclusivity with stories that can help all children see and celebrate their differences and similarities.

The post The Stories for All Project: 60,000 New Books to Increase Diversity, Promote Inclusivity appeared first on First Book Blog.

For generations, American families have gathered together to read the cherished children’s book, Goodnight Moon, as part of their bedtime routine. Today, with Harper Collins Children’s Books, we are making the iconic title accessible to millions more families in a bilingual edition for the very first time.

Goodnight Moon/Buenas Noches, Luna is now available through the First Book Marketplace to educators and programs serving children from low-income families. Recognizing the growing need for greater diversity in children’s literature, HarperCollins is offering the book at the retail level as well.

The creation of the English-Spanish board book marks another important milestone in The Stories for All Project, our effort to increase the diversity in children’s books. The initiative is making classic children’s books and books featuring diverse characters, authors and illustrators more accessible to children in need, and, in the process, helping to demonstrate the growing market for culturally diverse books.

Are you an educator or program leader serving kids in need? You can find Goodnight Moon/Buenas Noches, Luna and other outstanding, culturally relevant titles on the First Book Marketplace.

The post Goodnight Moon: Making a Classic Bedtime Story Available to Bilingual Readers for the First Time appeared first on First Book Blog.

A celebration of culture, Hispanic Heritage Month is a great time to teach kids about the value of diversity and to encourage Latino and non-Latino youth alike to take pride in the accomplishments of Hispanic trailblazers.

Over the past year, First Book has cultivated a world-class collection of books featuring diverse Latino authors, illustrators and characters, thanks to support from our friends at Disney. We’ve also connected with more schools and programs serving Hispanic kids in need.

We recently gathered our friends and partners to find out how they are celebrating Hispanic heritage this month and beyond. Here are some of the exciting plans they shared with us:

• The National Parent Teacher Association created resources for local PTAs to engage Hispanic families and better support them in achieving student success.
• Reading Is Fundamental put together a calendar of activities in both English & Spanish with book suggestions and creative writing prompts.
• Publisher Lee & Low Books recommended free Día downloadable tools and activity sheets by the American Library Services for Children to help promote diversity and literacy year round.

For even more fun activities, book suggestions and ways to share Hispanic heritage with your kids and students, check out the highlights of our Hispanic Heritage Month Twitter chat.

Then tell us how you’re celebrating by tagging @FirstBook on Twitter using the hashtag #CelebrateHHM.

The post Great Ways to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month appeared first on First Book Blog.

Last week, hundreds of thousands of parents, educators and readers of all ages issued a call for more diversity in children’s literature, rallying under the banner of #WeNeedDiverseBooks. The campaign spread quickly from Twitter to media outlets around the world as people shared powerful stories about the need for all children to see themselves in books.

Today First Book is answering the call with a market-driven solution addressing the lack of diversity in children’s literature.

Children from all walks of life need to see themselves – and others – in the stories they read. So First Book - a nonprofit social enterprise that provides new books to kids in need – has reached out to U.S. and Canadian publishers and asked to see more books from new and underrepresented voices.

But we understand that publishers won’t print what they can’t sell, so First Book is putting our money where our mouth is and pledging to purchase 10,000 copies of every title we select.

Once published, the titles will be available to children everywhere.

In addition to helping bring these new voices to the children in our national network of schools and programs and to bookshelves everywhere, First Book will also fund, for the first time ever, affordable paperback editions of diverse titles that have previously only been publicly available in expensive hardcover formats.

Although we’re excited about the attention this critical issue has been receiving lately, our commitment isn’t new. Today’s announcement is part of First Book’s Stories for All Project, our ongoing efforts to increase the diversity in children’s books.

Join us in helping all children see themselves – and others – in the stories they read.

Click here to sign up for occasional email messages about The Stories for All Project and other First Book news.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the ‘Request for Proposals’ that First Book issued to publishers.

The post A Market-Driven Solution to the Need for Diverse Books appeared first on First Book Blog.

Today’s guest blog post is from Dr. Mandy Stewart, an assistant professor of bilingual education at Texas Woman’s University. Follow her on Twitter at @DrMandyStewart.

How many books have you read in your lifetime?  How many picture books did an adult read aloud to you while growing up?

