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The following is a guest blog post by Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute and author of ‘Mind in the Making‘. First Book and Mind in The Making have partnered to bring you book lists and tip sheets for seizing the opportunities for life skills learning available in reading time with your children.

This post also appears today on The Huffington Post.

For a long time, we’ve been told, “read to children!” As important as this message is, it has frustrated me. It’s not JUST reading to children that matters; it is HOW we read to children that has benefits for us and for them.

This may sound like a guilt-trip, but it’s not! There are simple ways to read to children that make it more fun for us and for children and that promote their learning even better. These don’t cost money or take lots of time. I certainly know from my research on work and family life that time is something we all feel starved for.

So what do I mean?

One of the enduring findings from child development research is the importance of what researchers such as Jack Shonkoff of Harvard call “serve and return”. This involves a back and forth interaction between you and your child. Like a game of ball: One of you says or does something (serves) and the other responds (returns). It is important to listen and then to build on and extend what your child says or does and to keep this going for as long as your child is interested.

Here is an example. While reading the book Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes…(based on the song) to your child, you can point to your head and say: “Here’s my head. Where’s your head?” Then point to the child’s head: “There’s your head!” Wait for your child’s response and respond back. That is the essence of serve and return. It doesn’t matter if you don’t finish the book–having the conversation is what counts.

As Catherine Snow of Harvard says:

The book creates a platform on which the conversation takes place. [The adult is there to] interpret, to name the pictures, to describe the action, to explain what’s going on. This is one of the reasons why research shows that families in which children are read to regularly are families whose children are more likely to arrive at school ready to learn, with bigger vocabularies and a greater capacity to participate effectively in classrooms. [It's] because they’ve had this kind of focused conversation with adults.

Another important finding from child development research is the importance of promoting executive function life skills. And that sounds like a mouthful too, but it isn’t. These are skills that emerge along a developmental timetable in children. However, they emerge often unnoticed, and as such are typically not consciously promoted, but when they are, children are more likely to thrive in the short- and long-term. That’s why I call them life skills.

All of these life skills are based, in one way or another, in the prefrontal cortex of the brain and we use them to “manage” our attention, our emotions and our behavior in order to reach our goals. So they are executive function life skills.

As Adele Diamond of the University of British Columbia says:

If you look at what predicts how well children will do later in school, more and more evidence is showing that executive functions … actually predict success better than IQ tests.

Here is an example, using the book, Elmo Says, based on the game Simon Says. This book promotes the executive function life skill of Focus and Self Control. Focus and Self Control includes being able to remember rules. It also includes the ability to not just make a quick response, but also to pause and choose a response. Playing games and reading books that require children to remember and not go on automatic, but to exercise self control, are what promotes executive functions. You can play the game as you read the book with your child. Like the game of Simon Says, your child is not supposed to follow the directions unless the book states: “Elmo says!”

My years of research into executive function skills and the critical impact they have on young children led me to create the book Mind in the Making, a set of seven essential life skills that every child needs. And what better time to promote those skills in children than when you’re sitting down reading with them?

In order to make this a reality, especially for low-income children, I’ve been collaborating with First Book — a nonprofit social enterprise that provides new books and educational materials to children in need — to translate this understanding of why HOW we read to children makes the biggest difference. We’ve put together collections of beloved, iconic children’s books as well as new books that are sure to become classics- for multiple age ranges – that teach these valuable lessons. For programs serving low-income children, these books are available at a very low cost on the First Book Marketplace, an online store available exclusively to classrooms and programs serving children from low-income families.

We’ve also created a set of support tips: simple games and techniques for each book that a parent or educator can use to reinforce one of the seven essential skills. These are freely available for everyone on the Mind in the Making website, and anyone ordering any of the titles through the First Book Marketplace will receive them automatically.

By reaching more educators, clinics, and community programs with the message of teaching life skills early on, we’re helping to ensure that all children find success in the classroom, the workplace and life.

The post First Book and Mind in The Making’s Ellen Galinsky: Reading Time as a Missed Opportunity for Life-Skills Learning appeared first on First Book Blog.

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Is there a teacher in your life who works with kids in need?

First Book needs your help in connecting 5,000 new teachers, librarians, reading specialists and school administrators with brand new books and resources for back-to-school.

