Category Archive: Author Voices

Q&A with Mary Mazzio: Underwater Dreams documentary filmmaker

Posted in: Author Voices

We had the privilege of speaking with Mary Mazzio – an award-winning filmmaker and creator of Underwater Dreams, a documentary film chronicling the inspirational story of four teenage boys, each the son of Mexican immigrants, who enter a sophisticated robotics competition and defeat the likes of engineering powerhouse MIT. In addition to... Read more

On Creativity and Culture: Yuyi Morales

Posted in: Archive, Author Voices

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we had the opportunity to talk with the award-winning author and illustrator Yuyi Morales about why she became an author and illustrator, the role of children’s books in understanding and celebrating cultures and her new book, “Viva Frida.” Click here to read this blog in... Read more

My Yiddish Vacation: Q&A with Ione Skye

Posted in: Archive, Author Voices

Ione Skye recently celebrated the launch of her first children’s book “My Yiddish Vacation.”  Ione’s generous support of First Book has helped to bring hundreds of books to kids in need. We sat down to talk with her about how her love of books as a child inspired the writing... Read more

Does Soman Chainani, Author of The School For Good And Evil, Consider himself good?… or evil?

Posted in: Archive, Author Voices

“Sophie had waited all her life to be kidnapped.” Does that quote seem familiar to you? It’s the widely recognized first line of the book, The School For Good And Evil. Soman Chainani is the author behind the book, which is available through First Book. If you missed out on our video... Read more

My Mother Is a Foreigner But Not to Me: A Q&A with Julianne Moore

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Julianne Moore recently joined First Book at Round the Clock Nursery in Harlem to read her newest children’s book ‘My Mom is a Foreigner, But Not to Me.’ After the event, she spoke with us about her love of reading and how she came to write children’s books. Q: Have... Read more

Janet Tashjian on Creating Imagination, Inspiration & Illustration with Reluctant Readers

Posted in: Archive, Author Voices

Janet Tashjian is a children’s author, an advocate for reluctant readers and strong supporter of First Book. She collaborates with her son Jake Tashjian, who creates the illustrations for her books. One of their joint efforts, “Einstein The Class Hamster” was not only released to retailers, but made available to... Read more

The Stories for All Project: Latina Author Pat Mora on the Connection Children Make with Books that Include their Culture and Language

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Our guest blogger today is author Pat Mora, whose book “Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico!”, from Lee & Low Books, is part of First Book’s Stories For All Project. “Once upon a time . . .” A magic phrase that can change our breathing. As far as we know, humans are the... Read more

Happy Birthday, Amelia Bedelia! A Q&A With Author, Herman Parish

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It’s been 50 years since the original author of Amelia Bedelia, Peggy Parish, debuted the popular children’s book series. Peggy passed away in 1988 but her Amelia Bedelia legacy lives on. Herman Parish, Peggy’s nephew, took over the series after Peggy’s passing. First Book recently interviewed Herman Parish about Amelia... Read more

Why I Wanted to be An Author

Posted in: Archive, Author Voices

When I was a little kid, I wanted to be an author because I wanted to find one of my books on the library shelves.  Seriously, that was my dream: a big “PE” (for PERL) sticker on the spine and everything.  While I must confess that seeing my books on... Read more