Most of us can’t even begin to count the innumerable books we have been exposed to since birth.   Each book — its story, its illustrations, its author, and its language — sends strong messages to children. 

But what messages do children receive?  Are they learning every day at school that their language, the one they speak to those they love most, is not worthy of being in books?  Are they learning that people like them don’t belong in printed stories? Unfortunately, those are the messages some children receive on a daily basis at school.

Culturally and linguistically diverse books are not as accessible in our public libraries and bookstores as more mainstream books.  It takes countless hours (and countless dollars) to find books in other languages and get them in the classroom.  Every year I look for books in Spanish that are at various reading levels, that are engaging and that mirror student’s experiences.  And it is exponentially more costly to find the same books in other languages from even more cultural perspectives.

The good news is this does not have to be the case. Today there are many children’s, adolescent, and young adult authors writing from diverse cultural and linguistic perspectives and many publishers bringing these stories to life.  We now have quality age-appropriate literature available in many languages.

Through their Stories for All Project, First Book is a pioneer in ensuring that all children  have access to culturally and linguistically diverse books. They have an excellent collection of literature that represents diverse families. They also have many easy readers, picture books, and chapter books available in Spanish and other languages.  I am grateful that I am able to purchase many of these at a very low price for my son’s Spanish/English bilingual 1^st grade class.

We must keep demanding quality literature in more languages, written and illustrated by more diverse people.  Surely we want all children to say: I am learning to read in my own language.  My language and culture are important enough to be represented in the books in my classroom.  My life story is worthy of being written.  My family, my language, my culture, and my life experiences are valuable. I am important.

We cannot stop until that is a reality for EVERY child and youth in our schools, in our neighborhoods, and in our society.

Mary Amanda (Mandy) Stewart, Ph. D. is an Assistant Professor of Bilingual Education at Texas Woman’s University.  Her son is in Mrs. Schirico’s 1^st grade bilingual class at Elkins Elementary in the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District in Fort Worth, TX.  His class has received about 100 books from First Book in English and Spanish to read at school with each other and at home with their parents.

The post Books in Every Language for Every Child appeared first on First Book Blog.

A generous donation from Disney has enabled an expansion in our selection of Latino children’s books – a wealth of great titles for your elementary school kids! Our Latino Culture section includes books that highlight the diversity, history, and rich storytelling traditions of Latin America. Here you’ll find books that capture the imagination of the Latino experience, showcase the talents of Latino authors and illustrators, and reflect the lives of Latinos throughout the Americas, with a particular emphasis on the Latino experience in the U.S.

Click to view larger version

The lack of diversity in children’s books is a serious problem, and one that First Book is working to solve through The Stories for All Project. This terrific piece by artist Tina Kugler illustrates some statistics from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center.

And, while the illustration is charming, the reality is alarming. Sign up for email updates from First Book and we’ll let you know more about The Stories for All Project and how you can get involved.

The post The Lack of Diversity in Children’s Books, Charmingly Illustrated appeared first on First Book Blog.

“The issue is cultural relevance,” said Jane Robinson, First Book Chief Financial Officer, addressing a room of Clinton Global Initiative attendees, all experts in the field of education. “Children need to see themselves in what they read.  Because the price of books is high, book content most often reflects the lives of people of means.”

First Book’s recent attendance at the Clinton Global Initiative and corresponding commitment to remedy the lack of diversity in children’s literature has garnered a good bit of media attention. A wide range of news sources, including Native News Network, GalleyCat, Examiner.com, BooksWorld, The Guardian, and an article in Publisher’s Weekly featured our commitment and our Stories For All project.

To expand diversity in children’s literature we are pioneering a market-driven solution. The First Book Marketplace is an online store available only to educators and program leaders serving kids in need.  To stock the Marketplace, First Book purchases new books from publishers on a non-refundable basis. Because of this, publishers gain access to a new market of consumers without having to stock shelves, market or distribute their books. Educators, program leaders, and — most importantly — kids in need, gain access to the highest quality books and stories that accurately reflect their reality.

The post First Book at the Clinton Global Initiative: Expanding Diversity in Children’s Literature appeared first on First Book Blog.

