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First Book’s book experts picked their favorite spooky stories that will frighten and delight young readers. Don’t be afraid to pick up any of our recommended titles!

Pre-K –K (Ages 3-6):

Ghosts in the House! written and illustrated by Kazuno Kohara
At the edge of town lives a clever girl with a spooky problem: Her house is haunted! Luckily, she happens to be a witch and knows a little something about taking care of ghosts.

For 1^st and 2^nd Grade (Ages 6-8):

Los Gatos Black on Halloween written by Marisa Montes and illustrated by Yuyi Morales
Follow los monstruos and los esqueletos to a Halloween party in a fun and frightful bilingual poem. Accompanied by illustrations that are as gorgeous as they are creepy, this is a great Halloween-themed read-aloud book that kids will want to read and re-read all year long.

We love this book because: this book introduces young readers to a spooky array of Spanish words that will open their ojos to the chilling delights of the season.

For 3^rd & 4^th grade (Ages 8-10):

Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie by Bill Doyle
After Keats and Henry lose their bikes, they need money – fast. So the help-wanted ad at the supermarket seems ideal for them. All they have to do is weed Hallway House’s garden, find some light bulbs in the attic, sweep the garage…and battle a shark-headed zombie.

We love this book because: With an imaginative youngster as its main character, this book weaves the tale of an exciting and fun adventure that will keep kids turning pages and entertain even reluctant readers.

For 5^th & 6^th grade (Ages 10-12):

Ghost Fever / Mal de fantasma (Bilingual, English/Spanish) by Joe Hayes
Elena Padilla’s father didn’t believe in ghosts, and that’s a shame, because his disbelief ends up making Elena a very sick girl. The story starts in an old rundown house in a dusty little town in Arizona. Nobody will rent that house because … well, a ghost haunts it. The landlord can’t even rent it out for free! That is, not until foolish old Frank Padilla comes along thinking he can save some money.

Lucky for Elena that her grandmother knows all about the mysterious ways of ghosts. With her grandmother’s help and advice, Elena solves the mystery of the ghost girl, recuperates from her ghost fever and, in the process, learns a valuable lesson about life.

We love this book because: It’s really scary! The incredible details of this story – with English and Spanish on opposite pages – will stay with readers after the story ends. Children who enjoy a good fright will really love this book.

Grades 7 & up (Ages 13+):

Lockwood & Co. #1: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
A sinister Problem has occurred in London: all nature of ghosts, haunts, spirits, and specters are appearing throughout the city, and they aren’t exactly friendly. Only young people have the psychic abilities required to see—and eradicate—these supernatural foes.

We love this book because: Complex and endearing characters navigate an alternate reality wherein the dead don’t die – what’s not to love? The book’s fantastic world is sure to hook readers – even we can’t wait to pick up the next title in the series!

The post Monthly Book List: Our Five Favorites for October appeared first on First Book Blog.

Since 2008, nonprofit organization Link to Libraries has served kids in need all across Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. President and Co-Founder Susan Jaye-Kaplan helped start the organization to give kids opportunities to explore our world through books and expand their horizons.

Recently it has become so much more.

Link to Libraries is making use of the basic needs items on the First Book Marketplace and supporting kids beyond providing access to books.

“Link to Libraries is known primarily as a book donation and distribution organization,” says Susan, “but we give far more to our target audience — students in need. We distribute combs, dental hygiene kits, bilingual bookmarks, and more.”

Though books and educational materials are important, basic needs items are also essential for students if they hope to make the most of their education.

One student who participates with Link to Libraries had to miss time at school because of dental surgery, time that can be critical to their development.

“The fact is, this child’s teeth impacted their ability to go to school and learn. If they had had all the dental care products they needed, maybe this doesn’t happen” says Susan.

The basic needs items available through the First Book Marketplace all have an effect on a child’s education. Coats are essential for getting to and from school during winter months. Non-perishable food items prevent kids from losing focus when they get hungry. New t-shirts mean children can play during recess and not worry about a stretch here or a stain there.

Susan knows just how far these kinds of items can go for a child in need. She grew up in a difficult environment and situation herself. She wants to pay forward the kindness that she received as a child growing up in Boston.

“I was fortunate to have had Mrs. Bolton, an assistant librarian at the Boston Public Library, as a child,” Susan, now in her 70s, recalls, “she would bring me all the new books that came into the children’s room and on occasion an apple or carton of milk. My siblings and I sat there after school for many years as it was a safe and warm place to go. We were able to travel the world by reading those wonderful books and yet we never left that couch in the library.”

Thanks to Link to Libraries, many kids will see the world through books and have everything they need for the adventure.

