Our blog team here at First Book meets every couple weeks to talk about ideas for blog posts. We had our last meeting of the year at the Borders near our office, to celebrate the holidays and talk about how to make our blog even better in 2007. Pictured left to right: Katie, Diane, Erin, […]

[Read more →]

This post is part of a weekly series of synopses of children’s books, written by First Book staff members.
Pirate Mom, by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. Pete likes to pretend he’s a pirate: Pirate Pete. He wishes his mom would play pirates with him, but she doesn’t like to. One day when his mom […]

[Read more →]

Donald Mowry, First Book advisor for the Campus Advisory Board at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, was awarded a 2006 Literacy Award worth $2,500 by the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Benefiting First Book’s efforts at his campus, these funds were used on programs for children who are learning English as a second language. Phi Kappa […]

[Read more →]

This week the First Book Marketplace launched a special promotion in celebration of black history month in February: the first 20 programs serving children from low-income families that spend $1,000 on Marketplace books will also receive a Borders/Waldenbooks giftcard for an additional $500 to spend on books for they children they serve.
The First […]

[Read more →]

This post is part of a weekly series of synopses of children’s books, written by First Book staff members.
Lion and the Mouse, by Gail Herman, illustrated by Lisa McCue. In this retelling of the classic Aesop fable, an adventuresome mouse proves that even small creatures are capable of great deeds when he rescues the King […]

[Read more →]

First Book recently created an online presence for our Advisory Boards by launching Advisory Board websites. The sites are a great way for Boards to recognize their donors, announce local events, and list the Recipient Groups that they serve. They are also a fantastic way to advertise accomplishments and solicit support and new […]

[Read more →]

On Tuesday morning the office was buzzing with cheerful laughter as everyone traded news of their holidays and New Year’s. So it was jarring to sit down at my desk and find a sobering story in the morning’s Washington Post on the state of local public libraries in our neighboring Maryland and Virginia.
Staff […]

[Read more →]

Over the course of our 15 years, First Book has been recognized by social sector publications, foundations, entrepreneurs, and major corporations for our work giving new books to children in need.
While praise and accolades aren’t what motivate us, it’s always nice to know that your efforts have been noticed. It means a lot too, […]

[Read more →]

Instructables has instructions on how to turn a book into a clock. This is a good project for a rainy day (which it is here… brrr).
The instructions seem pretty simple, and you just need a book, a clock kit (which you can buy at a craft store), and a drill. A lot of children’s books […]

[Read more →]

This post is part of a weekly series of synopses of children’s books, written by First Book staff members.
Caught By the Sea, by Gary Paulsen. If you love boats, you’ve found a friend. Paulson describes his early attempts at sailing and near disasters, and finally to his growing love of the sea. His adventures are […]

[Read more →]