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All too often, young people feel they don’t have the power to fix problems in their communities.

How can books inspire students to take action and become engaged citizens?

Earlier this year, First Book, along with our partners the American Federation of Teachers and the Albert Shanker Institute, presented educators nationwide with a challenge: identify an issue and a civic engagement project important to their students, school or community. We then asked for proposals on how, with the support of books and resources from First Book, could their students take action to address that issue and show their students that they have a voice and the ability to make positive changes happen.

We called this challenge The Citizen Power Project. Funded by the Aspen Institute’s Pluribus Project, 15 proposals  – five each from elementary, middle and high schools – would be chosen to receive a collection of special resources to help them implement their projects and a $500 grant for use on the First Book Marketplace.

More than 920 proposals were received.

The 15 classroom projects that stood out and won the challenge addressed a wide range of issues, such as:

• Learning about global cultural perspectives as a way to build compassion,
• Planning a community garden to promote healthy eating,
• Combating bullying,
• Learning American Sign Language and
• Building a health and wellness library.

We believe these projects, and the books and resources First Book will provide to help them flourish, will help these educators and the young leaders they teach to advance the causes they are so passionate about. And, by sharing stories about the successes of these projects, we hope to inspire others around the country to be change makers, themselves.

With our partners, we’ll be checking in with the inspiring projects through the end of the year to update you on their progress toward creating innovative learning environments, and the impact of the projects on their respective communities.

Stay tuned for more about the Citizen Power Challenge winners! Read more about the Citizen Power Challenge here.

The post How Books Inspire Action: The Citizen Power Project appeared first on First Book Blog.

All too often, young people feel they don’t have the power to fix problems in their communities.

How can books inspire students to take action and become engaged citizens?

Earlier this year, First Book, along with our partners the American Federation of Teachers and the Albert Shanker Institute, presented educators nationwide with a challenge: identify an issue and a civic engagement project important to their students, school or community. We then asked for proposals on how, with the support of books and resources from First Book, could their students take action to address that issue and show their students that they have a voice and the ability to make positive changes happen.

We called this challenge The Citizen Power Project. Funded by the Aspen Institute’s Pluribus Project, 15 proposals  – five each from elementary, middle and high schools – would be chosen to receive a collection of special resources to help them implement their projects and a $500 grant for use on the First Book Marketplace.

More than 920 proposals were received.

The 15 classroom projects that stood out and won the challenge addressed a wide range of issues, such as:

• Learning about global cultural perspectives as a way to build compassion,
• Planning a community garden to promote healthy eating,
• Combating bullying,
• Learning American Sign Language and
• Building a health and wellness library.

We believe these projects, and the books and resources First Book will provide to help them flourish, will help these educators and the young leaders they teach to advance the causes they are so passionate about. And, by sharing stories about the successes of these projects, we hope to inspire others around the country to be change makers, themselves.

With our partners, we’ll be checking in with the inspiring projects through the end of the year to update you on their progress toward creating innovative learning environments, and the impact of the projects on their respective communities.

Stay tuned for more about the Citizen Power Challenge winners! Read more about the Citizen Power Challenge here.

The post How Books Inspire Action: The Citizen Power Project appeared first on First Book Blog.

With a waiting list of more than 400 students, Vanessa Osbourne knew she needed to offer another option for the kids who weren’t going to be able to participate in the pre-kindergarten program.

Daniel Dominguez-Carmona shows the actions of a dragonfly to WSFCS Ready Schools Coordinator Eva Phillips in his “Pathway to K” classroom. Image via Winston-Salem Journal.

“We wanted to make sure that if those kids didn’t get a Pre-K experience that we offer something for them before school started,” said Osbourne, program coordinator for Winston-Salem, Forsyth County Schools.

Osbourne developed Pathway to K, a three-week course at the end of the summer designed to prepare kids who wouldn’t otherwise participate in Pre-K for kindergarten and introduce them to the kinds of activities they’ll be doing in school.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Pathway to K is able to access the First Book Marketplace and all that it has to offer. Each classroom has multiple sets of diverse books that aim to reach each and every child. When the program has parent engagement nights, kids and their guardians receive a brand new, high-quality book to take home.