Anyone working at a Title I school is eligible to sign up now with First Book (or any program serving kids in need; it doesn’t have to be a school).

Once they’re signed up, they’ll:

1) have access to the First Book Marketplace, where they can find over 4,000 titles, including books for reluctant readers, Common Core resources, Caldecott and Newbery award-winners and graphic novels.

2) receive regular email updates about new, free books donated by publishers and available through the First Book National Book Bank.

Encourage the educators in your life to sign up today at firstbook.org/join.

Or share this message via the social media buttons below.

The post Help Your Favorite Teacher Get New Books for Back-to-School appeared first on First Book Blog.

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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.

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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 Bedelia turning 50 and why books are important for young readers.

First Book:  How was a beloved character like Amelia Bedelia created? Was there any inspiration?

Herman Parish:  My Aunt Peggy Parish would often take things literally, not continually as Amelia Bedelia does, but enough times that one could understand how she could have come up with the character naturally. Peggy also drew inspiration from the class of third graders she taught. She would ask them to do something and a student would ask “Do you mean for us to do what you said?” When Peggy thought back on her exact words, she realized that if they were taken literally, there could be a problem. That got her to thinking that there might be a story there.

A couple of years after Peggy passed away, I heard an intriguing tale that may offer a clue as to why she made Amelia Bedelia a housekeeper. I was visiting Peggy’s hometown of Manning, South Carolina and spoke with one of her cousins. They had been playmates at their Grandparents house, where a big dinner was served every Sunday. The Grandparents were named — surprise, surprise — Mr. & Mrs. Rogers.

Mrs. Rogers had both a cook and a housekeeper. There was also a younger housekeeper whose main job was to look after the children because she was hopeless at housework. Peggy’s cousin recalled a time when this young housekeeper had to fill in for the older one. Mrs. Rogers told her to “sweep around the room.” This young housekeeper did just what she was told: she swept the edges of the room clean, but left the center of the room untouched. All of the children laughed at her mistakes. I asked this cousin if he had ever reminded Peggy about this maid. He said that when he did, Peggy did not say anything — she just smiled.

First Book:  50 years. Would you or your aunt ever think this series would continue on for so long?

Herman Parish:  Peggy Parish passed away in November of 1988. All during that spring and summer, she and Amelia Bedelia were celebrated at national meetings and conventions of teachers and librarians because it was Amelia Bedelia’s 25^th Birthday. So Peggy must have had a sense that the character she created would live on long after she was gone. I’m sure that Amelia Bedelia will be around long after I am gone, taking the world at face value as she does exactly what she is told to do.

First Book:  Why are books so important for young readers?

Herman Parish:  I’ll tell you what my Aunt Peggy Parish thought because I agree with her. She believed that there was a very narrow window when a child would be or could be interested in reading. If you missed that opportunity, it was very difficult to engage them later. She felt that reading was important because a child’s imagination can take them anywhere. It opens them up to all sorts of possibilities in their own lives.

First Book: Over 40% of children in the US do not have age-appropriate books in their homes, nor in classrooms or programs they attend due to the fact that they simply cannot afford new books. As someone who writes children’s books, how does this affect you?

Herman Parish:  Well, I would be optimistic about it. I would say that whatever could be done to get just one book into the hands of those 40% would give them a big boost make a huge difference to them. Also, whatever books they get would be cherished and recalled fondly for years to come.  As a writer, I do my best to write the best books that I can. That way, if one of those children in the 40% happen to read one of my books, they will have fun. Reading what you like to read one book at a time will develop the habit of simply liking to read, which will be with them for the rest of their lives. I only hope that children would find my books fun to read, which would encourage them to keep reading and seek out other books they would enjoy.

First Book:  What was your favorite children’s book?

Herman Parish:  My Aunt Peggy sent me a copy of The Cat in the Hat when it was first published. At that time, my father was in the Air Force and we were stationed in England. I remember thinking that the Cat himself must be an American because he was so brash and bold, which is how the British saw us. I identified with this character as a role model, as I was born in Texas and wore cowboy boots and jeans in the first grade at an otherwise tame British primary school. The other kids probably thought that I was the Cat!

Amelia Bedelia books are available on the First Book Marketplace, a website exclusively for educators and program leaders that work with kids in need.