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 said. “Hey, look at my brown, too,” insisted another. “Ooooh, I like your brown,” exclaimed another student. The first graders praised each other with excitement, as they playfully compared the variety of colors.

As a Family Literacy Program Manager at CentroNía—a bilingual, multicultural educational institution— activities like the self-portrait project remind me the role that educators have in challenging colorblind approaches to learning and affirming positive messages about culture and identity through class materials.

Too often we are nudged to teach with a colorblind approach. Although the intention is noble, we miss countless opportunities to creatively reinforce positive messages about identity and the beauty of peoples’ heritage.

This important concept inspired CentroNía’s partnership with First Book—an organization that provides new books to children in need nationwide. Together we are making sure that students have books that honor diversity (just like the self-portrait painting assignment). Books are pivotal and necessary to teach, celebrate, and embrace identity.

Without doubt, the stories and characters in books greatly influence what we learn about who we are and who we believe we can be! With this in mind, First Book brought bilingual author Lulu Delacre to CentroNía’s library earlier this month. Twenty second graders listened attentively to her book titled, Rafi y Rosi. The main characters were the coquís (tiny frogs endemic to Puerto Rico), who took the readers on a cultural journey to the island and shared its regional vocabulary and pastimes. Delacre’s enthusiastic style of reading and visual expression with props made this Monday morning unforgettable for many kids and adults in the room.

It was an enriching experience all in one: educational, fun and interactive. I left thinking every book should be a story as rich and culturally explorative as Rafi y Rosi. As educators committed to cultivating life-long learners and critical, global thinkers, we have a social responsibility to integrate culturally relevant material into our pedagogy.

With a growing Latino population, it is refreshing to see characters in children’s books that look like the children we serve every day.  It is especially encouraging to see First Book take the lead in diversifying their book offerings for young children so the protagonists accurately reflect the changing demographics of our country and its children.

In fact, First Book has committed to help intellectually enrich underrepresented communities by donating books to CentroNía’s Family Book Clubs, among other programs. Together, we will continue creating literacy ventures that foster interactive reading experiences between children ages 0-5 years old and their parents.

I take pride in our unique partnership because together we are providing quality bilingual, multicultural education to all children year-round.  Whether students are learning to appreciate and embrace diversity with a paintbrush or a book—what’s important is the exposure to those experiences.

The post My Brown is Beautiful, See it Please (Guest Post) appeared first on First Book Blog.

The lack of diversity in children’s literature is a problem that affects all children, especially children from low-income families, who rarely see themselves, their families or their communities in the stories they read.

The problem is real. In a study last year, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center reviewed thousands of kids’ books, and found that:

• only 3.3 percent were about African-Americans
• only 2.1 percent were about Asian-Pacific Americans
• only 1.5 percent were about Latinos
• a mere 0.6 percent were about American Indians.

The teachers, librarians, mentors and program leaders we work with tell us time and again that one of the biggest challenges they face in helping kids become strong readers is the lack of stories featuring heroes and experiences they can relate to.

Today, at the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) meeting, hosted by President Bill Clinton, I announced First Book’s commitment to create a sustainable solution to this problem by dramatically expanding the market for diversity in children’s literature through The Stories for All Project.

First Book aggregates the voices — and purchasing power — of thousands of educators and program leaders who serve families at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Through The Stories for All Project, we’re showing the publishing industry that there is a strong, viable and vibrant market out there for books like these.

One more important thing: This isn’t just about kids from African-American or Hispanic families being able to read stories about characters who look like them. All kids should have access to stories featuring diverse characters, to see the world in all its true rich variety.  We’re creating this market in order to make diverse content available to kids from low-income families, but once that content exists, it’s available for everyone.

First Book is truly eager to collaborate with everyone interested in  really changing this landscape for all kids.

Add your name to First Book’s email list to recieve occasional updates about The Stories for All Project and other ways to get new books into the hands of kids in need.

The post Lack of Diversity in Kids’ Books and How to Fix It appeared first on First Book Blog.

 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 hear that such an organization exists. Books are more than important, they fill a basic need in low-income communities—the need to connect to the world. Books for children of poverty represent hope.

