Posts by Katie B.

Odds and Bookends: March 19

Mar19
2010 Written by Katie B.

Kids’ books: This ‘March Madness’ is literally playing by the book
“School Library Journal is sponsoring a “Battle of the Kids’ Books.” Patterned after the wildly popular NCAA March Madness, the “Battle of the Kids’ Books” pits 16 topnotch children’s books against each other and asks popular children’s-book authors to choose a winner.”

10 of the best: heroes from children’s fiction
Don’t miss this photo essay featuring 10 heroes and heroines from children’s fiction including Huckleberry Finn, Anne Shirley and Petrova Fossil.

All-New Shel Silverstein Poetry Collection Due in 2011
This week HarperCollins Children’s Books announced the fall 2011 release of a collection of never-before published Shel Silverstein poems and illustrations.

Alabama youth reading Mark Twain to promote literacy
Throughout Alabama, children, big kids and families are reading or re-reading Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ event The Big Read.

Author Name Pronunciation Guide
Ever wondered how you pronounce tricky authors’ names? This site offers a collection of brief recordings of authors & illustrators saying their names. Check out the recording from Adam Rex, a favorite of First Book staff member and author Erica Perl.

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading, Literacy Links and Articles - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thank You Wednesday

Mar17
2010 Written by Katie B.

Today’s post is brought to you by Cody, who writes:

Dear First Book,
Thank you for my books. I like them a lot. You are nice and cool. I enjoyed the books. I read them every day.
Thank you,
Cody

Posted in Book Recipients, Books & Reading

Odds and Bookends: March 12

Mar12
2010 Written by Katie B.

Spring in literature
“March has arrived; the sun is shining; finally – finally! – there’s no snow on the ground. To celebrate, take the Guardian’s quiz on the pleasures of the sweetest season.”

How to Design a Cover in 1:55 seconds
Ever wondered how a book cover comes to be? Check out The Making of a Book Cover time-lapse video that condenses the intense Photoshop compositing and retouching and the painstaking revisions process all in under two minutes.

The Subconscious Shelf
The New Yorker invites you to “lie back, relax, let the good doctors at the Book Bench analyze the contents of your bookshelf.”

From stick figures to sweet flick
Jeff Kinney had a clear template when it came time to adapt his wildly successful Diary of a Wimpy Kid children’s books to the big screen.

Read along as authors write ‘Exquisite Corpse Adventure’ online
Every two weeks a different children’s-book author and illustrator join forces to figure out how to move along the story in the online book “The Exquisite Corpse Adventure.”

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading, Literacy Links and Articles - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Odds and Bookends: March 5

Mar05
2010 Written by Katie B.

This Week is Words Matter Week
Check out the Words Matter Week blog, sponsored by the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors for interesting prompts and daily blog challenge questions.

There’s something about ‘Alice’
The Boston Globe features a great article on Lewis Carroll’s book and readers obsession with Alice’s story. In other “Alice” news, Tim Burton’s 3-D movie version opens today!

U.S. Plans New Measure for Poverty
This week the federal government announced it would begin producing an experimental measurement of poverty next year, a step toward the first overhaul of the formula since it was developed nearly a half-century ago.

Fairbanks man works to get boys to read more books
A great profile on Tim Stallard and the Alaska chapter of the Guys Read program, which seeks to encourage and improve boys’ reading levels.

Teaching kids to read from the back of a burro
For hundreds of children in the rural villages of Colombia, Luis Soriano is more than a man riding a stubborn donkey – he is a man with a mission to save rural children from illiteracy.

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading, Literacy Links and Articles - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Odds and Bookends: February 26

Feb26
2010 Written by Katie B.

Quest for Olympic knowledge stirs reading enthusiasm
A Frederick, Maryland Elementary School is using Olympic excitement to incent students to read.

The Most Amazing Libraries In The World Part Two
The Huffington Post features a slideshow of  the “Most Amazing Libraries In the World Part Two” as a follow up to part one from last month. Check out the amazing photos of some incredible libraries!

The joys of bookshop browsing
Sam Jordison comments that “searching real shelves is the most satisfying way to find literary treasures – but can it survive the rise of Amazon and ebooks?”

