Posts in category Marketplace

Cricket, Ladybug, Spider and More: First Book Brings Award-Winning Children’s Magazines to Kids in Need

Apr06
2012 1 Comment Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Cricket, Ladybug, Spider and More: First Book Brings Award-Winning Children's Magazines to Kids in Need

Exciting news! First Book will now be offering Cricket and other award-winning kid’s magazines to the 27,000 schools and programs in our national network.

Thanks to our friends at ePals, we’ll be able to offer their full range of children’s magazine titles, including Cricket, Ladybug and Spider. These magazines are terrific; they’ve won pretty much every award possible, and they are loved by teachers and kids.

“This is exactly the sort of content First Book strives to bring to kids in need, so they’ll have the same great opportunities to fall in love with reading as more affluent children,” said Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book. “We’re really excited about being able to offer these magazines to the schools and programs we work with.”

The magazines will be available through the First Book Marketplace, our website available exclusively to teachers and program leaders who work with children from low-income families. An annual classroom subscription – 30 copies of each issue – retails for $1,018, but is available through First Book for $513.

If you work with children in need, sign up with First Book to get these great magazines for your kids. We also carry over 2,000 book titles at deeply-discounted prices, and distribute millions more every year – free of charge – to the programs in our network.

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading, First Book Partners, Kyle Zimmer - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Book of the Month: Barefoot World Atlas

Feb06
2012 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Our book of the month on the First Book Marketplace is the Barefoot World Atlas, which looks at all the ways that different cultures and communities across the world have been shaped by their environment.

First Book's Book of the Month: Barefoot World Atlas“Two years ago, our girls participated in thematic unit on water where they learned about the scarcity of clean water around the world. Our case study was the girls of Sierra Leone who are often unable to attend school because of their responsibility to bare water for their family — not to mention the very dangerous paths they walk to get it.”

“Our girls were so blown away they actually raised enough money to build two wells in Sierra Leone. The wells are close to school so girls may get water on their way home and walk together, hopefully decreasing the incidents of violence against them.”

“This beautiful book illustrates many of the issues we discuss at our center. It empowers our girls of every age and from every demographic to empathize with others regardless of geography or background.”

– Marisa Monroe, the director of program operations at Girls Inc., a program that works with girls in Sarasota, Fla., and a member of the First Book network

The First Book Marketplace is a website available exclusively to schools and programs serving kids in need. If you’re a teacher or program leader, sign up with First Book to get quality books like the Barefoot World Atlas for your kids at prices your program can afford.

First Book is able to offer this exclusive, low-cost paperback edition of Nick Crane’s Barefoot World Atlas thanks to the support of our friends at the Longview Foundation for Education in World Affairs and International Understanding.

Our friends at the Longview Foundation also helped us develop this list of other great books on different cultures and communities around the globe. Lists like this are never complete, of course, but these titles are some of our favorites. If you work with kids and know of any titles like this that we might have missed, drop us a line and let us know!

Posted in Book of the Month, Book Recipients, Books & Reading, First Book Partners, Teachers - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain

Feb06
2012 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Dear First Book,

A letter from Kiley to her friends at First BookThank you for giving us the books. We really like them. You guys have the best books ever because my little sister loves these books.

I like the ‘Nancy Drew Goes to Hollywood’ one. Your books are really fun to read and they’re funny. I also like ‘She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain’.

How many books do you give out every year? Is it over 100 or lesser? It would have to be over 100 because you have to probably send books to every school right?

Have you guys ever had any other books? Have you ever been to Hawaii?

Sincerely,
Kiley

Dear Kiley,

Thanks for your letter! We get lots of thank you letters here at First Book. We read every single one of them, but we don’t often get the chance to write back. But we liked yours extra, because you asked so many excellent questions.

First of all, good job reading to your little sister. Keep it up!

We distribute a lot of books every year. Way more than one hundred, as you guessed. Last year we distributed almost NINE MILLION new books to kids like you, all over the country. And this year we’re going to do even more.

Your teacher obviously cares a lot about you and her other students, so she signed up with First Book. We want to make sure every kid out there has new books of his or her own. So if you ever meet anyone who works with kids from low-income neighborhoods, tell them to sign up with First Book, and we can help them get the books they need.

As for other books, we have LOTS of books. We have over 2,000 books on the First Book Marketplace, a website where we provide books at affordable prices. (Including lots of Nancy Drew books; they’re some of our favorites too.)