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At First Book, we want to see all kids become strong readers, the critical step to succeeding in school and in life. But all too often the children we work with have books with characters and stories that aren’t relevant to their lives. And that makes it harder to turn them on to reading.*

So today we’re taking an extraordinary step toward remedying this problem: The Stories for All Project.

We are not the first people to complain and worry about this issue. So we knew if we were actually going to make a difference we needed a market-driven solution. In short, we needed to put our money where our mouth is.

We reached out to the publishing industry with the offer to purchase $500,000 worth of books featuring voices that are rarely represented in children’s literature: minorities, characters of color, and others whose experiences resonate with the children we serve. The response was overwhelming. In fact, we received so many great proposals that we decided to double our commitment, purchasing $500,000 worth of new titles from both HarperCollins and Lee & Low Books — $1 million worth of books altogether. We’ll be able to offer hundreds of thousands of new books to the kids we serve.

With these major purchases, First Book is continuing to harness market forces to create social change; by aggregating the untapped demand for books and resources in thousands of low-income communities, we’re helping to create a new market for the publishing industry. When that happens, they respond by publishing more titles with more relevant content. Everyone really does win, and that’s how you make real, systemic change both possible and sustainable.

This is an exciting step! But it’s just the beginning. The Stories for All Project will include more titles reflecting diverse communities, including minorities, LGBTQ and special needs populations. We’re also convening a leadership council of noted authors, illustrators and other leaders to help us create content, and reach out to even more schools and programs so that we can reach the children and teachers who are waiting for us..

Join us! If you work with children from low-income neighborhoods, or know someone who does, sign up with First Book today. We have books for you too.

* In a recent survey of more than 2,000 educators from First Book schools and programs, 90 percent of respondents agreed that the children in their programs would be more enthusiastic readers if they had access to books with characters, stories and images that reflect their lives and their neighborhoods.

Kyle Zimmer is the president and CEO of First Book.

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First Book works tirelessly throughout the year to provide new, high quality books to students in need.  One of the true pleasures of this work is to know that volunteers, organizations, and communities across the country are working toward the same goal.

Recently, we received a wonderful letter that highlighted the incredible creativity of one such group.

MJR Marketplace Digital Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, Michigan, does an annual movie promotion event to benefit an organization of their choice. This year, the movie theater used its promotion for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to help bring books to kids through First Book.

During the movie’s opening weekend, several of the theater’s managers and staff created a wonderful display of Bilbo Baggins’ iconic home, Bag End. One employee went above and beyond to dress up as Gandalf the Grey himself and posed in photographs with patrons for a small donation.

As a result of their hard work and imaginative fundraising, the night turned out to be a huge success. They combined the donations from the weekend with the funds from a year-long soda can recycling program to raise a total of $1,384.66 to help put books in the hands of low-income students.

The staff successfully combined the excitement of a fan base for a movie premiere with the compassion of their audience to help students across the country. It serves as a high bar for the rest of us and makes us think: what are some creative ways we could help the students in our own communities?

If the tale of The Hobbit has taught us anything, it’s that you can never underestimate the impact of a small band of friends.  In the wise words of Gandalf the Grey: “I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay.  Small acts of kindness and love.”  In this case, let’s pretend the ‘darkness’ he is referring to is illiteracy. First Book could not be happier to have such great friends, with innovative ideas, along to way to create a generation of successful readers!

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At First Book, we do everything in our power to make sure that kids from low-income families are getting the books they need. So we don’t just drop a box of used books off at the door. We work hard to make sure we offer Newbery and Caldecott winners, popular titles, books that kids want to read. The books are always brand-new, and we let the educators closest to the children make the decisions about which titles their kids will respond to.

But all too often, kids from low-income neighborhoods — if they have books at all — have books with characters and stories that aren’t relevant to their lives. And that makes it harder to turn them on to reading.

So today we’re taking another big step to make sure we’re doing everything we can to turn those kids into readers. We’ve reached out to our friends in the publishing industry with an extraordinary offer.

As the centerpiece of our new OMG Books (Offering More Great Books) initiative, we’re stepping up with $500,000 to purchase hundreds of thousands of new books featuring voices that are rarely represented in children’s literature: minorities, characters of color, and others whose experiences resonate with the children we serve, characters and stories that are relevant to their lives.

