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You are currently browsing the First Book Blog weblog archives for January, 2008.
Archive for January 2008
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YAY Books!
January 31st, 2008
Erin T.
1 Comment »Campus Advisory Board members at Miami University celebrated National Literacy Awareness Week (NLAW) by distributing books at Marshall Elementary School in Oxford, Ohio. They distributed 3 books to each child, including “Giggle, Giggle, Quack” by Doreen Cronin, that they also used as the inspiration in a puppet show. Their favorite quote from the day’s activities: “Yay, books!”
First Book- Miami University also distributed pledge forms at the student center, to encourage the campus to read to a child. The pledge highlighted the reasons why reading aloud to a child is important including, stimulating the imagination, fostering creativity, creating special memories, building knowlege, boosting self-esteem and developing a love of books and reading.
These all sound like great reasons to me! Keep up the great work, Miami!
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Cheerios Announces Winner of National Search for the Next Great Children’s Book Author
January 31st, 2008
Diane N.
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Shellie Braeuner, a nanny for four in Nashville, Tennessee, was washing the family dog when she came up with an idea for a story: the Great Dog Wash. After putting pen to paper, she submitted her story to the Cheerios® Spoonfuls of Stories® Children’s Book Contest.Nearly 1,000 entries and three rounds of judging later – the first, conducted by First Book Advisory Boards across the country – we are delighted to announce that Ms. Braeuner is the winner of the first-ever Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories Children’s Book Contest.
Ms. Braeuner’s prize included $5,000 and the chance to have her story reviewed by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. Even better, Simon & Schuster has agreed to publish Ms. Braeuner’s story. They have already paired her with an editor as well as illustrator Robert Neubecker. The Great Dog Wash will be made available in paperback inside Cheerios boxes in Spring 2009 and through booksellers in Summer 2009.
Cheerios also named two first prize winners, who will receive $1,000 each from Cheerios: Kate Heilman, 35, of Chicago, for her story, Theo the T-Rex: The Most Terrible Dinosaur in the Neighborhood, and Alison Anderson, 33, of Cumberland, Wisc., for Sleepy Song. Both are currently featured online at www.spoonfulsofstories.com.
For the last six years, through the Spoonfuls of Stories® program, Cheerios has given away more than 30 million children’s books free inside cereal boxes, and donated more than $2.5 million to First Book.We, at First Book, extend our warmest thanks to everyone who entered, as well as to our wonderful Advisory Board volunteers for their assistance. Don’t forget to stay tuned for information about next year’s Children’s Book Contest, when the search for the next great children’s book author continues! To learn more, please visit: www.spoonfulsofstories.com.
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Rice University celebrates NLAW!
January 30th, 2008
Nicole T.
3 Comments »America Reads and the Education Committee for the Rice Student Volunteer Program (RSVP) have a full week of activites planned for National Literacy Action Week (NLAW). They began on Monday by hosting a collage-making event, where organizations involved in education on the Rice campus or in the greater Houston community were invited to bring pictures of their
members in action. They created poster boards that will be displayed throughout the week in the Rice Student Center, with the aim to increase awareness of how students are actively changing their communities and addressing the issue of literacy and education.
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WRITE Now! at Duke University
January 29th, 2008
Nicole T.
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In celebration of National Literacy Action Week (NLAW) 2008, the Community Service Center at Duke University is hosting a WRITE Now! project with fourth graders at Carter Community School. Tutors are working with students to showcase how writing can be a vehicle for awareness. They will also write a letter to the Editor of the local newspaper, in which they will emphasize the important role tutoring plays in boosting confidence and academic success. The Community Service Center is also sponsoring a training session to help campus tutors inspire children and youth to write. -
National Literacy Action Week 2008 Starts Today!
January 28th, 2008
Nicole T.
2 Comments »National Literacy Action Week (NLAW) starts today and is being celebrated on campuses across the county. Sponsored by SCALE, Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education, a program of the School of Education at The University of North Carolina, the week will feature workshops, tutoring and tutor recruitment, storytimes and book distributions, and other literacy awareness activities.
The events on the UNC campus and surrounding community include the kickoff featuring local and student-led literacy and social activist organizations at the Pit, followed by two workshops addressing social activism and the civil rights movement held at the campus Y and the South Estes Family Resource Center. Distinguished storyteller Aurora Boyer will facilitate a bilingual story time (Spanish-English), hosted by Carrboro Elementary School and MANO (Women Working Toward New Opportunities). Finally, a Public Health professional with experience in the Latina community will lead a discussion about issues in cross-cultural health literacy at the Borders store.