Some of the parents or guardians participating in Pathway to K work multiple jobs and are striving every day to provide opportunities for their children, and it’s not always easy. The opportunity to participate in a kindergarten readiness program is huge for many families.

“We had a grandmother who was so excited when her grandson got in to Pathway to K,” Vanessa said. “She acted like it was a college application. When we told her, ‘Of course he got in,’ she ran around shouting, ‘He got in! He got in!’”

A program like Pathway to K is worth getting excited about. Vanessa uses her 30 years of experience in education to make sure each child is getting a well-rounded experience. During the three-week program children are introduced to books, practice counting and sorting and learn social and emotional skills.

But there is one thing that Vanessa hopes Pathway to K can instill in its tiny participants.

“Building that love of reading.”

Pathway to K was able to receive books through First Book’s partnership with Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. If you work with children in need, you can access books and resources for your organization through the First Book Marketplace.

The post All Roads Lead to Learning with Pathway to K 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.

It started with one spelling word. “Beach.”

Malik Ray, a first-time second grade teacher in Atlanta, GA, taught his students their new spelling words by projecting a photo and having students guess the word before putting it in their notebooks.

On this day, Malik displayed a photo of the sand, a palm tree, a little beach ball and the ocean. The classroom went silent. Not one student guessed the word.

They couldn’t recognize the sand; they didn’t know the water was the ocean. They had never seen a tree with what they called “arms.” They did recognize the ball.

This was when Malik realized that his students had never seen a beach. They had never been outside of the Vine City neighborhood where they resided. His students didn’t have what Malik calls “vision” – the ability to see past where they are now and imagine a different life.

But when 770 pounds of books from First Book arrived at their school, that changed.

“When the books arrived, I thought, ‘Here are 770 pounds of experience for your children. They are going to dream 770 pounds of dreams,’” says Malik.

Now when they read about faraway places and unfamiliar characters, they ask questions like “How is her hair that way?” “Why do their parents do that when mine do this?”

Students that were reading at a pre-k level when they entered his classroom are now reading chapter books. Their reading assessment scores have improved. They are ready to enter third grade.

And they’ve started to dream.

“We’ve starting to talk about their future in a whole new way,” explains Malik. “Rather than saying ‘I want to be a beautician like my aunt,’ we talk about owning a beauty salon. I want them to be able to dream. These books have given my kids hope.”

Malik Ray’s classroom was able to receive books through First Book’s partnership with Wipro Ltd., a global information technology, consulting and business process services company. If you work with children in need, you can access books and resources for your classroom through the First Book Marketplace.

The post 770 Pounds of Dreams for His Students appeared first on First Book Blog.

“This is the best day I’ve ever had!”
“This is the book I’ve always been looking for!”

These are the typical responses heard when Book Harvest comes to a school with their Books on Break program.

Book Harvest seeks to address periods of vulnerability in a child’s literacy development by ensuring books are easily accessible. Summer is one of the most challenging times to keep kids’ reading skills on track.

Once a year, Book Harvest takes over school libraries throughout Durham, North Carolina and covers every surface of the library with books. Each child is given a string backpack preloaded with information for parents about the program. It even includes an invitation for the students to come back over the summer and choose more books.

The children explore the variety of books in the library, filling their backpacks with ten books to take home and read over the summer.

Watch what happens when they pick out their books to take home for summer reading:

The post Watch What Happens: Kids Pick out Books for Summer Reading appeared first on First Book Blog.

Today’s guess blogger is Melissa Spradlin, Executive Director of Book’em in Nashville, TN.

I want to tell you about Ben.

From our first meeting, Ben had an extraordinary connection with books. Every time we met to read together, he chose one to keep. He was exceptionally grateful for each one. I could tell the books had a special effect on him.

Ben’s family was homeless. They had been evicted from their home. Sometimes they lived with relatives, sometimes in a shelter.