Susan and Link to Libraries are doing impactful work using basic needs items and if you serve children in need, you can too. Please visit the basic needs section of the First Book Marketplace to learn more.

The post ‘Link to Libraries’ Connects Education With Basic Needs appeared first on First Book Blog.

Use Guided Reading Levels to find the perfect books for every child you serve. Thanks to the feedback from our community of educators, First Book Marketplace users can now utilize our Advanced Search tool to find books with Guided Reading Levels (GRLs). GRLs are great for both students and educators.

Here’s why: 
GRLs help educators:

• Assess the fluency and reading level of each child
• Track student progress over time
• Organize school and classroom libraries so that educators and kids can access the best-fit books for every child

GRLs help students:

• Find books at their level of confidence
• Develop the skills they need to read increasingly challenging books
• Discover books they will love to read again and again

Watch the short video tutorial below to learn more about how to the First Book Marketplace’s Advanced Search to find books by GRL:

If you’re an educator serving kids in need, click here to register to receive brand-new books for the children you serve for free or low cost.

The post Use Guided Reading Levels to Find the Perfect Books on the First Book Marketplace appeared first on First Book Blog.

Drumroll please… Today, we introduce to you the newly redesigned First Book Marketplace.

Updated with your needs in mind, your First Book Marketplace is now faster and simpler to use. Powerful new search capabilities and an improved navigation menu make it easy to find the great books and educational resources you’ve come to expect from First Book. And now you can access them all from the palm of your hand — the entire site is mobile friendly!

For years, you’ve generously shared the needs facing your classrooms and programs. Your feedback directly influenced every improvement and enhancement you’ll experience on the upgraded site.

On top of the books and learning tools you love, you’ll also find specially-curated collections on popular topics like family engagement, character development, health and wellness, and diversity. First Book’s entire inventory, including school supplies, technology, digital learning materials, basic needs items and educational activities is more accessible than ever before.

Stay tuned all week as we share videos on how to use some of the great new features of your First Book Marketplace. Start here by learning how to navigate and search the newly designed site:

The post Now Faster and Easier to Use: Your First Book Marketplace appeared first on First Book Blog.

Do you work with kids in need? We’ve got great news for you!

© Disney

Our friends at Disney recently launched an innovative learning experience that encourages kids to learn by interacting with their favorite Disney characters and stories – inspiring a lifelong love of learning and creativity. The app and tools are available now to program leaders and educators serving children in need for free through the First Book Marketplace.

For some time, we’ve heard from our network of 150,000 educators and program leaders that web-based tools and interactive learning programs are incredibly important to helping the children they serve read, learn and achieve. We’ve worked hard to meet this need. And today, thanks to Disney, the programs and classrooms we serve have greater access to innovative learning apps and tools at the same time it is available to the general public.

To further support learning for kids ages 3 to 8, Disney will provide a three-year, $55 million product donation to First Book. This donation over the next three years is First Book’s largest gift targeting early childhood programs.  Specifically, the commitment will provide $5 million in Disney Imagicademy apps and tools to First Book and other non-profit organizations.  Disney announced its commitment on December 10 at the White House Summit on Early Education.

Teachers and educators will be able to receive free download codes from the First Book Marketplace to use the new Disney Imagicademy math app.  As parents are an ever-important part of successful learning, educators will also have the opportunity to share these download codes with the families of the children they serve, allowing families to bring lessons home and be even more involved and engaged in their child’s learning.

The first app available through the First Book Marketplace is Mickey’s Magical Math World, which includes five app-based experiences in one large app that immerses children in key math-focused activities and games, including count along, sorting, add and subtract, shapes and problem solving.

The companion app for parents, Disney Imagicademy Parents, which is free on the App Store^SM, enables them to see what their children create through the apps, send digital high-fives back to their kids, ask questions to spur conversations about their child’s work and get ideas for more activities to reinforce and encourage their child’s learning.

Do you work with children in need?  Sign up with First Book today to gain access to Disney Imagicademy apps and tools, along with many other books and resources!

The post Disney Imagicademy App Available for Free! appeared first on First Book Blog.

Yesterday marked the first day of school for many kids across the country. And from Sacramento to Savannah, classroom shelves were stocked and backpacks stuffed to the brim with brand new books from First Book.

For over 20 years, we’ve been in the fortunate position to help teachers get the books their students need to start school off strong. And this year is no different. In fact, we’re now offering more tools than ever before to help kids in need read, learn and succeed. In addition to books, our network of 130,000 educators and program leaders will also be able to access games, bookmarks, school supplies and interactive learning tools for the kids they serve.

Check out some of the cool new tools we’re offering on the First Book Marketplace – just in time for back to school:

Backpacks
How else will kids carry all their great new books?