We already work closely with leading publishers to provide new books for teachers and program leaders serving children in need. Last year we purchased three million new books from major publishers, which we made available – at significant discounts – to the 50,000 schools and programs in our national network, through the First Book Marketplace.

At first, this approach seems unusual to some people. Why are we selling books to programs? Why aren’t we just giving them away?

Actually, we are giving books away — millions of them every year — through our National Book Bank program. But the First Book Marketplace is a different kinds of innovation.

Through the First Book Marketplace, we’re aggregating the buying power of tens of thousands of Title I classrooms, after-school programs, homeless shelters and others serving the most vulnerable children. Those classrooms and programs may not have the funds to go into a bookstore and buy books at retail prices, but when they come together through First Book, they represent a real market for the publishing industry. Which, in turn, benefits by reaching new customers they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach.

This new initiative is a big deal, and we’re excited! The offer is out to every leading publisher, and we’re already getting back proposals. We’ll share more news as soon as we have it.

NOTE: If you work for a publisher, or are just interested in fine print, check out the request here. All proposals welcome!

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Why do you write?
To express yourself.
To explore an idea.
To create a character that interest you.
To explore a difficult topic like immigration, abortion, war, alcoholism.
To weave a spell.
To leave a legacy.
To explain your life to your grandchildren.
To explain how to do something.
To scare someone.
To make someone swoon.

The reasons we write are endless, they are personal. And each reason is valid. But if you want to cross over into the published world, you need one more reason: to sell. To think commercially is a problem for many writers.

For example, let’s say you want to write nonfiction books for kids. The National Science Teachers Association and the Children’s Book Council released their list of Outstanding Science Trade Books for 2013, about 58 books they deem literature that can be used in science classrooms, the best of science and the best of literature combined. I was lucky enough to have my picture book, Desert Baths, named to the list.

It has been interesting to study the list of about 58 books to see if there are common themes that make these books commercial. Overwhelmingly, the topics are about nature, especially animals. The second most popular genre was biographies, especially of scientists. Some combine the two, such as Wild Horse Scientists, from a series about contemporary scientists and their work. There were some technology books (about the bomb, the Mars rover, or other space topics), one chemistry book, one about the importance of oil, one on botany, and one about forensics.

In other words, there are big gaps in the scientific disciplines covered and there’s a possible window there for a topic, if it’s done well. On the other hand, nature/animals/biographies are proven best sellers, so it may be best to stick to those categories. Ultimately, the decision is up to you, but these are the sorts of things that you need to consider about when you think commercially.

Or, take for example, the popularity of The Hunger Games. Are dystopians still selling? Yes. But their popularity is probably waning a bit and by the time you write, sell and have published a dystopian, it may be the tail end of such books. Thinking commercial means going beyond just a description of a genre to the inner workings of the story to see why it worked. It’s a story of self-sacrifice, courage, facing unbeatable odds as an underdog—and finding a way to come out on top. Its themes are war, authoritarian governments, personal responsibility. The characters are realistic, engaging, sympathetic.

What if you keep those story elements, but recast them as you switch the genre to science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction or even a contemporary. Thinking commercially does NOT mean copying the latest fad. Rather, it’s working to connect with a wider audience. Is your book about an alcoholic step-mother? How can you connect that to a wider audience? What if the story plays off the Hansel and Gretel stories, the step-mother is the witch? Would that stretch out the scope of the story enough to bring in a wider audience? What if the President of the US is the father and his new bride is the step-mother?

Thinking commercially means finding niches in the marketplace that you can fill; it means reaching for a wider audience than your first attempts; it means lifting up your eyes from the keyboard and looking out at the reader to ask, "How can I tell a story that touches you on a deeper level?" That is thinking commercially.


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Darcy Pattison blogs about how-to-write at Fiction Notes and blogs about education at CommonCoreStandards.com

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At First Book, our mission is to provide new, high-quality books to children from low-income families. We’ve gotten pretty good at it over the last twenty years. In fact, we’re about to distribute our 100 millionth book, and we want YOU to help us choose what it should be.

We know that books are critical to turning kids into readers and helping them become success stories – in school and in life. So we’ve put together a list of ten amazing books that we think every child should own as they grow up. Click here to see the list

These aren’t just some our favorites. These books are some of the all-time best-selling titles available on the First Book Marketplace, a website available exclusively to educators and program leaders that work with kids in need.

