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In a poignant post to his Facebook page on 8 July, police officer Montrell Jackson offered a “hug” and “prayer” to those he met as he patrolled the streets of his native Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The post Remembering Montrell Jackson’s ethic of mutuality appeared first on OUPblog.

When Antwon’s kids get a little older, he plans to tell them what he’s been through. A 25-year-old father of three, he’s working hard to give them all a better life.

Today, he is employed as a plumber, studying to get his GED and has completed a leadership and empowerment program for young fathers… twice. But this is a life he never imagined.

Antwon grew up in the Woodland Terrace housing development in Washington, DC where many families live off an annual income of $7000 per year.

“My mother worked on and off. She was raising five kids. She was struggling.” When his siblings’ father, who his family relied on for financial support, passed away, “everything changed.” As the oldest child, Antwon felt a tremendous sense of responsibility.

“The only thing I cared about was taking care of my family, but my mind wasn’t thinking that I could get a job. I wasn’t old enough to get a job. I was 13 at the time, and I got into street life. I was selling drugs.”

Antwon faced time in prison. While he was incarcerated, his mother passed due to a stress induced seizure.

A few weeks before returning home, something hit Antwon. “I had children, and I couldn’t do nothing for them but stand on the block all day. I needed a job. I needed to stay off the streets.”

That’s when Antwon connected with Smart from the Start, a family support, community engagement and school readiness organization. As a First Book partner, the nonprofit helps parents and caretakers become their child’s first teacher by supplying them books to help break the cycle of chronic school underachievement.

“I read to them. They like the sticker books, but I read,” he shares with a smile. “My oldest son, he is in school now. He’s got good grades. I sneak up on him sometimes, but I never let him know I’m coming. I just peek in the classroom. He’s doing good.”

Antwon knows there is work ahead, but he’s incredibly motivated. He needs to earn his GED to get an apprenticeship. Eventually, he wants to become a firefighter. But above all else he wants his kids to have a better life than he had.

“I want to motivate them to do better than I have done – finish school, get a good jobs; if they have kids, take care of their kids, be responsible.”

“It’s crazy,” he tells us, “I’ve seen a lot of things, but now I don’t even look back… My whole life has just changed.”

The post This is a Life He Never Imagined appeared first on First Book Blog.

When Antwon’s kids get a little older, he plans to tell them what he’s been through. A 25-year-old father of three, he’s working hard to give them all a better life.

Today, he is employed as a plumber, studying to get his GED and has completed a leadership and empowerment program for young fathers… twice. But this is a life he never imagined.

Antwon grew up in the Woodland Terrace housing development in Washington, DC where many families live off an annual income of $7000 per year.

“My mother worked on and off. She was raising five kids. She was struggling.” When his siblings’ father, who his family relied on for financial support, passed away, “everything changed.” As the oldest child, Antwon felt a tremendous sense of responsibility.

“The only thing I cared about was taking care of my family, but my mind wasn’t thinking that I could get a job. I wasn’t old enough to get a job. I was 13 at the time, and I got into street life. I was selling drugs.”

Antwon faced time in prison. While he was incarcerated, his mother passed due to a stress induced seizure.

A few weeks before returning home, something hit Antwon. “I had children, and I couldn’t do nothing for them but stand on the block all day. I needed a job. I needed to stay off the streets.”

That’s when Antwon connected with Smart from the Start, a family support, community engagement and school readiness organization. As a First Book partner, the nonprofit helps parents and caretakers become their child’s first teacher by supplying them books to help break the cycle of chronic school underachievement.

“I read to them. They like the sticker books, but I read,” he shares with a smile. “My oldest son, he is in school now. He’s got good grades. I sneak up on him sometimes, but I never let him know I’m coming. I just peek in the classroom. He’s doing good.”

Antwon knows there is work ahead, but he’s incredibly motivated. He needs to earn his GED to get an apprenticeship. Eventually, he wants to become a firefighter. But above all else he wants his kids to have a better life than he had.

“I want to motivate them to do better than I have done – finish school, get a good jobs; if they have kids, take care of their kids, be responsible.”

