Posts in category Guest Blog Posts

First Book Goes to Broadway!

Sep19
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Today’s guest blogger is Laura Geringer, beloved children’s book author and one of First Book’s favorite people.

First Book goes to Broadway! It’s gratifying to announce the highly successful completion of the first stage of First Book’s partnership with the Kaufman Center. The collaboration gave rise this summer to a pilot program of seven colorful and comical musicals for children, all based on children’s books available from First Book’s online Marketplace site.

In the lineup were “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” by Jon Scieszka, “Chrysanthemum” by Kevin Henkes, “Kenny and the Dragon” by Tony DiTerlizzi, and my own “A Three Hat Day“.

The show was called “Cover to Cover”, and was a tribute to the power of storytelling in our lives. It was tremendously moving to me as over a hundred children sang the lyrics to the closing song:

There will always be a new book to discover
And the books I love
will always be
A part of me …

Through this new partnership with The Kaufman Center, First Book makes its theatrical debut on stage, bringing books into the lives of children in need through story and song.

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, First Book Events - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Airplanes, Space Shuttles, Drones…Oh My!

Sep15
2011 Rochee Jeffrey Written by Rochee Jeffrey

During National Aerospace Week, First Book is sharing stories about science and engineering from some of our friends at Lockheed Martin, sponsors of First Book’s Springboard to STEM program. Today’s guest blogger is Ray Burick, Vice President of P-3 Programs and Greenville Operations, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company. 

Airplanes. Space shuttles. Drones. Satellites. Space stations. Fighters. Cargo planes. Commercial jets. Stealth technology.

The aerospace industry is not only fascinating, but is also the very definition of cutting edge technology. Aerospace is challenging, innovative, progressive and dynamic.  And, it impacts so many other industries.  Just imagine how different our lives and world would be without contributions from the aerospace industry. 

From a larger picture, the aerospace industry brings the world closer together, literally, with the products that it produces.  It also ensures that the freedoms we value as a country are there for future generations.

From a career perspective, the aerospace industry offers growth and challenges to the people it employs. My first job involved installing engines into new aircraft designs.  Today, I have the privilege of overseeing operations for one of the world’s most unique and vital aircraft, the P-3 Orion.

Each job I’ve had as an aerospace engineer has come with a certain set of responsibilities.  Not only has each role expanded my knowledge of an aircraft, it also enabled me to manage teams, budgets, logistics and operations in varying degrees.  Everything I learned from working with a small team of engineers, I use every day in working with the entire P-3 team that includes more than 1,300 individuals.

Being a part of the aerospace industry offers you the chance to gain experience from day one on the job. You have access to a variety of jobs, from conceptual design to supporting aircraft on missions once they are delivered to the customer.  I remind myself daily that not a lot of other industries have such a range of career opportunities like the ones found in the aerospace community.
I love my career.  I wouldn’t change it for the world.  My hope for the future of my industry is that today’s students are as amazed by the possibilities of working in aerospace as I am.  If you want to literally help shape and design the future, check out what the aerospace industry can offer you.  I can promise you that you’ll never run out of opportunities to literally shoot for the moon and beyond.


 

Posted in STEM - Tagged ,

Opening a Door Where There Never Was a Door Before: First Book and the Kaufman Center

Aug04
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Today’s guest blogger is Laura Geringer, beloved children’s book author and one of First Book’s favorite people.

Author and First Book supporter Laura Geringer with children from the Kaufman Center’s Summer Theater Workshop in NYCLast night First Book’s Chandler Arnold and I attended the final exciting performance of Cover to Cover, a lively collection of seven brief musicals all based on children’s books available on the First Book Marketplace, including my own book, A Three Hat Day.

My hope is that the many children who receive and read this special twenty-fifth anniversary edition of my book through First Book will learn to love reading as much as I do and that books will become a very important part of their lives.

The show was created and produced by the Kaufman Center’s Summer Theater Workshop, directed by Sean Hartley, and performed in Merkin Hall, here in New York City. For twenty years, the Kaufman Center has been commissioning new playwrights and songwriters to create short child-friendly plays and songs. Like First Book, this non-profit organization is dedicated to enriching the lives of children from all walks of life through the magic of storytelling.

To quote one of the beautiful songs in last night’s new stage adaptation of A Three Hat Day, reading a book can be like “Opening a door / where there never was a door before.”

We hope this first collaboration of First Book and the Kaufman Center will pave the way for future programs that offer music, art and stories to more and more children throughout the nation, and that bring families together with authors, artists, educators and community members in a celebration of the joy of reading.