Among other campuses participating in NLAW 2008 are Duke University, Miami University, Rice University, Virginia Tech, Florida State University, and the University of Notre Dame. We will be blogging about their activities throughout the week so check back often for updates!
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Social Capitalists, Please Take Your Seats
January 25th, 2008
Mary Beth F.
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I was honored to have the opportunity to represent First Book at this year’s Social Capitalist Awards dinner hosted by Fast Company magazine and Monitor Group.This year’s event was hosted in Washington, DC – a very convenient locale for many of the evening’s honorees – and brought together some of the best minds working today in the field of social enterprise. It was a thrill to be representing First Book, one of just ten organizations to have received this honor for five consecutive years.
To look around the room was truly awe-inspiring — the individuals in the room have directed their entrepreneurial vision towards solving some of the world’s greatest ills, and the reality is — it’s working. Organizations such as Accion International, College Summit and Endeavor Global are creating models to disrupt the cycle of poverty. Those actions have the ability not only to change the lives of the individuals they serve, but the society in which we all live. Let me tell you, there are worse ways to spend an evening than celebrating these incredible individuals and organizations.
One of the greatest thrills for me was getting the opportunity to meet Fast Company contributor, Dan Heath. I seized the moment to tell him how thought-proving and entertaining I found his article “The Inevitability Of $300 Socks.” I’d encourage you to take a moment to read the article at FastCompany.com and let me know your thoughts.
To learn more about the Social Capitalist Awards and the incredible individuals with whom I got to spend an evening, please visit Fast Company’s Web site.
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First Book Advisory Board Spotlight- Kathy Scahill
January 23rd, 2008
Heather J.
1 Comment »Kathy Scahill, First Book-Greater Cincinnati. First Book highlights the amazing work of Kathy Scahill of First Book—Greater Cincinnati who is stepping down as Chair of the Board in 2008 after six years in a leadership position. Since the Board’s inception in 2001, they have raised more than $55,000 in donations and distributed over 28,000 catalog, Community Starter, Book Bank, and Border’s gift card books to children in the Cincinnati area. Kathy’s tremendous steadfast leadership, great organizational skills, and boundless energy allowed the Board to flourish and be a model Advisory Board over the years. Thank you, Kathy, for your invaluable contributions to First Book and the children in your community who are in greatest need. You are a treasure!
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Creating a World without Poverty
January 22nd, 2008
Erin T.
Leave a Comment »One of the greatest things about living in D.C. is the amazing author events that are always happening. Recently, Politics and Prose held a book signing and lecture for Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank. The Grameen Bank, which Professor Yunus founded, provides micro-credit to the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh and Grameen-inspired micro-credit institutions are doing the same in developing countries worldwide.
Professor Yunus spoke about his new book, “Creating a World without Poverty: How Social Business Can Transform our Lives.” In his book he speaks of a message that likely resonates with most First Book supporters: treat the poor with dignity and help them access resources and they won’t remain poor.If you’d like to hear Professor Yunus speak, check out the United Nations Foundation’s site to see if he is coming to a city near you.
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Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
January 21st, 2008
Chandler A.
Leave a Comment »Just a few weeks ago we announced the arrival of a special edition of Martin’s Big Words to the First Book Marketplace. This incredible picture book, written by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier, weaves the immortal words of Dr. King into an unforgettable portrait of a man whose dream changed America — and the world — forever.
As we pause today to remember Dr. King’s powerful legacy, we are happy to say that, just a few weeks after we added this title to our site, the book has already sold out of its first Special Edition printing (a second printing will soon be on the way). This really is a wonderful testament to both the special qualities of this wonderful book and the lasting power of Dr. King’s “big” words.
For more information on the First Book Marketplace, including a range of titles specially selected for Black History Month, please visit www.fbmarketplace.org.
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Resolve to spread the joy of reading this year!
January 18th, 2008
Mary Beth F.
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To kick off 2008, First Book is proud to announce that for every e-card viewed from The Literacy Site, one new book will be donated to a child in need.Here’s how it works: You send an e-card from The Literacy Site.com. When your friend views your personalized e-card, First Book will provide a new book for a child. You can even send a special greeting to several friends; every person who views your card will give a book!
This gift is possible thanks to the generous support of Pi Beta Phi. So when you send an e-card greeting or a birthday wish, you’re doing more than just saying hello– you’re helping to give the gift of literacy.