As a young girl, I loved books. Books were my friends. They took me places I knew I would never be able to visit because we were poor. After my mother passed away, my father couldn’t leave town to work anymore, so he had to settle for working in Eagle Pass. He did odd jobs, put in a toilet for a friend and got a few bucks. Sometimes he got lucky and someone needed him to take out the flooring on their mobile home and put in a new one; then he had enough money to pay the bills for the month and buy a few groceries. We didn’t have money for anything other than food and bills.

The library at school fed my mind. I was able to borrow as many books as I could ever read, and I read a lot. I wanted to own books too; I wanted to hold them in my hand and never let them go. But books were luxuries we couldn’t afford. Even though there was a Waldenbooks in the mall, I couldn’t buy a book even if I wanted to. I used to watch other people pull out money and pay for books that I could only touch and admire when I was brave enough to walk into the bookstore, take in the scent of new books, and run my fingers over them, longing to take them home.

There was only one way I could own a book as a child. Once a month, the public library would have a books sale. Old, tattered paperbacks were a quarter, and if you bought four, you got one free. It used to pain me to ask my father for money for books; there was so little of it to go around. But my father always found a way to get a few dollars into my hands so I could have my books and travel the world in my mind. I learned so much from those books. They shaped me, molded me, made me strong.

As an author, I try to pay it forward by writing stories that feed young people’s minds and strengthen their spirits. I wrote Summer of the Mariposas to fill a gap. I wanted my Hispanic female students to see themselves as wise, courageous, and strong enough to go on a quest of their own; I wanted them to be brave and become the heroes of their own lives. I wanted to empower them, to give them hope for a better future, to open up the world to them. I am so glad First Book is here to distribute books like Summer of the Mariposas to young women who wouldn’t otherwise have access to them.

As an English teacher, I know how important reading is to a child’s development, how directly connected reading is to their success in school. If they can’t read, they won’t be able to have success in any other class or understand any other subject. Reading can either break them or make them. Putting books in the hands of children of low-income families, helping them find that one book that will make them fall in love with reading, will open doors for them. Books will help needy children reach their fullest potential. Books can provide the hope they have been looking for—the gift that will never be forgotten.”

Love the Stories For All Project? Want more?

Latina Author Pat Mora, “I wish you could see the smiles of Spanish-speaking children when, in reading one of my books to them, I say a word in Spanish.”

African American Author Tony Medina, “This boy exclaimed about me, the author, ‘How does he know about my life?’”

Native American Author Jim Bruchac, “Is having a book of one’s very own meaningful to a child in the 21st century when mobile devices make it possible to connect with the world in ways unimaginable in my childhood? I firmly believe the answer is yes.”

To learn more about our awesome Stories For All Project partner, Lee & Low Books, check out their blog.

The post The Stories for All Project: Latina Author Guadalupe Garcia McCall on Books as Luxury appeared first on First Book Blog.

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 was my grandmother, who occasionally read mass-market paperback fiction and her Bible that was as big as a phone book. If the Bible fell from the top of the dresser where she kept it, it could take your kneecap off and crush your foot in the process! The only time I recall being exposed to children’s books was at school when the teacher took us to the school library and the librarian allowed us to take out Curious George books.

It was as an adult that I really began to appreciate children’s books. I remember being fascinated by the marriage of art and text. The stories and poems were depicted so beautifully and richly that it seemed as if they blended together seamlessly, creating a world by which even adults would be captivated. I knew right then that I wanted to be part of that magic. I thought, if I as a grownup can be taken with the majesty of these portable art galleries and museums, children must truly love them.

Soon after, I began buying children’s books and taking some out from the library. I not only found myself interested in the wonderful stories and poems, I wanted to teach myself how to write them—by reading them. The more I browsed through shelves in bookstores and libraries, the more I noticed that many of the books I came across did not speak to or from the point of view of a kid like me from the projects. I yearned to read about what a child from the ’hood had to say about his life and his world. I remember reading an interview with the African American novelist and Noble Prize-winner Toni Morrison, She said she wrote the books she wanted to read. That nugget of wisdom stayed with me as I made my way to fulfilling my dream of becoming a writer.

