First Book Blog

Stories of impact, the latest research, best practices, curated book lists, and more.

First Book Announces the Cheerios New Author Contest!

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Do you have a great idea for a children’s story that you’d like to share with millions of people? Well, you are in luck! We are excited to announce that Cheerios® has launched its annual Cheerios® New Author Contest and is searching for the next great children’s book author. Read more

Teen Readers in Five States Get New Books

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“With this grant, our library was able to purchase 100 books for our library collection, as well  as provide books for 87 students from low-income families. With proration hitting so many non-profits, it was truly a blessing to receive this grant for our library. HOORAY to First Book and Walmart... Read more

First Book Loves "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"

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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 more

First Book Goes to Detroit

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First Book was in Detroit this past week, distributing 50,000 new books to kids from low-income neighborhoods. The books were distributed to 50 schools in the Detroit metropolitan region. “Our teachers are absolutely thrilled,” said Dan Maier of the YMCA Detroit Leadership Academy. “As a brand new school, we only... Read more

Why I Chose First Book: Bill Burch

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Bill Burch Chair of the First Book-Boyd County Advisory Board Boyd County, Kentucky Boyd County, KY, is located in the foothills of the Appalachians, along the banks of the Ohio River. It is a rural community, home to less than 50,000 people. But Bill Burch, chair of the local First... Read more

Join the First Book Blogger Book Club!

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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... Read more

Vampires, Wimps and Atticus Finch

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We are always anxious to let people know about the amazing books that we carry on the First Book Marketplace (our award-winning online site that makes quality titles available at deep discounts to programs serving children in need). In fact, we just added some new titles that we are even... Read more

How Jane Eyre is Helping First Book …

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At First Book, we spend our work hours getting new books to kids in need, and we spend our free time reading (naturally). But, on rare occasions, we do go out to the movies. And our favorite movies? Ones made from classic books, of course. (We are also fans of... Read more

Giving to First Book: Two Authors Make a Difference

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We’re always pleased when people choose to help support our mission at First Book, especially when those donations help advance the cause of literacy. So we were excited to hear that award-winning authors Kevin Guilfoile and Jonathan Eig have decided to donate $2 for First Book for every copy of... Read more

How First Book Gained an Army of Warehouse Workers …

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We move a lot of books at First Book. Over five million books last year, to schools and programs serving kids from low-income communities, and those cases of books are HEAVY. Sometimes people assume we have a warehouse somewhere, maybe at our national headquarters in DC. We definitely do not.... Read more