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Thank You Wednesday

March 17th, 2010 by Katie B. · Book Recipients, Books & Reading

Today’s post is brought to you by Cody, who writes:

Dear First Book,
Thank you for my books. I like them a lot. You are nice and cool. I enjoyed the books. I read them every day.
Thank you,
Cody

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Putting the Adult in Young Adult Literature

March 16th, 2010 by Rachael Walker · Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading, Guest Blog Posts, Literacy

Guest Blogger Rachael Walker is the Outreach Consultant for AdLit.org, a national multimedia initiative offering resources to the parents and educators of struggling readers and writers in grades 4-12 and for Reading Rockets, a national multimedia initiative which aims to inform and inspire parents, teachers, childcare providers, and others who touch the life of a child by providing comprehensive, accessible information on how to teach kids to read and help those who struggle. Rachael began her career in children’s literacy at Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), has also served as a consultant to the NEA’s Read Across America campaign, and was most recently the Executive Director of Reach Out and Read of Metro DC.

I was pleased to read Susan Carpenter’s article in the Los Angeles Times last week about more and more adults reading young adult literature.  But I was a little sad too—the secret is out!  Now I’ll have adults as well as kids to compete with for the newest John Green novel on the library shelf.

Of course, this crossover audience has been building for some time thanks to authors like Stephanie Meyer and J.K. Rowling.  But there is loads of young adult and children’s literature out there that has grown up appeal:

Biographies.  Biographies written for tweens and teens are great for adults.  As a parent, I’m finding that these quick reads have lots of great history and facts that can help you help your child on his own learning journeys.  Spend an hour or two with a title from the Giants of Science series and impress your kids during homework time! [Read more →]

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First Book Marketplace Staff Picks

March 16th, 2010 by Becky H. · Around the First Book Office, Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading, General, Marketplace

From childhood classics like Green Eggs and Ham to The Rainbow Boys, an American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults winner,  First Book is proud to announce that over 200 new titles have been added to the First Book Marketplace! While we highly recommend that you take your time and browse through all of them, we know that, sometimes, things get a little busy.  So we’ve compiled our staff picks to help you make some quick and easy book choices.

“My pick would be Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’ Dell.   I remember reading this book when I was 11 or 12 and just being lost in the story. I loved reading about how Karana survived on the island on her own and wondering if I would be able to do the same in her situation. It’s a great story about a strong, female protagonist, and I’ll probably read it again soon.”  –Aesah J.

“Chico is my pick this month! A great book for Women’s History Month celebrations, young Sandra Day O’Connor overcomes her fears and demonstrates the spirit that gave her the courage and confidence to become the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court in this true life adventure that girls (and boys) can identify with. Her adventure in the desert landscape she grew up in is breathtakingly rendered by celebrated painter Dan Andreasen as well.” – Matthew W. [Read more →]

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Join the Cheerios 6 Million Minute Read-A-Thon!

March 15th, 2010 by Mary Beth F. · Books & Reading, Literacy, Nonprofit Technology, Philanthropy

Thanks to the Cheerios® Read-A-Thon, now when you read together with your child, you can help provide a new book to a child in need. Through the Read-A-Thon, Cheerios is encouraging individuals to pledge to read to your kids for at least 15 minutes a day by today, March 15th.

If they reach their goal of 6 million reading moments pledged by the end of the day, Cheerios will donate 250,000 books to First Book to benefit the kids who need them most.

Visit Cheerios on Facebook and select “Get Started” to make your pledge today!

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Demand Media’s “Write for a Cause” Returns

March 15th, 2010 by Guest Blogger · First Book Events, Guest Blog Posts, Philanthropy

Guest blogger Yury Polnar is the Marketing Acquisitions Manager at Demand Media, an online community of freelance writers and copy editors that creates informative articles for popular websites like LIVESTRONG.com, eHow.com and many others.

Last December, more than 4,000 Demand Media freelance writers and copy editors put their fingers to keyboards around the country and kept busy writing for a cause. For every eight articles created that month, Demand Media agreed to donate one book to a child in need. And in the span of just one month, this talented and passionate group of writers and editors created enough articles to put 16,072 brand new books in the hands of thousands of children across the country!

Today, I’m happy to announce a two-week return of the “Write for a Cause” program. In partnership with First Book, we hope to help rewrite the future for thousands of underprivileged kids and empower the next generation of writers, editors, business owners and space explorers to reach the stars through adequate access to literature and other educational resources.

For more information about First Book’s partnership with Demand Media and how you can help, please click here. And to monitor the progress of this campaign, please visit the Write for a Cause Facebook page.

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Odds and Bookends: March 12

March 12th, 2010 by Katie B. · Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading, Literacy Links and Articles

Spring in literature
“March has arrived; the sun is shining; finally – finally! – there’s no snow on the ground. To celebrate, take the Guardian’s quiz on the pleasures of the sweetest season.”

How to Design a Cover in 1:55 seconds
Ever wondered how a book cover comes to be? Check out The Making of a Book Cover time-lapse video that condenses the intense Photoshop compositing and retouching and the painstaking revisions process all in under two minutes.

The Subconscious Shelf
The New Yorker invites you to “lie back, relax, let the good doctors at the Book Bench analyze the contents of your bookshelf.”

From stick figures to sweet flick
Jeff Kinney had a clear template when it came time to adapt his wildly successful Diary of a Wimpy Kid children’s books to the big screen.

Read along as authors write ‘Exquisite Corpse Adventure’ online
Every two weeks a different children’s-book author and illustrator join forces to figure out how to move along the story in the online book “The Exquisite Corpse Adventure.”