Ben kept all of his belongings in his backpack, including his books. He carried them with him everywhere he went. He treasured his books – they were among his few possessions. The sturdy spines and crisp pages gave him a sense of home, even when he didn’t have one.

There are so many kids like Ben who cherish the books they receive from First Book. They rely on them as familiar friends during tough times.

If you work with children in need, you can find books and essentials for your students on the First Book Marketplace.

The post Books Gave Him A Sense of Home – Even When He Didn’t Have One appeared first on First Book Blog.

Today’s guest blogger is Emily Townsend, an Elementary School Counselor at Lowrie Primary School in Wilsonville, Oregon.

Last year I worked daily with a fourth grade student whose father passed away right before Christmas break. He grieved mostly internally, and became increasingly distant, disengaged, and behind in school.

After feeling like I had tried almost all the tools in my toolbox, I remember setting a velvet poster in front of him – one of the Melissa & Doug Sea Life Reveal posters I purchased from First Book.

I think I was hoping for a calm moment when we could both color and just spend some no-pressure time together being mindful. Although this student had never mentioned any affinity or affection for art, as soon as he picked up the markers to begin filling in the poster he started talking about his father and his feelings for the first time ever at school.

He and I made paper airplanes, learned how to draw jungle animals using the Kids Art Series: How to Draw book I ordered from First Book, and made intricate tangles of doodles while looking at the Draw What! Doodling Book I received in the same order. And he talked. And eventually started feeling better.

The post How Arts & Crafts Created a Space to Talk and Heal appeared first on First Book Blog.

When Vanessa Cadena entered the library at Bret Harte Middle School this school year, she knew she had a big job ahead of her.

It was Vanessa’s first year at the school and the library had not been updated in almost twenty years. Full of damaged and outdated books, Vanessa saw the reluctance on the kids’ faces when they left the library with books they didn’t want to read.

“It was a space that was defined by a vast collection of outdated and tattered books, technology and furniture. It begged to be pumped with vitality again,” said Vanessa, the Library Media Specialist for the school.

To create the library her students needed, Vanessa needed some help.  She started a First Book Fundly campaign with the goal to raise $1,000 to invigorate the shelves.  She reached out to the PTA at both her school and the elementary schools whose students would be attending Bret Harte in the future. She spread the word via social media, faculty, friends, the local public library and the closest books hop. She even enlisted the help of an intern to pass out flyers promoting the campaign.

When she not only met, but exceeded her goal, Vanessa was ecstatic – and so were her 7^th and 8^th graders. With the money raised, Vanessa was able to add 350 books to her library. This year alone she has purchased 1,000 brand-new books from First Book to revitalize the collection.

It’s made an immense difference in the reading habits of her middle schoolers.

Now, Vanessa has “regulars.” She can’t keep fiction and graphic novels in stock and students race to library to see her new arrival section. When the kids take home a book, they usually finish it by the next day.

“Kids are excited to read,” Vanessa explains. “The teachers have told me this is the first year they could send their students to the library and every single student comes out with a book – and it’s a book they are reading and excited about.”

Want to bring books to your school or program, or one in your community? Visit www.firstbook.fundly.com to start a campaign.

The post An Educator’s Campaign to Revitalize Her Library appeared first on First Book Blog.

The hundreds of parents in First Five Permian Basin’s Parents as Teachers program are learning to be their child’s first teacher. They’re excited for the challenge. Topics like counting, shapes and colors are at the top of the list of concepts to teach their kids.

“Our parents may ask how to teach a certain concept like colors or counting, and we love to incorporate books into the process,” explains Beth Meyerson, Director of First Five Permian Basin.

Recently, the program received 10 Hungry Rabbits by Anita Lobel, part of the Healthy Kids Collection created by the Mario Batali Foundation, a book that reinforces the concepts of counting and colors.

But this story allowed parents to teach their children much more than these basic concepts.  In addition to the benefits of reading aloud to young child, it offered a fun way to model healthy eating and living.