By the time I decided to write my own children’s books, a child’s voice began to present itself in my mind. It belonged to a kid named DeShawn Williams, and he was talking about his life growing up in the projects. Not surprisingly, his words seemed to mirror my experiences as a child. Poems in DeShawn’s voice began to take hold of me and I began to write them down. Before I knew it, DeShawn was telling me about the people he loved and lived with: his mother, who was in college; his grandmother, who helped raise him; his uncle, who stood-in for his absent father; his cousin Tiffany, who was like his sister, even though they fought like crazy; and his best friend from school, Johnny Tse, who taught him Karate, which he assumed was from China, but finds out was from Japan. Thus, DeShawn Days, my first book for children, was born.

There was no greater feeling than to see the publication of DeShawn Days, which was initially embraced in manuscript form by my editor and subsequently published by multicultural children’s book publisher, Lee & Low Books. At that time, no books like DeShawn Days were around. The only thing that topped seeing DeShawn Days out in the world was sharing it with children, particularly children who came from a world similar to DeShawn’s. I remember encountering a youngster who had the same name—DeShawn—who was also being raised by his grandmother. This boy exclaimed about me, the author, “How does he know about my life?”

This experience made me realize in a real way, outside of my own literary aspirations, the power of books: how they can matter and make a profound difference in a child’s life, especially when they speak to and from the child’s own experiences and validate his or her life.”

To learn more about our awesome Stories For All Project partner, Lee & Low Books, check out their blog.

The post The Stories for All Project: African American Author Tony Medina on Connecting Multicultural Books with Children of Color appeared first on First Book Blog.

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 have books. I was raised by my grandparents in a house full of books that belonged to my grandmother. I loved to pull the books off the shelves and look through them, even when I didn’t understand most of the words.

But what meant the most to me was having my own books. It wasn’t easy to get books when I was a child. This was long before Borders, Barnes & Noble, and ordering books online. We lived in a small rural town, far from the nearest bookstore. One of the most exciting things for me was when my grandmother drove me to Glens Falls, twenty miles away, where there was a bookstore with a small children’s section. For the two dollars saved from my monthly allowance, I could buy a book—usually about nature—such as one of those in the Old Mother West Wind series by Thornton W. Burgess. All the way home I’d sit in the back of our old blue Plymouth, clutching that new book, eager to open its pages and be lost in the world it created for me.

That was more than sixty years ago. Do books still hold that sort of magic for children? Is having a book of one’s very own meaningful to a child in the 21st century when mobile devices make it possible to connect with the world in ways unimaginable in my childhood?

I firmly believe the answer is yes. It’s not just because I write books for young readers. My belief is based on what I’ve seen and continue to see when I visit schools. Kids cherish their books. Sometimes they express it to me in person or through letters and e-mails that they write to me, saying how much they’ve enjoyed a book, asking questions, and even offering suggestions for additional books I ought to write about the same character. When I see fifty excited third graders standing in line waiting for their chance to have their books signed by the author, I am certain that connection between children and a personal copy of a book is still strong.

I’ve seen this connection in children from every conceivable ethnic and economic background. It’s been my good fortune to be able to frequently visit schools on Indian reservations and in inner cities. There, rather than having a home full of books, children’s own first book may be the only one in the house.

Several years ago I did author visits to schools on the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation in South Dakota. Pine Ridge is perhaps the most economically disadvantaged community in the United States, situated far from any place where jobs can be found. Even the water on most of the rez is undrinkable and pure water must be brought in by tanker trucks. Levels of alcoholism, suicide, and abuse are shockingly high. Yet some of the finest people I’ve ever met still live on Pine Ridge.

I was being taken around by one of the school bus drivers. As we passed his house—a single story dwelling not much larger than an average two-car garage—he turned to me.

“Know how many kids we have living with us?”

I shook my head.

“Eleven,” he said. “Only four of them are ours. The rest are all kids who were homeless.”

I just nodded. He wasn’t looking for praise, simply letting me know how things were. The traditional Lakota way is to view all children as your own, to care for any child in need.

Then he smiled. “Today,” he said, “every one of those kids is going to get a book.”

And later that day, when one of those children handed me her copy of my book Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path, she said, “I really like where this book takes me.”

The post The Stories for All Project: Native American Author Jim Bruchac on Growing Up on the Reservation and the Power of Books appeared first on First Book Blog.