Kits for Kidz
Notebooks, pencils, scissors, a ruler – these ready-made kits contain 30 essential items required for an entire school year. Available for primary, elementary and junior high school.

Calculators
Help kids stay on track during math class with brand new calculators. Scientific and pocket calculators available in carton or single quantities.

Mark-My-Time Digital Bookmarks
Vibrant digital bookmarks enable kids (and their caregivers) to track their reading time and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Coins Count!
Coins Count! is a fun board game that helps kids make sense of money and learn the value of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills.

Bug Barn Kit
This fun viewing barn and tools helps lets do hands-on science explorations and take a closer look at the natural world.

Do you work with kids in need?  Sign up with First Book today to access all these great learning resources.

The post More Than Books for Back to School appeared first on First Book Blog.

I have been signed up with First Book for several years. I teach kindergarten and first grade at Dayton Public Schools in the poverty-stricken inner city of Dayton, Ohio. I get plenty of emails from First Book, but have never received one book. Most books seem to be located in a warehouse in a large metropolitan area. You would have to drive a truck through states to get there.

– Mary Reed
Dayton Public Schools

Hi Mary,

It sounds like you signed up with First Book to get new books for your students, but we haven’t been able to help you make that happen yet. Let’s fix that.

There are actually two different ways you can get books from First Book.

The First Book Marketplace: Over 5,000 popular and award-winning titles, from board books to college prep, available exclusively to educators serving kids in need. This channel is great for teachers like you, who often need specific titles for their students.

The First Book National Book Bank: The nation’s only clearinghouse for large-scale book donations from publishers. These brand-new books are available free of charge (plus a shipping & handling fee), in carton quantities, and are perfect for educators or program leaders who want to help children start home libraries of their own.

Books from the The First Book Marketplace are available 24 hours a day, while books from the The First Book National Book Bank are available as new donations come in, usually once a month.

When we receive new books from publishers for the National Book Bank, they’re sent to a (borrowed) warehouse and we ship them out to everyone who requested books. We try to hold these local book distributions in different cities around the country, which helps people who can’t afford even the shipping charges.

But you don’t have to wait until there’s a book distribution near you. Once you’re sign up with First Book, you’re eligible for free books from every single distribution, whether the warehouse is in San Diego or Boston.

So the next time you get an email letting you know about a book distribution, check out the title list and let us know which books your kids will love and we’ll do everything we can to help you get them.

And we’ll put Dayton on our list of cities to visit someday soon.

Thanks for writing!

The post We’re Coming to Your Town Someday… But It Doesn’t Matter appeared first on First Book Blog.

Author, illustrator, and macaroni and cheese aficionado Todd Parr, uses humor and bright illustrations to celebrate the differences that make us all unique. Most of Todd’s books are now available on the First Book Marketplace.

First Book recently interviewed Todd about his inspiration for writing so many books that make a difference in children’s lives.

Todd Parr (Photo Credit: Jeff Fielding)

Todd Parr:  Yes, in second grade I was placed in a slow reader class because I could not keep up with the rest of the class. I also couldn’t read in front of the class. It made me feel very different because I was made fun of. This was a big part in my writing It’s Okay To Be Different.

The Family Book was somewhat inspired by losing my mom at a young age and feeling like my family was different.

Q:  Have there been any children you’ve met along the way that have inspired you to tackle such issues? 

Todd Parr:  All the time. I never dreamed these two books would lead my awareness of the need to help kids and families feel good about themselves no matter what they were dealing with.

Q:  Why is it important for children to be reading about diversity issues at such a young age? 

Todd Parr:  Because I believe it is important for kids to see that everyone is different. And that is what makes everyone special and unique.

Q:  In your experience, how have children reacted to reading these books? Do they understand the nature of what they are reading? 

Todd Parr:  Yes, I think it’s my art style that helps with the delivery of the message (kids think they can draw just like me – and they can). Also, humor and unpredictability helps a lot.

Q:  What is your goal when writing children’s books that address these topics? 

Todd Parr:  To present things that may be very complicated to understand in a simple fun way.

Q:  What inspired you to become a children’s author? 

Todd Parr:  It all came about through my art. Megan Tingley (Little, Brown) approached me at the licensing show in NYC and asked if I had ever thought about writing children’s books because I was basically already telling stories through my artwork.

Q:  It’s pretty clear that you love macaroni and cheese. What’s your favorite kind?

Todd Parr:  Can I say I am so easy to please that I will eat any kind of macaroni and cheese, even if it has worms on it. No, that’s not right…

Todd Parr’s books are available on the First Book Marketplace, a website exclusively for educators and program leaders that works with kids in need. 

The post Stories For All: Todd Parr – It’s Okay to be Different appeared first on First Book Blog.