Voting begins today, Oct. 29, and continues through Nov. 9. To vote, visit firstbook.org/vote.

The winning title will be announced on Nov. 15.

In addition to the voting website, copies of all ten books will be available as a special package to all of the 40,000 schools and programs that make up the First Book network.

Anyone who works with kids in need is eligible to get books from First Book. In addition to the First Book Marketplace, where over 3,000 titles are available at low cost, First Book also regularly distributes large quantities of brand-new books donated by publishers, free of charge. To sign up, visit First Book on the web.

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First Book would like to send our condolences to the friends and family of Sally Ride, the 1^st U.S. woman in space, who died of pancreatic cancer yesterday. In spite of being one of a very elite group of people who’ve been through the space program – and jettisoned into and back from space – she was extremely modest.  She was that person who had it all – left brain and right brain smarts.  In other words, an engineer who could also communicate.  She was a physicist who knew what mattered.  A woman who spent much of her post-space life supporting and encouraging students – especially girls, to study science, math and engineering through Sally Ride Science.

She will be missed.

In honor of Sally’s legacy, we wanted to share some books that are available on the First Book Marketplace that inspire an interest in space and science.

If you or someone you know works with kids in need and would like to get brand-new books, please register with First Book. 

 

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Exciting news! First Book will now be offering Cricket and other award-winning kid’s magazines to the 27,000 schools and programs in our national network.

Thanks to our friends at ePals, we’ll be able to offer their full range of children’s magazine titles, including Cricket, Ladybug and Spider. These magazines are terrific; they’ve won pretty much every award possible, and they are loved by teachers and kids.

“This is exactly the sort of content First Book strives to bring to kids in need, so they’ll have the same great opportunities to fall in love with reading as more affluent children,” said Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book. “We’re really excited about being able to offer these magazines to the schools and programs we work with.”

The magazines will be available through the First Book Marketplace, our website available exclusively to teachers and program leaders who work with children from low-income families. An annual classroom subscription – 30 copies of each issue – retails for $1,018, but is available through First Book for $513.

If you work with children in need, sign up with First Book to get these great magazines for your kids. We also carry over 2,000 book titles at deeply-discounted prices, and distribute millions more every year – free of charge – to the programs in our network.

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“The First Book Marketplace is trying to do for publishing what micro-finance did for banking: crack open a vast potential market that is underserved at significant social cost.” — David Bornstein, The New York Times

We’re excited to announce a major upgrade to the First Book Marketplace! As of today, schools and programs who rely on First Book to get new books for the kids they serve will be able to do so more quickly, easily and effectively.

The teachers and program leaders we work with do amazing things every day, and we’re always working to find new and better ways to help them in their important work.

We’ve listened to feedback from many of the 27,000 programs in our national network, and made some big changes, including things like easier log-ins, a friendlier account management system, improved search capabilities, wish lists and an easier system for spending grant money. We’ve also added tons of great new books; we’re up to 2,000 titles and adding more all the time.

If you work with kids from low-income families, or know someone who does, check out the new and improved First Book Marketplace, and sign up with First Book today to get great new books for the kids you serve.

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On October 6, millions of people all over the world will read “Llama Llama Red Pajama”, by Anna Dewdney, as part of Read for the Record. Our friends at Jumpstart hold this event every year, bringing together parents, teachers, kids, volunteers, celebrities, political leaders and everyone else under the sun to call for an end to the achievement gap that affects kids from low-income neighborhoods.

This year, we’re on track to help set a world record, with 2.1 million people all reading this amazing book. First Book loves “Llama Llama Red Pajama”, and we’re excited to be able to offer it to schools and programs in our network. In order to get the books out to you in time for the kids in your program to participate in Read for the Record, you’ll need to get your order in right away!

So order copies for the kids that you serve and register online to add your voice to the cause.

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Today’s guest blogger is Laura Geringer, beloved children’s book author and one of First Book’s favorite people.

Last night First Book’s Chandler Arnold and I attended the final exciting performance of Cover to Cover, a lively collection of seven brief musicals all based on children’s books available on the First Book Marketplace, including my own book, A Three Hat Day.