“It’s crazy,” he tells us, “I’ve seen a lot of things, but now I don’t even look back… My whole life has just changed.”

The post This is a Life He Never Imagined appeared first on First Book Blog.

We are in the midst of Hispanic Heritage Month 2013 – one of the many year-round events where programs within First Book’s network create learning experiences and lasting memories for the children they serve. One of these programs is CentroNía, a multicultural learning center in Washington, DC.

CentroNía’s librarian Josarie Molina, illustrates how the program recently celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month through photos (courtesy of CentroNía’s DC Bilingual Public Charter School) that show a range of fun activities made available to their students.

Over 40 students along with their teachers and some parents gathered at CentroNía’s auditorium called La Plaza, to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

On Friday, September 27^th, La Plaza was decorated with colorful garlands made by 4-year-olds, the music teacher played his guitar and Josarie Molina, CentroNía’s librarian initiated sing-along songs. Everyone sang, “Debajo un boton, ton, tonnn…” (Underneath a Button), a popular song in Latin America.

The art teacher prepared materials and students designed Latin American flags.

There was even a guacamole demonstration. Students got to see step-by-step the process of making a delicious dip with fresh ingredients all mixed in the Mexican traditional mortar and pestle called molcajete.

Books are an essential learning tool for the students at CentroNía. “Children learn to be comfortable navigating two languages and learn about different cultures, helping them become life-long learners, building their self-confidence, and teaching them to be caring and respectful of everyone.” says Josarie Molina.

If CentroNía has inspired your program to participate in Hispanic Heritage Month, then First Book can help you get started with the celebration! Check out First Book’s Stories For All collection under the Hispanic Interest section on the First Book Marketplace.

The post How One DC Charter School Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month appeared first on First Book Blog.

Many Thanks to Jasmine Villaverde-Mickens, Literacy Program Manager in Education, for this post.

First graders at CentroNía’s DC Bilingual Public Charter School made self-portraits — with strokes of a brush, they were tasked to find their skin tone by mixing various colors of paint.

“Look at my brown,” one student said. “Hey, look at my brown, too,” insisted another. “Ooooh, I like your brown,” exclaimed another student. The first graders praised each other with excitement, as they playfully compared the variety of colors.

As a Family Literacy Program Manager at CentroNía—a bilingual, multicultural educational institution— activities like the self-portrait project remind me the role that educators have in challenging colorblind approaches to learning and affirming positive messages about culture and identity through class materials.

Too often we are nudged to teach with a colorblind approach. Although the intention is noble, we miss countless opportunities to creatively reinforce positive messages about identity and the beauty of peoples’ heritage.

This important concept inspired CentroNía’s partnership with First Book—an organization that provides new books to children in need nationwide. Together we are making sure that students have books that honor diversity (just like the self-portrait painting assignment). Books are pivotal and necessary to teach, celebrate, and embrace identity.

Without doubt, the stories and characters in books greatly influence what we learn about who we are and who we believe we can be! With this in mind, First Book brought bilingual author Lulu Delacre to CentroNía’s library earlier this month. Twenty second graders listened attentively to her book titled, Rafi y Rosi. The main characters were the coquís (tiny frogs endemic to Puerto Rico), who took the readers on a cultural journey to the island and shared its regional vocabulary and pastimes. Delacre’s enthusiastic style of reading and visual expression with props made this Monday morning unforgettable for many kids and adults in the room.

It was an enriching experience all in one: educational, fun and interactive. I left thinking every book should be a story as rich and culturally explorative as Rafi y Rosi. As educators committed to cultivating life-long learners and critical, global thinkers, we have a social responsibility to integrate culturally relevant material into our pedagogy.

With a growing Latino population, it is refreshing to see characters in children’s books that look like the children we serve every day.  It is especially encouraging to see First Book take the lead in diversifying their book offerings for young children so the protagonists accurately reflect the changing demographics of our country and its children.

In fact, First Book has committed to help intellectually enrich underrepresented communities by donating books to CentroNía’s Family Book Clubs, among other programs. Together, we will continue creating literacy ventures that foster interactive reading experiences between children ages 0-5 years old and their parents.