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, First Book Events, Marketplace - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

First Book Friday: Making It Happen in Milwaukee

Jul29
2011 Rochee Jeffrey Written by Rochee Jeffrey

Today’s blog post comes from Gina Rullo. Gina has been an employee of First Book since October 2010 and is a Recipient Group Coordinator on the Help Team. She is from the Albany, NY area and moved to Washington, DC in October. She always enjoys a good laugh and feels very passionate about the mission of First Book.

When I recently found out that I would be going on my first ever National Book Bank Distribution, I was ecstatic. I was told I would be traveling to Milwaukee the week of July 18th, with a dynamic team that would include colleagues, Katie Nierbasch, Rachael Voorhees and Susanne Sparks. 

Rachael Voorhees, Gina Rullo, Katie Nierbasch,

Before I knew it, we were on an early Monday morning flight bound for Milwaukee, Wisconsin. No time was wasted as we literally stepped off the plane and headed straight to the NewThreads of Hope warehouse in Wauwatosa, almost forgetting to claim our checked bags. The President of NewThreads of Hope, Dennis Brand, gave us a tour of the warehouse upon our arrival.  He showed us an air conditioned room to eat our lunches -this didn’t seem so bad!

READ MORE »

Posted in Book Distributions, First Book Friday - Tagged , , , , ,

Call for Bloggers!

Jul28
2011 Rochee Jeffrey Written by Rochee Jeffrey

Passionate about literacy? Want to discuss your thoughts on literacy issues? Have literacy tips that you want to share? We want you!

The First Book Blog is always interested in featuring fresh and exciting new voices on our blog. In particular, we are looking for dynamic writers who are interested in blogging about literacy issues in a weekly column for the First Book Blog.

If you are an educator or “thought leader” who thinks that you have what it takes,  please email rjeffrey@firstbook.org with a brief bio and a link to your blog. Feel free to pass this along to anyone you think would be interested in lending their voice to our blog.

Happy blogging!

Posted in Books & Reading - Tagged

2010 Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories Winner

Jul05
2011 Rochee Jeffrey Written by Rochee Jeffrey

Today’s guest blog post comes from Ron Rauss,  an author, illustrator, and published photographer.  Ron lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and son. He was announced as the 2010 Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories New Author Contest Grand Prize winner in March 2011 and will have his first picture book “Can I Just Take A Nap?” published by Simon and Schuster in 2012.

Last October I received an extra treat with my Halloween goodies.  Not just another chocolate bar or bag of candy corn, this treat came in the form of a phone call from General Mills letting me know that I had won the grand prize in the Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories New Author Contest.  I remember thinking that someone must be playing a Halloween trick on me, I loved my story but could it really be the big winner? It was no trick; Can I just Take a Nap? (a story inspired by my son Aiden) was chosen from over 8,000 contest entries and the manuscript would be reviewed by Simon & Schuster.  Wow, does it get any better than that?

Believe me when I tell you that it does.  In mid December I received another special call; this time it was from an editor with S & S and an early Christmas present, a publishing deal for my story. What a wonderful way to end 2010 and bring in a new year.

 Six months later the excitement of the big win has not worn off and I still have to pinch myself now and then to make sure it’s not all a dream.  The only negative is that I have to wait until next spring for the best part.  That’s when my book will debut in paperback free inside millions of boxes of Cheerios®, giving kids all over the country the opportunity to enjoy the book before the hardcover edition ever hits the bookstores.  It’s the part of the contest that is really special and reminds me why I started writing for children in the first place.  I write to make children happy, I write for the smiles, and because of First Book and General Mills Can I Just Take a Nap? will be responsible for millions of smiles in 2012 (I have my fingers crossed!).  That’s what I call an overwhelming success.

There are many ways for authors to judge whether their books are successful or not.  Sales figures, critic reviews and literary awards are just a few.  These things are all nice and they can give writers the validation needed to create day to day in a world filled with constant rejection. But in the grand scheme of things these numbers, opinions and medals are secondary to the enjoyment and wonder of a child.  All the other things are just icing on the cake.  With the Spoonfuls of Stories contest you can have the best of both worlds, helping get books to kids who need them while fulfilling your dreams of becoming a published, award winning author. Not to mention the pride of being associated with a wonderful organization like First Book whose main goal is to get new books to schools and programs that serve low-income children.  

The contest is open for submissions now at spoonfulsofstoriescontest.com, but only until July 15th.  So put on your creative thinking caps and get to work, your story could be the reason for millions of smiles in 2013 and the biggest will belong to you.

Posted in Books & Reading - Tagged , , , , ,

Chris Draft and Summer Reading

Jun23
2011 Rochee Jeffrey Written by Rochee Jeffrey

Veteran NFL Linebacker Chris Draft has been one of First Book’s biggest supporters. His energy, enthusiasm and passion are infectious, and we’re grateful that his organization, The Chris Draft Family Foundation, has partnered with First Book to promote childhood literacy and get more books to kids.