My hope is that the many children who receive and read this special twenty-fifth anniversary edition of my book through First Book will learn to love reading as much as I do and that books will become a very important part of their lives.

The show was created and produced by the Kaufman Center’s Summer Theater Workshop, directed by Sean Hartley, and performed in Merkin Hall, here in New York City. For twenty years, the Kaufman Center has been commissioning new playwrights and songwriters to create short child-friendly plays and songs. Like First Book, this non-profit organization is dedicated to enriching the lives of children from all walks of life through the magic of storytelling.

To quote one of the beautiful songs in last night’s new stage adaptation of A Three Hat Day, a reading a book can be like “Opening a door / where there never was a door before.”

We hope this first collaboration of First Book and the Kaufman Center will pave the way for future programs that offer music, art and story to more and more children throughout the nation, and that bring families together with authors, artists, educators and community members in a celebration of the joy of reading.

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Invariably, when people learn about First Book and our mission of getting new books to kids in need, someone always asks: “What about electronic readers and ebooks? Why don’t you distribute those to kids from low-income families?”

Good idea! We’re pleased to announce that we are now able to offer over fifty electronic titles on the First Book Marketplace (our online store available exclusively to programs serving kids in need).

The titles are all from Britannica Educational Publishing, the folks who publish the famed Encylopaedia Britannica, and they cover topics ranging from sharks to space exploration. Each title also includes a “preview” option, so that teachers and program leaders can take a look at the content before they buy it.

We’re excited to offer these eBooks to the programs in the First Book network, and this is just the first of many steps we’re taking into the world of digital books and resources.

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We’re excited to announce that we now have over 2,000 titles available on the First Book Marketplace! Our award-winning online store carries books for children of all ages, from board books to college prep guides, from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to To Kill A Mockingbird.

The First Book Marketplace is available to teachers and program leaders who serve children from low-income families, and we work hard to make sure that we’re able to offer high-quality titles that those teachers and program leaders tell us their kids want to read.

We’re proud of the Marketplace, and the diversity of quality books we’re able to offer our programs. David Bornstein wrote about the Marketplace recently in The New York Times:

The First Book Marketplace is trying to do for publishing what micro-finance did for banking: crack open a vast potential market that is underserved at significant social cost. The organization’s goal is to democratize book access, but along the way, it may end up reinvigorating the book business.

(If you’re curious about how the Marketplace works, why it’s so important, or why a nonprofit organization has an online bookstore, we recommend reading Bornstein’s piece, as well as his follow-up piece that addresses some specific questions about First Book’s model.)

We’ll be announcing some exciting new changes later this year that will make it even easier for the programs we work with to get books for the kids that need them, so keep in touch, and let us know what books the kids in your life are most excited about reading.

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First Book loves the summer! We especially love all of the opportunities to read a great book in great weather. First Book believes that every child should experience the joy of summer reading, but we recognize that there are children who do not have access to books to read in the summer. These children not only miss out on the joy of summer reading, but they are also deprived of the opportunity to develop their reading skills during the summer.

This summer First Book will be giving away 2 MILLION books to kids in need in order to combat summer reading loss. We also have several titles on the First Book Marketplace that are perfect for summer reading. So, if you’re a teacher or program leader who would love to provide your students with books for the summer, here are some great summer reading titles that are available on the First Book Marketplace:

Hear ye! Hear ye! Everyone knows that Judy Moody has a mood for every occasion, and now a visit to Boston has put her in a revolutionary frame of mind! Unfortunately, a protest for more allowance in the form of a Boston Tub Party only has her dad reading the riot act. But luckily a crisis involving her brother, Stink, allows Judy to show her courageous quick thinking — and prove her independence after all!

 

Bicycles—shiny, whizzing, wobbly bicycles—scare Julian more than lions or tigers. But how can he tell that to his best friend, Gloria? She can already ride with no hands. So instead of telling the truth, Julian makes up a little fib. And he almost gets away with it—until his fib backfires and Julian finds himself in the biggest, most confounding fix ever.

 

It’s a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you’re ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary.

 

Check out these titles and more at the First Book Marketplace! Happy reading!

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Tomorrow is our 19th birthday! Happy birthday to us!

Since First Book was born in 1992, we’ve distributed over 80 million books to children from low-income communities all over the United States and Canada. Not bad for a teenager.