We also have another program, called the National Book Bank, where our friends at publishing companies give us lots of other new books so that we can give them away to smart kids like you.

As for Hawaii, we have been! That’s one of the many places we go to give out books; we were there a couple years ago. We would love to come Thanks for writing! Your friends at First Bookback, though, because Hawaii is AWESOME. If we come back, maybe we’ll see you.

Thanks for writing to us, and keep reading!

Sincerely,
Your friends at First Book

PS – We liked your picture of the lady on the horse going up the mountain.

Posted in Book Distributions, Book Recipients, Books & Reading, National Book Bank, Teachers - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

We Couldn’t Have Done It Without You

Jan05
2012 Kyle Zimmer Written by Kyle Zimmer

We had a great year at First Book, thanks to the help of supporters like you. Together, we’re transforming the lives of millions of children in need by ensuring they have new books of their own to read.

I want to take a moment to say thank you, and tell you what’s in store for the year ahead.

First Book in 2011We’ve spent 20 years building First Book, creating a pipeline for getting books and educational resources to programs serving kids from low-income families. That pipeline is uniquely effective, connecting almost 30,000 local schools and programs across the country with new, high-quality books from every major publisher, all supported by committed donors, volunteers and corporate partners.

First Book has created innovative new models and proven that they work, and -– with your help -– we’ll be swinging for the fences in 2012, scaling rapidly upwards to bring desperately-needed supplies to the millions of children who are still waiting for us.

First Book in 2011We accomplished a lot in 2011 — distributing over 9 million new books, adding 7,000 more schools and programs to the First Book network, starting new local volunteer chapters in over a dozen communities, and launching a major upgrade to the First Book Marketplace that will provide local nonprofits and Title I schools with better access to books and other resources.

First Book in 2011But there’s much more in store. I’m excited about what we’ve got planned for the year ahead and the impact it will have, from dramatically expanding the size and scope of the network of schools and programs we reach to bringing the proven First Book model to places around the world. I’ll keep you updated as we announce new programs, partnerships and milestones.

Thank you so much for your continued support of First Book and the children who are counting on us. We couldn’t do it without you.

Kyle Zimmer
President, First Book

Posted in Book Distributions, Book Recipients, Books & Reading, Kyle Zimmer, National Book Bank, Teachers, Volunteers - Tagged , , ,

It’s Almost Friendiversary! Get Your Books Today!

Jan04
2012 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

Happy Friendiversary! From your friends at First Book

We see that you have a sad face, because the holidays are over. Luckily, you are as wrong as you could possibly be, because the biggest, best, most excellent, excitingest, fanciest, greatest holiday of them all is on its way.

Friendiversary!

Yes! It’s true! Friendiversary 2012 will happen on Feb. 7! Or, maybe Feb. 8. Really, any day that week is fine, because Friendiversary is all about doing things in the best way possible.

A Friendiversary, of course, is the anniversary of a friendship. Think of one of your oldest and dearest friends. When did you first meet? How did you meet? That story is the story of your Friendiversary.

It’s almost Friendiversary! Get your books from First Book today!We celebrated the first annual Friendiversary last year with our friend Mo Willems, author and illustrator of the Elephant & Piggie books. Mo wanted to do something special for some of the kids in New Orleans (where he grew up) and Springfield, Mass. (near where he lives now), so he helped us give brand-new Elephant & Piggie books to every second-grader in those cities. Thanks, Mo!

It went so well that we’re doing it again this year, and we’ve opened the celebration up to EVERYONE in the First Book network. So any teacher or program leader from any of the 27,000 local schools and programs we work with can get their very own Friendiversary Kit – a big box filled with Elephant & Piggie books (40 copies of four different Elephant & Piggie titles), plus all kinds of cool Friendiversary stuff.

Check out the awesome Friendiversary Kit here.

It’s almost Friendiversary! Get your books from First Book today!(Be sure to place your order right away, because it will take a few weeks to get them to you, and we want everything to get there in time.)

If you work with kids from low-income families, but you’re not part of the First Book network (or if you know someone who fits that description), it is definitely not to late to get in on this. Just sign up with First Book (it’s free, and takes about five minutes) and you’re eligible to join the party.

And if you want to help bring a Friendiversary Kit to a school or program in your community that works with kids from low-income families, we can make it happen. Just give us a call at 800-READ-NOW or email help@firstbook.org.

Happy Friendiversary!