Chris made this video stressing the importance of providing books to kids to combat summer learning loss.

Posted in Books & Reading, First Book Partners, Literacy, Philanthropy, Video - Tagged , , , ,

Summer Reading: How to Keep Low-Income Students from Falling Behind

Jun22
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Today’s guest blogger is Cary Hanson, the librarian at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School in Washington D.C.

Summer break is approaching … and soon summer reading lists will pop up in classrooms and libraries across the country. As a librarian, I love helping students find something fun to read after months of mandatory texts, knowing that the reading they do this summer will help them keep the gains they’ve made during the school year.

Cary Hanson and some of her students at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School in Washington DCOur school is located in a neighborhood with the highest poverty levels in the District of Columbia, and this makes summer reading even more critical. Studies show that low-income and minority students stay on pace with their more advantaged peers during the school year, but fall behind over the summer. The good news is that research indicates it is possible to help close this gap with access to books and the proper support.

How can we make summer reading programs effective for low-income and minority children? I’ve taken some tips from Project READS, a scaffolded voluntary summer reading intervention. A scaffolded approach enables all of us who work with children to make summer reading a meaningful learning experience.

What can teachers do?
Teachers can take time before the year ends to teach specific reading strategies that will help children read independently. They can also encourage children to read out loud at home.

What can parents do?
Parents and family members can ask children to read passages out loud and help them with difficult words. Simply asking a child to talk about what he or she is reading is a strategy that any family member can use, regardless of his or her reading ability.

What can the rest of us do?
We can make good matches between children and books, taking into account each child’s interests and ability. If we have access to a child’s reading level (a Lexile level or some other measure) we can use this tool to guide book selections. Other adults who work with children can use the 5-finger rule to see if a book is too challenging — if they can read 96 out of 100 words in a passage, it’s probably a good match. If we work with parents, we can encourage them to have conversations about the books their children read, provide books in languages other than English, or teach them the same comprehension strategies their children learn in school.

For more information on Project READS, please see Summer reading, summer not: How Project READS (Reading Enhances Achievement During Summer) can advance equity, by James S. Kim, 2010.

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

First Book Friday: My First Book Distribution

Jun10
2011 Rochee Jeffrey Written by Rochee Jeffrey

Today’s guest blog post is from Susanne Sparks, an engagement manager at First Book. She’s passionate about leveling the playing field so that all children can learn, grow, and thrive.

Last week, I traveled to Jacksonville, Fla. with three of my colleagues to distribute books via the First Book National Book Bank. As a new staff member, I knew facts about how the First Book National Book Bank operated, but was eager to learn more about the process.

Susanne Sparks

The First Book National Book Bank distributes excess inventory from over 90 publishing partners to educators and youth workers serving children from impoverished homes. Disney Publishing Worldwide donated the 430,000 we processed out of Jacksonville.

The distribution had three phases. Tuesday, apply shipping labels to half of the boxes and get them out the door via six tractor trailers. Wednesday, gather boxes of books for pick-up at the warehouse. Thursday and Friday, meet the recipient group representatives—teachers, youth workers, and other “changemakers”—and help load the books into their cars, trucks, trailers, and yes, even a school bus.

READ MORE »

Posted in Around the First Book Office, Book Distributions, Books & Reading, First Book Events, Volunteers - Tagged , , , , ,

Why do kids need books at home?

May31
2011 Rochee Jeffrey Written by Rochee Jeffrey

Today’s guest blog post is from Sheila Frye (teachingliteracy). Sheila has been in education for over thirteen years serving as a Special Educator, Gifted and Talented Teacher, Reading Teacher, Reading Specialist, and Adjunct Professor of graduate education. A lifelong lover of reading, Sheila is currently a doctorate candidate studying the relationship between literacy learning and technology.

Books.

Some may think they are merely printed words inked onto pieces of white paper.

But to a child, they can be so much more.

Research shows that children who grow up in print-rich environments and have access to high-quality books fair better academically in school. They are more self-confident learners and believe in the power of exploration and imagination.

Unfortunately, many families in low-income areas often lack money to buy books, and all families, including those in high-income ones, typically do not frequent their local libraries. The result? Stunted literacy development and a missed opportunity to be a lifelong reader.

Organizations like First Book are “putting books in the hands of children who need them the most.” First Book works tirelessly to make books available in homes, classrooms, and programs in North America and end illiteracy once and for all.

Interested in learning more about this valuable organization? Just click here.

Posted in Books & Reading, Literacy - Tagged , , , ,
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