I take pride in our unique partnership because together we are providing quality bilingual, multicultural education to all children year-round.  Whether students are learning to appreciate and embrace diversity with a paintbrush or a book—what’s important is the exposure to those experiences.

The post My Brown is Beautiful, See it Please (Guest Post) appeared first on First Book Blog.

We just got back from Washington, D.C. and Williamsburg, Virginia. I really think the colonists had it easy compared to traveling in a mid size car with three kids in the middle of an August heat wave.

After a few hours of arguing, I began pointing out, “Look, see those nice families in the car next to us? They’re talking together and playing games with license plates and state capitals. Why can't we be normal like that?"

Philip interpreted this observation as a request to teach his younger sister the sound a teradactyl makes. Teradactyls used to be Philip’s favorite animal, back when he was seriously interested in dinosaurs. Emma, being a girl, missed that phase and was bored enough to make the screeching sounds along with her brother. (Christopher, amazingly, slept through this, though he was listening to his Ipod)

I forgot new batteries for the camera, so I handed Philip my phone and asked him to take pictures -- but he had to stop the teradactyl noises. We got some great shots this way:



That's the road we were on, or it might be The Baltimore Tunnel, and here's a bridge:



But at least the prehistoric screeching slowed down and we stopped arguing long enough to reach the hotel. They had a rooftop pool which the kids and I loved. Most of the people around us were speaking French or German and the kids were amazed that we were the only English speakers.

After the pool, while everyone was getting dressed, I decided to go down to the lobby to get some restaurant menus. I had on new clothes (no stains! no cat claw holes!) and I had just come from swimming, so I was feeling pretty cool in that elevator. I was thinking how we could pass for a normal, maybe even a civilized family. Elegant folks all dressed for dinner got on at each floor.

That’s when my phone rang. Except it didn’t ring: it screeched like a teradactyl. Right there, with all the international people in their evening wear, in a small, urban elevator, I heard Philip and Emma going ARRRRRRHCCCCCCCCARRRAGHHHGARRR or something like that. The sound came right from my new black purse that I had bought to go with the new clothes. I had forgotten how he liked to change his ring tone every ten minutes. I fumbled for the phone. No one said a word. They just got off the elevator and walked away. Actually, they walked a little fast…

Human Teradactyls:


Williamsburg was better. We had a bigger space which is always good for family harmony, and there was enough history and canons and things along those lines to interest everyone.

I did escape a demonstration on colonial weaving by sneaking off to this bookstore. Christopher got this shot as I broke free:


I really did want to buy some books and a lamp as souvenirs. I explained to Christopher the style I wanted to get, how it would look colonial, and we would have a reminder of the trip.

Christopher looked at me for a long minute. "Mom," he reminded me, "the colonists did not have lamps."

He thinks he's so smart.

My first post to Jumble, Thanks for having me aboard!
Clinton Yaws

As some of our readers know, First Book’s office happens to be located just a few short blocks from what is perhaps one of the world’s most iconic homes, the White House. We’ve all seen images of it, but very few of us know what life is truly like for those who live inside.

However, Candlewick Press’ newest publication, Our White House: Looking in, Looking Out, finally guides us past the Secret Service and lets us inside for a detailed, close-up look at the incredible events and people that have helped make the White House what it is today. This read-aloud family anthology, which contains contributions of prose, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and art by over 100 celebrated authors and illustrators, was conceived by award-winning author and illustrator Mary Brigid Barrett, who recently sat down with First Book for a lively discussion about this multi-faceted book.

Ms. Barrett also just so happens to be the founder, president, and executive director of one of my favorite literacy organizations, the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, a nonprofit organization whose primary focus is to make issues related to young people’s literacy, literature, and libraries an ongoing priority on our national agenda. All proceeds from the sale of Our White House will help support the work and programs of the NCBLA. (So go out and grab your copy today!)

And don’t forget — if you plan to be in the Washington, D.C. area on September 27th, don’t miss Ms. Barrett and other contributors to the book when they discuss the creation of Our White House at the National Book Festival on the Mall.

Click below to hear our conversation with Ms. Barrett about Our White House.