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Diverse Books Impact on Student Reading

First Book Research & Insights study reveals the impact increasing access to diverse books in classroom environments has on student reading and students’ reading scores.

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Stories for All Project™

First Book curates new, high-quality books representing diverse characters and voices, and makes them available and affordable to educators supporting kids in need.

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The Impact of Book Bans on Educators and Students

First Book Research & Insights study reveals how educators and their students are responding to book bans.

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Support First Book

Millions of children from low-income areas don’t have the tools they need to learn. You can help us reach millions of children and educators each year.

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New Research & Educator Guide

Understanding the current state of classroom libraries

Fifty-one percent of educators reported that their classroom library/reading area would be considered a literacy rich environment across all areas of the checklist. Yet, the survey reveals that a full 30 percent of classroom libraries fall short of meeting the literacy rich guidelines and educators currently see no way to meet them.

Fifty-four percent of educators report having 10 or fewer books per child in their classroom libraries. On average, educators also estimate that less than half (40 percent) of their book selections represent diverse cultures and almost one-third of educators do not consider their book collection to have an adequate representation of diverse cultures (First Book Literacy Rich Environments Survey, 2022).

Our Mission

We envision a world where every child has access to a quality education.

Because education transforms lives.

  • We level the educational playing field for children in need.
  • We’re on a mission to ensure that all children, regardless of their background or zip code, can succeed — by removing barriers to equitable education.

Our Impact

First Book reaches 5 million kids each year in low-income communities across North America through a powerful network of more than 575,000 individual educators, professionals and volunteers specifically working with children in need. This is the largest online community of its kind.

Over 31 years, First Book has distributed more than 225 million high-quality books and educational resources to support kids, and the educators who serve them.

575,000
Individual Educators in Our Network
225 Million
Books & Resources Distributed
5 Million
Children Served Annually

Our Model of Change

First Book is a nonprofit working to remove barriers to an equitable education for children living in low-income communities. We are passionate supporters of individual educators who serve kids in need. We pride ourselves on having business minds and non-profit hearts. First Book is dedicated to breaking down the barriers to educational equity by increasing access to evidence-based best practices, books, and resources in underserved communities. And First Book is a bridge-builder, collaborating with public and private partners, translating best-in-class expertise into educational resources to support learning for children in underserved communities.

image of an educator in a classroom, holding a Mo Willems book and a Piggie stuffie.

First Book Network

The First Book Network is made up of more than 575,000 individual educators who exclusively serve kids in need.

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First Book Marketplace

The First Book Marketplace provides 24/7 access to high-quality, new books, and educational resources at deeply discounted prices to First Book’s network of individual educators.

First Book Research & Insights

First Book Research & Insights conducts qualitative and quantitative research, providing essential insights that guide the field and helps us identify what students need to overcome learning barriers.

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First Book Accelerator

The First Book Accelerator turns our cutting-edge research into expert-informed, actionable teaching tools — in weeks rather than decades — so educators don’t have to wait for the latest evidence-based strategies that will help their students.

Featured Partners

Dedicated partners help us create even more opportunities for educators and kids in need.

This is one of the best organizations I have ever worked with in my many years in education and library services. The vast knowledge, resources, and opportunities that First Book provides are superb.

First Book Supporter
image of a classroom of kids holding up books. In the bottom left corner is text that says, 'March For What Matters. Support diverse books!' Underneath the text is a red button that says, 'I'll March for What Matters'.