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You are currently browsing the First Book Blog weblog archives for February, 2007.
Archive for February 2007
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Reading with First Book
February 15th, 2007
Stephanie R.
Leave a Comment »This post is part of a weekly series of synopses of children’s books, written by First Book staff members.
Here Comes Silent E, by Anna Jane Hays, illustrated by Joann Adinolfi. Silent E is a little boy who gets into phonics trouble. His presence changes the sounds of words! A great book to teach kids phonics.. Grades K-2.
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Valentine’s Day!
February 14th, 2007
Erin T.
1 Comment »Regardless if you’re looking for a romantic work to share with the book lover in your life, or if you will be curled up in bed with a good book waiting for the 15th to make a rapid approach, there are plenty of great romantic classics in literature to celebrate this Valentine’s Day.
Gone with the Wind is one of my favorites, but I’ll be picking up Jane Eyre this weekend to put me in the spirit. What is your favorite romantic literary work?
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Just One More Book
February 13th, 2007
Clarissa P.
1 Comment »One of our blog readers recently emailed to let us know about her website, Just One More Book. This site has podcasts three times a week in which they discuss children’s books, and has other book-related content like author interviews.
For anyone who doesn’t know, a podcast is an audio recording that you can either listen to directly from a website, or download to listen to on your computer or on a portable audio player like an iPod.
Don’t forget to check out our own podcast section, where you can hear interviews with some of our favorite children’s authors.
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Announcing our newest Advisory Boards!
February 12th, 2007
James F.
Leave a Comment »In January three new volunteer-led Advisory Boards were established. Please join me in welcoming First Book-Baldwin Wallace College, Berea Ohio, First Book-Beaver County, PA, and First Book-Eastern Connecticut.
There are now 271 First Book Advisory Boards working in local communities across the country. Please click here to find the Advisory Board nearest you.
Advisory Boards work with First Book national staff to achieve the following goals:
- Recruit volunteers representing a professional and cultural cross-section of the community.
- Participate in national cause-based marketing events.
- Raise funds locally to support the purchase of new books for children from low-income families.
- Select programs to receive book grants based on First Book’s Grant Guidelines.
We are always looking for new volunteers, so please contact us if you are interested in joining an existing Board or to learn about starting a new one.
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Valentine’s Flowers with a Difference
February 9th, 2007
Diane N.
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Whitman Sampler just not going to cut it this year? Why not give Valentine’s gifts with a social impact? Now through Valentine’s Day, make a donation in the names of your friends and loved ones and let them know with downloadable valentine cards. Or, for something more traditional, shop for fresh-cut flowers, gourmet truffles and an assortment of other gifts from Giftback.com. Not only will they be shipped overnight to your doorstep, but 10% of your purchase will be donated to First Book when you indicate us as your favorite charity. Be sure to check out the First Book Bouquet — an extra $3.00 from each sale will go to First Book in addition to the 10% donation from Giftback!
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First Book Featured on Time Magazine’s "Work in Progress" Blog!
February 9th, 2007
Jen W.
Leave a Comment »…and it all started with an editor’s book donation to First Book!
Special thanks to Amy Goehner and Lisa Takeuchi Cullen at Time for helping us get the word out!
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First Book and Encyclopaedia Britannica Launch New Partnership
February 8th, 2007
Jen W.
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First Book is pleased to announce our new partnership with the award-winning reference publisher, Encyclopaedia Britannica!This exciting partnership was kicked off at the end of last year with an incredible Book Relief donation of 54 new Encyclopaedia Britannica encyclopedia sets, all of which were sent to the Plaquemines Parish School District in Bellechasse, Louisiana. Plaquemines Parish was one of the many communities devastated by the 2005 hurricanes and the educators there were ecstatic to receive the donation, which will be used to help rebuild reference collections in the schools.
First Book is also excited to announce that we are now featuring Encyclopaedia Britannica titles on the First Book Marketplace, including the Britannica Learning Library, My First Britannica, and the Britannica Discovery Library. This partnership will provide unprecedented access to much-needed educational reference materials for nonprofit organizations serving low-income children.
“First Book’s mission fits perfectly with our goals and our corporate culture. First Book is filling an essential social need as well as providing critical resources for underfunded programs. In addition, they execute like no other organization is able to do. We have a strong commitment to First Book and couldn’t be happier with this partnership,” said Michael Ross, Senior Vice President and Education General Manager of Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Welcome, Encyclopaedia Britannica!
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Reading with First Book
February 8th, 2007
Stephanie R.
Leave a Comment »This post is part of a weekly series of synopses of children’s books, written by First Book staff members.
Little Red Caboose, by Marian Potter, illustrated by Kathy Wilburn. The Littlle Red Caboose doesn’t think that he is a useful member of the train. He wishes that he was a big, black engine, or a coal, flat, or oil car - just so he wasn’t always last. One day everything changes when he saves the train from plummeting down a steep hill. The children cheered for the Little Red Caboose and he learned that everyone is important when it comes to accomplishing difficult tasks. Grades K-2.
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Lit on the go!
February 7th, 2007
Katie B.
3 Comments »Looking to become more well-read, but don’t have much time to devote to sitting down with a 400-page volume? There are several great resources that can help!
Check out Discovering Sherlock Holmes, a community reading project from Stanford University. Each year the project re-releases classic works in a serialized format that can be emailed or mailed in hard copy on a weekly basis. You can also check out their archived novel section for other serialized classics, including three novels by Charles Dickens.
Another great site is Daily Lit, where you can sign up to get small parts of books delivered to you on a daily basis. There are hundreds of books to choose from — in both fiction and non-fiction categories.
Have you had a good experience with these or other book on the go sites? Let us know — we’d love to hear what you’re reading!
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Calling all Student Graphic Artists!
February 7th, 2007
Erin T.
Leave a Comment »We need your help! First Book is in the process of updating our Advisory Board Guides, the main publications that explain First Book and our Advisory Board model. These guides are currently several 20 to 40 page publications, that we would now like to combine and update into one.
We are looking for a college class or department to take on the design portion of this project for us, and help us revise this important tool. If you are affiliated with a college or university with a strong graphic design department, please take a look at the proposal and forward this message to anyone you think may be interested. Thanks!