The following is a guest blog post by Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute and author of ‘Mind in the Making’. 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 Ellen Galinsky: Reading Time’s a Missed Opportunity for Life-Skills Learning appeared first on First Book Blog.

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.

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.

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, current author of the of Amelia Bedelia children’s book series

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.

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!

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.

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.

“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.

The Page Education Foundation is a local nonprofit based in Minneapolis that helps young people from low-income families get to college, through financial assistance and mentoring. Those young people become Page Education Foundation Scholars, and the program requires them to commit to giving back by mentoring other kids in the community.

The people at Page Education Foundation does amazing work, and they’re part of First Book’s national network of 27,000 schools and community programs across the country.

Last year they started a pilot program, ‘Begin With A Book’, where the recipients of Page Education Foundation grants volunteered their time at other community programs reading aloud to younger children. The pilot program was a success, showing real impact on the lives of the younger kids, and so they looked for ways to expand.

But to do that, they needed books.

Having done some homework, they knew they could sign up with First Book to get new, high-quality books to start the library they needed to expand their program. To raise the money quickly from members of the community, they turned to Groupon, the online coupon company that provides “daily deals” in different cities.

Groupon, which also works with local nonprofits, set up an offer to let Minneapolis residents donate $10 toward the Page Education Foundation’s plan to build a library for its ‘Begin With A Book’ program. Over 130 people chipped in, raising $700 to pay for the books.

Because the First Book Marketplace is available exclusively to community programs and Title I schools, we’re able to provide new books at rates significantly lower than for-profit stores; our friends at the Page Education Foundation were able to get 274 new books to start their library.

“I’m so glad the Groupon campaign worked out,” said Eric Rahman, development coordinator at Page Education Foundation. “Now books can be introduced to hundreds of community sites across Minnesota and thousands of younger children can benefit from having a positive role model reading aloud to them.”

This week is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating our freedom to read whatever we like. It’s not that we want to celebrate the banning of books, of course. What we celebrate is the power of books to convey ideas, even ideas that are shocking, controversial or unpopular.

Sponsored by the American Library Association and many others, Banned Books Week is an important way to shine a light on these books. Many of the books highlighted during Banned Books Week were only the target of attempted bans; a powerful reminder of the importance of staying vigilant about protecting our First Amendment right to read any books we like.

At First Book, we like to walk the walk, so we make a special effort to ensure that the schools and programs in our network have access to high-quality books – including many that have been banned, or the target of attempted bannings.

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.
• The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank.
• Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by Benjamin Franklin
• The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
• Fighting Ground, by Avi
• The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
• Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
• Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
• Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

Check out these books (and more) on the First Book Marketplace, and make sure the kids you serve have the chance to read them all, and make up their own minds.

One of our all-time favorite books, “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats, just celebrated it’s 50th anniversary! Because this book is so special to so many people, it’s one of the titles we carry on the First Book Marketplace.

If you work with kids in need, sign up with First Book to get copies of this beloved, award-winning book for the kids in your classroom or program. We guarantee they will love it.

And if you remember “The Snowy Day” fondly from your own childhood (or parenthood), let us know what it means to you and your own children.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

First Book distributes new books (80 million and counting) to kids from low-income communities all over the U.S. and Canada, but we do have a special place in our heart for schools and programs in Washington D.C. Not only are they are neighbors, but First Book got its start here in the District of Columbia 19 years ago.

So we were pleased to be able to provide grants to twenty schools and programs serving low-income kids here in Washington D.C.

Many schools in D.C. face the same lack of resources that affect so many programs serving children in low-income neighborhoods. Most public high school libraries have eleven books per student, but the library at Ballou High School has less than a tenth of that. The library at Woodrow Wilson High School no longer has a single fiction title. And the D.C. public high school for incarcerated youth has no library at all.

“Our needs are very great,” said Melissa Jackson, Ballou’s librarian. “We’re trying to build our nonfiction and fiction collections, so whatever we can get from First Book we will gladly accept.”

“We’ve recorded about 16,000 books over the last twelve years,” said Carol Fennelly of Hope House, a program that records videos of incarcerated D.C. fathers reading for their children. “And probably 50% to 75% of those books come have come from First Book.”

Each school or program received a grant of 500 free books from the First Book National Book Bank and $1,575 to spend on the First Book Marketplace, an online store serving eligible schools and programs in First Book’s network.

The books were made possible thanks to the support of the Philip L. Graham Fund.

“We will use these books for many purposes,” said Abraham Clayman of KIPP DC: LEAP Academy, a charter school that serves three-, four- and five-year-olds in the District. “We send them home with families, we put them in classroom libraries, teachers use them. I want to say thanks to First Book … we’re really excited about what we’re doing.”