Last week I headed to the Gulf Coast to do some advance work for next week’s book parties and press events with the US Department of Education.
Tuesday, June 6 - Houston to New Orleans
I arrived at the airport at 6:00 am for a 7:35 am flight and was so proud of myself. Usually, I have […]

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The creativity and heart of young people never ceases to amaze me. I was struck again recently while browsing a copy of the book True Character: Letters from Your Bookshelf. This remarkable book was written by the 2005-2006 sophomore gifted/honors English students at McIntosh High School in Peachtree City, Georgia.
The book is a compilation […]

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M.Night Shyamalan, the man who gave us such bonechilling films as The Sixth Sense and Signs, has now brought his particular (and peculiar) brand of spookiness to the world of children’s books with Little, Brown and Company’s “Lady in the Water.”
Bedtime may never be the same.
To hear M. Night chat about the books that […]

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One of the fun aspects of BookExpo America every year is the unusual opportunity it presents for that great American pastime: celebrity spotting. You can be cruising down the aisles or attending an event and end up rubbing elbows with all sorts of unexpected folks.
For instance, that unassuming guy in the Hawaiian shirt, strolling […]

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A recent study has shown that access to reading materials is extremely limited for children from low-income families: estimated to be about one book for every 300 children.
Source: Neuman, Susan B. Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 2. New York, NY: The Guilford Press, 2006. P 31.
I read this statistic for the […]

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One of the first things that I noticed when I started working at First Book were all of the pictures and drawings and cards from kids from all over the country thanking First Book for all of the new books they have received. They hang on the walls, doors and bulletin boards all over […]

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Well, it’s that time of year — not simply the beginning of the summer vacation season — but also the spring/summer wedding season. This topic came up recently as I was talking to a friend of mine who is a bridesmaid in a wedding this weekend. She and I were astounded thinking about […]

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