But as proud as we are of that success, we know that we’ve only gotten books to a small fraction of the children who are waiting for us. And we need your help to reach them all.

To say “Happy 19th Birthday”, please consider donating $19 to First Book. Your generous support will help us bring books to children in need all over the country.

To show you what we’re talking about, here’s exactly what $19 represents:

The retail value of those seven books is almost $60. That’s a lot more than most Title I schools or social service programs can afford to spend. But those same seven titles add up to $19 on the First Book Marketplace. That’s our online store, where registered teachers and program leaders who serve children in need can get brand-new books for their kids.

Thanks for your help.  We couldn’t ask for a better birthday gift.

PS – Once you donate (or even if you’re not able to), share this message on your Facebook or Twitter page and let other people know that you support First Book. And wish us a happy birthday!

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Over the past year, the issue of childhood bullying has ignited national discussion and debate. We have heard countless stories of children, parents, and teachers who have felt powerless in the face of school bullying.

Many of us wonder how we can reach young people who are being abused and change the culture of bullying in schools and communities throughout the nation. First Book firmly believes that books are a part of the answer.

There is no denying that books can equip young people with the tools to better cope with and fight bullying. Through engaging and poignant storytelling, books can teach us about our own personal strength and resilience. A great story can give a child a sense of value and self-esteem. Books can also open the minds and hearts of young people and engender a sense of tolerance and acceptance.

Books can change lives.

If you are a program leader or teacher that is searching for a way to reach young people who are being bullied, or if you are looking for a creative way to inspire a discussion about bullying, please check out these titles that are available at the First Book Marketplace:

THE BULLY

A new life. A new school. A new bully. That’s what Darrell Mercer faces when he and his mother move from Philadelphia to California. After spending months living in fear, Darrell is faced with a big decision. He can either keep on running from this bully or find some way to fight back.

Racing the Past

After the death of his abusive father, eleven-year-old Ricky tries to help his younger brother deal with his residual fears and discovers that running helps him deal with his own anger and the taunts of a bullying classmate.

Swimmy

After a big tuna fish gulps up a school of Swimmy’s friends, the small black fish journeys through the ocean and comes face-to-face with many marvelous creatures. When he meets up with a school of frightened fish, Swimmy uses his creativity to show them how to swim together as a group and outsmart the other big fish in the sea.

If you would like to learn more about bullying prevention and education resources to combat bullying, please visit www.pacer.org

 

Tags: bullying,, marketplace,, The, Bully,, Paul, Langan,,

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Welcome to the second installment of the First Book Blogger Book Club, wherein book bloggers share their thoughts about a young adult book that we carry on the First Book Marketplace. It’s a way to let people know about the great titles that schools and programs serving low-income kids can get through First Book, and get people talking about some of the books we love.

This month’s selection was: Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart. Read on to find out what our book club members thought:

Roxie’s Blog
Although the setting is a wealthy college-prep high school, Lockhart crafts a likeable elite character who aspires to be more than eye-candy for the latest popular jock. Frankie Landau-Banks is that and more; she is curious, clever, and cheeky – a young adult engaging in the world around her to find her place in a world of rules.

Building a Bookshelf
I think this book is a great way for girls to learn that they should not lose themselves in the boys that they will inevitably have crushes on.

If you read the book and posted about it, please send us the link. Or just share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Check back later this week to find out next month’s book club selection!

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Did you know that it’s National Poetry Month? That’s right; April is the month that we celebrate our favorite poems and poets.

Do you remember the first poem that inspired you or touched your life in the way that only poetry can? This month, we invite you to celebrate the poems that inspired your imagination and taught you the extraordinary power of words.  We also invite you to share the beauty of poetry with children so that they too can learn how transformative and magical poetry can be.

First Book loves a good celebration and we know that the best way to celebrate poetry is to read great poems by great poets. So if you’re a teacher or program leader who would like to give the gift of poetry to children, here are some poetry books available on the First Book Marketplace:

101 Great American Poems
By American Poetry and Literacy Project

“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong, The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work, The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deck- hand singing on the steamboat deck…” -excerpted from Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing”

 

Edgar Allen Poe: The Raven and Other Favorite Poems
By Edgar Allan Poe

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore–
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
‘Tis some visiter,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door–
Only this and nothing more… “- excerpted from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”

Robert Frost: The Road Not Taken and Other PoemsBy Robert Frost

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth…”- excerpted from Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”

If you work with children from low-income communities, be sure to register your classroom or program with First Book so we can help you get books for your kids in April, and throughout the year.