The book shows a family of hungry 10 bunnies and a mother rabbit who has nothing to fill her soup pot. One by one, the bunnies go to the garden. They find vegetables and fruits of various colors and numbers to fill the pot, all accompanied by beautiful illustrations that would entice any hungry young reader. At the end of the story, the family sits down to enjoy a big, healthy pot of vegetable soup.

“Children are making neural connections when they are so young, so what they learn in the first five years of their life is going to imprint with them,” explains Beth. “Whatever message they’re hearing or seeing from their parents is going to plant inside them as a young child. So, if a child has exposure to how wonderful carrots and broccoli are, it’s going to become a part of their ongoing life.”

The Healthy Kids Collection features several books that teach basic concepts while highlighting healthy living and eating. If you work with children in need, you can access these books through the First Book Marketplace.

The post Teaching Much More Than Basic Concepts appeared first on First Book Blog.

We recently met Victoria Hammond, a Program Coordinator at Linwood YMCA in Kansas City. She told us about Leigh, a particularly shy girl in her afterschool program who found confidence and friends through reading.

Victoria noticed that she played alone and didn’t have the self-esteem to introduce herself to the other kids.

One day Leigh approached Victoria and quietly asked, “Can we read together?”

After reading together for a few days, other kids began to join them. Victoria saw a spark in the timid girl. Leigh started to feel comfortable, trusting Victoria and the other students.

During playtime, Victoria now watches as Leigh and her friends choose books over other toys. They’ve even started their own reading group.

Every day, books from First Book are transforming the lives of kids in need.

If you serve children in need, you can access books, school supplies and other essentials to help kids learn. Sign up with First Book today!

The post How One Shy Girl Found Friends Through Books appeared first on First Book Blog.

“I want my students to get the most out of life.  A student that can read can learn about anything.  All that they aspire to be is within a book’s reach – if they can get their hands on books.”

Linette Claudio works with over 300 bilingual students at McAuliffe Elementary School.  The students in the Bilingual Transition Program are taught in their native language and slowly transition to all English instruction by the 4^th or 5^th grade.  Their access to bilingual books is limited to Linette’s classroom library.  When they leave her classroom few, if any, have books they can read and understand.

“Any books that show Latino culture are useful.  Students can see themselves within and identify with the books,”  said Linette.  “Many of the students in our school have experienced a lot of change in a short amount of time.  They have to make new friends and switch schools often.  Many deal with serious issues on a daily basis.  Having bilingual books and stories that celebrate their culture make them feel like they belong.”

Each year, Linette spends anywhere from $800 to $2000 of her own money on books and supplies  to ensure her students have the tools they need to learn.   But the books she is able to buy affordably in retail stores are not often culturally relevant or bilingual.

Recently, Linette purchased books from the First Book’s Latino Culture Collection.  The books were bilingual, culturally relevant, age appropriate and cost just $3.50 on average.  Her students can’t get enough.

“Last year one student would read every new book I would bring in.    This year, he came to me looking for help finding books in a higher level.  He is now reading transitional chapter books as a first grader.  I’m so glad I have more books to give him,”  Linette explains.

The post Feeling like They Belong appeared first on First Book Blog.

Today’s guest blogger is Ginger Young, Executive Director of Book Harvest. Book Harvest is a nonprofit in Durham, NC that runs the Book Babies program, providing 10 brand-new books every six months to babies from birth to to age five.

When you open a book for a baby, their eyes light up. They’re fascinated by the contrast of the colors. They marvel at words as you read to them.

What these little ones don’t know is that books will also shape their future.

I started Book Babies to help families in our community who didn’t have books. Today we serve 150 families. All of them have big dreams for their children.

Our books empower parents to change the path of their child’s life in ways they’ve never imagined.

Take 18-month old Ian and his mom for example. Every morning, Ian wakes his mom before sunrise with a new book in his hand for them to read together. Though it’s earlier than she’d like, reading has become a fantastic way for them to connect and start every day.

Before they joined Book Babies, there were no books in their home. They now have over 30.

This holiday season please donate to First Book and give the hope of a bright future to babies and their families.

The post When You Open A Book For a Baby appeared first on First Book Blog.