Oddest book title prize pits worm hunter’s afterthoughts against Nazi spoons
Check out the shortlist for this year’s Diagram prize for the oddest book title, which includes Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter and Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich.

Posted in Books & Reading, Literacy Links and Articles - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last Chance to Vote for First Book at GoodEarthCares.com

Feb22
2010 Written by Katie B.

This is the last week to vote for First Book in the Good Earth Cares campaign! We’re in the home stretch and we need your help!

The top 3 vote-getting charities on GoodEarthCares.com receive a cash prize (up to $30,000). First Book needs to move up two spots to win a prize and get more books to kids who need them most. Help First Book make it to the top 3 by voting every day this week. Voting ends this Sunday, February 28.

Voting is simple: just visit www.goodearthcares.com, enter your email address and click vote!

And don’t forget to spread the word! Encourage all your friends and family to vote for First Book.  Email, post on Facebook, tweet and announce on LinkedIn.

Posted in Philanthropy - Tagged , , ,

Odds and Bookends: February 19

Feb19
2010 Written by Katie B.

Ready, Set, Answer; Trivia quiz show promotes reading
Oregon Second and Third grade students compete in the Battle of the Books program, a reading quiz competition and incentive to encourage reading.

Found in Books
AbeBooks.com shares the oddities that people have found in books they have purchased. Items range from the literary to the absurd and have included teeth, money, and bacon!

Henry Sutton’s top 10 unreliable narrators
“From Huck Finn to Holden Caulfield and Humbert Humbert, the novelist provides an entirely trustworthy guide to some of literature’s slipperiest characters.”

Catching up with children’s author Mo Willems
The Houston Chronicle caught up with Mo Willems, author of two new books for silly people, Cat the Cat Who Is That? and Let’s Say Hi to Friends Who Fly!, to find out if he is silly too.

Cursive is, like, so last century
The San Jose Mercury News finds that while teens are more and more adept at texting and typing, old-fashioned cursive is a dying form of communication.

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading, Literacy Links and Articles - Tagged , , , , , , ,

National Engineers Week

Feb15
2010 Written by Katie B.

This week, February 14-20, 2010, is National Engineers Week! In partnership with Lockheed Martin’s K-12 education initiative, Engineers in the Classroom, we’ll be featuring guest blog posts from Lockheed Martin engineers discussing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)as well as some background about their engineering career paths and some of the cutting-edge projects they are working on.

In celebration of National Engineers Week, First Book introduces – in partnership with Lockheed Martin – a new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math section on the First Book Marketplace, featuring new, high-quality STEM books for elementary through high school students. Check out new STEM content and download FREE educator materials at the First Book Marketplace.

Posted in STEM - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Odds and Bookends: February 12

Feb12
2010 Written by Katie B.

‘Mockingjay’ to Conclude the Hunger Games Trilogy
Scholastic released the title and cover art for the third and final book in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy. Mockingjay will be released on August 24, 2010 and will have 750,000 first printing.

Seeing How Far $100 Can Go
A Brooklyn writer is celebrating four years of giving her friends cash and asking them to find ways to donate.

Lemony Snicket: Interview
Philip Womack on Daniel Handler, the enigma behind Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

And it wouldn’t be a long weekend without a few reading lists:

Roundup: African-American history for young readers
USA Today features a nice list of four new illustrated books for kids celebrating African-American history.

Love stories: Top 10 Valentine’s books for your kids
Love is in the air! Laura DeLaney, the owner of Rediscovered Bookshop in Boise, shares her top 10 Valentine’s Day books for kids.

Presidential Library: A President’s Day Reading List
Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don’t Know Much About History, provides a reading list of Presidential biographies.

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading, Literacy Links and Articles - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

First Book featured on Comcast Local Edition

Feb10
2010 Written by Katie B.

Joan Sahlgren, Vice President of Communications, recently sat down with Comcast Local Edition’s Donna Richardson to talk about First Book, our mission and our innovative model that brings millions of new books to children in need across the country. The interview appears on-air on Comcast cable in the Washington, DC area, but you can also view the video using the link below.

Posted in General, Literacy, Video - Tagged , , ,
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