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First Book loves March Madness! We even have a “friendly” bracket competition going on in the office – although President Obama’s bracket was beating all of us the last time we checked.

Even in the midst of the drama and excitement of the tournament, we recognize that basketball teaches so many meaningful life lessons: courage, cooperation, dedication and hard work. Many of the inspirational lessons taught on the basketball court can also be found in the basketball-related titles that we carry in the First Book Marketplace.

So if you’re a teacher or program leader whose kids are swept up in the magic of March Madness, here are some books available on the First Book Marketplace that embody the spirit of basketball:

Laurence Yep’s Dragon Road: Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1939, is the story of best friends Cal and Barney who are down and out in Chinatown. In the America of 1939, they are trapped by invisible barriers created by racial prejudice. With no jobs and no real homes, it’s only their wizardry with a basketball that’s let them survive this long. That same skill suddenly flings a door open to fame and fortune when a professional basketball team, the Dragons, invites them to join the team.

Long Shot: Never Too Small to Dream Big by Chris Paul and & Frank Morrison, chronicles the story of NBA all-star basketball player Chris Paul. When Chris was a kid everyone told him that he was too small to play basketball. But he ignored them all…because he had BIG dreams.

Off the Rim by Fred Bowen, is the story of Chris, who yearns to be more than a benchwarmer on the Oak View Middle School basketball team. With the help of his best friend Greta and her mom, Chris begins to change his defensive strategy and successfully learns to keep his opponents from scoring.

If you work with children from low-income communities, be sure to register your classroom or program with First Book so we can help you get books for your kids in March, and throughout the year.

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We know most of you are probably already excited about the new “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” movie – opening tonight! We are too, of course.

Although, as one must always say when one sees a movie based on a book, “Well, that was pretty good … but have you read the book?”

In case you haven’t, we’ve got something even better than a movie for you … First Book’s special paperback edition of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”.

We have the rest of the series on the First Book Marketplace too, so if you’re a teacher or program administrator who works with kids from low-income neighborhoods, register with us for books you know your kids will love.

Oh, and if you see the movie, let us know what you thought.

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Did you catch our inaugural First Book Blogger Book Club? We asked some of our favorite book bloggers to read ‘Slam’ by Nick Hornby, and tell us what they thought. It’s a great way to let more people know about the young adult titles we carry on the First Book Marketplace, and get people talking about some of the books we love.

And now we want you! You’ve always wanted to join a book club, right? Book bloggers in particular, but anyone with a blog or a website, or even just a Facebook page is welcome to participate. Read the book, think it over, and tell us what you think! We’ll be spotlighting everyone’s posts and reviews on February 19, and then we can discuss the book here on the First Book blog.

This month’s selection is: Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart.

Follow Frankie from her 14 year old geeky, shy self to her 16 year old criminal masterminded self her wont take no for an answer, not even from her boyfriend and his secret all-male club. This is the story of how she got that way.

So pick up a copy of the book at your favorite bookstore or library, share your thoughts on Feb. 19th (or a few days before, if you like), and send us the link to your post.

Questions? Just ask them in the comments section of this post, and we’ll get back to you right away.

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As you might be able to guess, we love books here at First Book, and we get excited about some of the great titles that we’re able to offer to children in classrooms and programs all across the county through the First Book Marketplace, our award-winning online store.

When you’re excited about something, you want to share it, so welcome to the inaugural First Book Blogger Book Club! We invited some of our favorite book bloggers to read a young adult title that we carry on the First Book Marketplace and post about it on their blog.

February’s book was Slam, Nick Hornby’s story of a teenager unexpectedly facing fatherhood, and his search for wisdom in the autobiography of pro skateboarder Tony Hawk.

Check out the reviews and blog posts about ‘Slam’, and check back later this week when we’ll reveal next month’s title, and tell you how you can get involved.

Links to the participating blogs will appear here as they are posted, so check back and see what our bloggers had to say. And if you’ve read ‘Slam’, leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.

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