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, Book Recipients, Books & Reading, First Book Events, Teachers - Tagged , , ,

BIG NEWS from First Book! We’ve Launched a Major Upgrade to the First Book Marketplace

Nov28
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

“The First Book Marketplace is trying to do for publishing what micro-finance did for banking: crack open a vast potential market that is underserved at significant social cost.”
– David Bornstein, The New York Times, May 2011

We’re excited to announce a major upgrade to the First Book Marketplace! As of today, schools and programs who rely on First Book to get new books for the kids they serve will be able to do so more quickly, easily and effectively.

BIG NEWS from First Book! We've Launched a Major Upgrade to the First Book MarketplaceThe teachers and program leaders we work with do amazing things every day, and we’re always working to find new and better ways to help them in their important work.

The First Book Marketplace is a website where teachers and program leaders who work with kids from low-income families can get new, high-quality books at prices they can afford. (If that seems unusual for a nonprofit, check out this great piece in The New York Times that explains why this is a powerful, innovative and effective model.)

We’ve listened to feedback from many of the 27,000 programs in our national network, and made some big changes, including things like easier log-ins, a friendlier account management system, improved search capabilities, wish lists and an easier system for spending grant money. We’ve also added tons of great new books; we’re up to 2,000 titles and adding more all the time.

If you work with kids from low-income families, or know someone who does, check out the new and improved First Book Marketplace, and sign up with First Book today to get great new books for the kids you serve.

Posted in Book Recipients, Social Entrepreneurship - Tagged ,

Last Chance to Get “Llama Llama Red Pajama” for Your Kids in Time to ‘Read for the Record’

Sep20
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

First Book offers "Llama Llama Red Pajama" for 'Read for the Record'On October 6, millions of people all over the world will read “Llama Llama Red Pajama”, by Anna Dewdney, as part of Read for the Record. Our friends at Jumpstart hold this event every year, bringing together parents, teachers, kids, volunteers, celebrities, political leaders and everyone else under the sun to call for an end to the achievement gap that affects kids from low-income neighborhoods.

This year, we’re on track to help set a world record, with 2.1 million people all reading this amazing book. First Book loves “Llama Llama Red Pajama”, and we’re excited to be able to offer it to schools and programs in our network. In order to get the books out to you in time for the kids in your program to participate in Read for the Record, you’ll need to get your order in right away!

So order copies for the kids that you serve and register online to add your voice to the cause.

Posted in Authors & Illustrators, Books & Reading - 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, Guest Blog Posts - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

First Book has eBooks!

Aug01
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

First Book now offers ebooks on the First Book Marketplace

Invariably, when people learn about First Book and our mission of getting new books to kids in need, someone always asks: “What about electronic readers and ebooks? Why don’t you distribute those to kids from low-income families?”

Good idea! We’re pleased to announce that we are now able to offer over fifty electronic titles on the First Book Marketplace (our online site available exclusively to programs serving kids in need).

The titles are all from Britannica Educational Publishing, the folks who publish the famed Encylopaedia Britannica, and they cover topics ranging from sharks to space exploration. Each title also includes a “preview” option, so that teachers and program leaders can take a look at the content before they buy it.

We’re excited to offer these eBooks to the programs in the First Book network, and this is just the first of many steps we’re taking into the world of digital books and resources.

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

Over 2,000 Titles on the First Book Marketplace

Jul12
2011 Brian Minter Written by Brian Minter

We’re excited to announce that we now have over 2,000 titles available on the First Book Marketplace! Our award-winning online site carries books for children of all ages, from board books to college prep guides, from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to To Kill A Mockingbird.

Over 2,000 titles on the First Book MarketplaceThe First Book Marketplace is available to teachers and program leaders who serve children from low-income families, and we work hard to make sure that we’re able to offer high-quality titles that those teachers and program leaders tell us their kids want to read.

We’re proud of the Marketplace, and the diversity of quality books we’re able to offer our programs. David Bornstein wrote about the Marketplace recently in The New York Times:

The First Book Marketplace is trying to do for publishing what micro-finance did for banking: crack open a vast potential market that is underserved at significant social cost. The organization’s goal is to democratize book access, but along the way, it may end up reinvigorating the book business.

(If you’re curious about how the Marketplace works, why it’s so important, or why a nonprofit organization has an online booksite, we recommend reading Bornstein’s piece, as well as his follow-up piece that addresses some specific questions about First Book’s model.)

We’ll be announcing some exciting new changes later this year that will make it even easier for the programs we work with to get books for the kids that need them, so keep in touch, and let us know what books the kids in your life are most excited about reading.

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