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Changing Lives One Page at a Time

March 11th, 2010 by Guest Blogger · Books & Reading, First Book Events, Guest Blog Posts, Literacy

Guest blogger Stacy Conway is the marketing and communications manager for the Pi Beta Phi Foundation.

Even before my daughter was born, I read to her. I remember propping up myself in bed, resting a book on my big belly and reading out loud to the little girl inside. And I haven’t stopped reading to her. Now eleven months old, she loves books. Oftentimes she’ll crawl over to me, hold up a book and look at me imploringly with her big blue eyes. Then I scoop her up, put her on my lap and read out loud to the little girl by my side.

Books have always been a part of my daughter’s life. I assumed it was the same for every child. Then I met Elaine Powers. Elaine was guest speaker at Pi Beta Phi’s Leadership Academy, a three day conference for members. Pi Phi has made a commitment to combat illiteracy, and has partnered with First Book to make this happen. Elaine is Executive Director of Lemay Child and Family Center, a First Book recipient group. Through grants from First Book, Lemay Child and Family Center is instilling a love of reading in young children.

Elaine shared a story about a little girl at the Center. She and her sister, like many of the children at the Center receive financial scholarships so they may attend. Their mother mainly raised the girls, but sometimes their father would show up at the end of the day to take them home. Whenever Dad did pick them up, he’d tell the girls to immediately collect their things so they could leave. He didn’t stop to talk with the teachers, or inquire about his daughters’ progress. He didn’t make small talk with the other parents, or ask the girls’ about their day. There was no interaction between him and his children.

Until one day, when he went to pick up his daughters, and found them in the midst of a pajama party. The Center had planned the event, encouraging the children to dress in their pajamas while they listened to “bedtime stories.” When the father walked in, his little girl ran to him, held up a book and asked if he would read to her. [Read more →]

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Vintage Veronica Hits Bookstores and Book Give-away!

March 10th, 2010 by Becky H. · Books & Reading

Yesterday was a big day here at First Book as Vintage Veronica (ISBN 978-0-375-85923-6; Knopf, 2010) written by our very own Erica S. Perl, hit bookstores.  The book is about Veronica Walsh, a “fashion-minded, fat and friendless” fifteen-year old whose summer working at The Clothing Bonanza, a vintage clothing store inspired by The Garment District in Cambridge, MA, pulls her in directions she never imagined.  There’s the Nail, the animal-loving stock boy, Zoe and Ginger, the over-the-top salesgirls, and Bill, who Erica describes as the “elder statesmen of the store.”  As Veronica gets pulled and pushed by peer pressure, she discovers more about herself than she ever thought she would.

“I have always loved vintage clothing,” says Erica.  “When I visited the Garment District I had the idea to write about the behind the scenes life of the store and a girl finding herself  in that situation.” And with a swirl of interesting characters and little vintage clothing thrown in, Vintage Veronica is the perfect book for any teen wrestling with the trials and tribulations of adolescence.

To celebrate the release, there will be book signings in three cities: Washington, DC, New York City and Boston (at the store that inspired the book, The Garment District).  Erica is also partnering with First Book and Random House to help raise awareness that First Book is not only here to help little ones, but older children and teens as well.

Here at First Book, we are proud to have an author on staff and excited for teens to enjoy a page-turner like Vintage Veronica so they can fall in love with reading.

If you would like to win your very own signed copy of Vintage Veronica (and let’s be honest here, who wouldn’t?) post a comment in response to this blog post and one lucky winner will be selected at random to receive a signed copy of the book!

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Presenting First Book’s Online Help Center

March 8th, 2010 by Becky H. · Book Distributions, Book Recipients, Marketplace

Here at First Book, we understand how busy life can be for our Recipient Groups.  We also know that at the end of the day, when that bell finally rings and all those precious little ones pile onto the buses and head home, the last thing most teachers, principals or administrators need to deal with is trouble placing an order on the First Book Marketplace or confusion about completing a Book Bank application.

To make sure our Recipient Groups can get books from us as quickly and effortlessly as possible, we present to you . . . drum roll please . . . First Book’s very own Online Help Center! So if you have ever wondered: “What is the First Book National Book Bank?”  “How do I place an order on the First Book Marketplace for the first time?” Or “how do I update my registration?” then look no further!  The answers to all these questions (and many more) await you at First Book’s Online Help Center!

Of course we are always here to answer questions from Recipient Groups. But, since we can’t be in the office 24/7, we hope that our Help Center will make getting books from us as easy as possible.  So now, when that bell rings at the end of the day, all those little ones can pile onto their buses with backpacks full of books and minds ready to dive into the wonderful world of reading.

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Help us Receive $200,000 through Members Project from American Express and TakePart.com

March 8th, 2010 by Melinda H. · First Book Events, Literacy, Nonprofit Technology, Philanthropy

First Book is excited to be one of 50 cause-related charities showcased in this year’s Members Project initiative from American Express and TakePart.  Participants to the site can vote once a week for a charity, and every three months, the charity that garners the most votes will win $200,000.

For First Book, this funding would provide 100,000 new books to kids living in high poverty communities throughout the U.S.

We applaud American Express and TakePart for taking corporate social responsibility to a new level.  Not only is the funding commitment important, but participants will be able to engage more fully with the featured causes.  After voting for First Book, TakePart.com’s social advocacy platform will allow you to connect with other like-minded participants online and find literacy-related volunteer opportunities in your community.   It’s corporate responsibility 2.0.

Please help First Book reach more kids with wonderful new books. Visit www.takepart.com/membersproject and cast your vote for First Book!

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