Category Archive: Impact Stories

Andrea Davis Pinkney on Connecting the African American and Jewish American Experience

Posted in: For Educators, Impact Stories

First Book President and CEO Kyle Zimmer recently sat down with award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney for a conversation about her latest book, A Poem for Peter — a book she describes as her “love letter” to Ezra Jack Keats, creator of the iconic children’s classic, The Snowy Day. In researching... Read more

Tools of the Mind: Teaching Children Self-Regulation through Play

Posted in: For Educators, Impact Stories

Today’s guest blog post is by Dr. Deborah Leong, Executive Director of Tools of the Mind, and coauthor with Dr. Elena Bodrova of “Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education”, and Barbara Wilder-Smith, Director of Content Development at Tools of the Mind. Tools of the Mind... Read more

Students as Agents of Lasting Change: The Citizen Power Project

Posted in: For Educators, Impact Stories

The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically…Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education. – Martin Luther King Jr., “The Purpose of Education”, 1947 Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and even now, all across the country,... Read more

How One Book Got the 2nd Grade Hooked

Posted in: Impact Stories

At McBee Elementary School in Austin, TX teachers are always looking for ways to help students share ideas and connect. That is especially true for librarian Heather Stephens. She sees hundreds of students from different grade levels, all with various interests, on a daily basis. For the 2nd grade, it... Read more

Changing Communities with Books: The Citizen Power Project

Posted in: Impact Stories

In November, First Book and its partners the American Federation of Teachers and the Albert Shanker Institute presented the Citizen Power Project; a challenge to educators nationwide to identify, plan, and implement a civic engagement project important to their students, school or community. Fifteen projects received grants to help turn... Read more

NFL Alumni Charlie Brown Helps First Book, Operation Warm Make Impact in Chicago

Posted in: For Educators, Impact Stories, Inside First Book Canada

In October, First Book teamed up with Operation Warm and the Chicago Housing Authority to bring new books and new coats to kids living in Chicago’s public housing. The event promised to bring together organizations like First Book and individuals who aim to improve the lives of children and give... Read more

How One College Student is Making an Impact in Her Community

Posted in: Impact Stories

When Janessa Blythe discovered through a college leadership course that kids in her Waco, Texas community didn’t have access to books, she decided to act. The junior at Baylor University is launching Waco Up & Read, a program that provides books for kids from low-income communities. “It appalled me that... Read more

How Books Inspire Action: The Citizen Power Project

Posted in: For Educators, Impact Stories, Inside First Book Canada

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... Read more

Celebrating Veterans Day with Stories

Posted in: Impact Stories, Inside First Book Canada

To celebrate Veterans Day and honor our United States service members, we would like to highlight First Book’s partnership with United Through Reading (UTR), a nonprofit public benefit organization dedicated to uniting military families through shared reading experiences. Every quarter, First Book’s Concierge Services team works with UTR to develop... Read more

#ReadUP: A Non-Partisan Call-to-Action for Education and Literacy

Posted in: Impact Stories, Inside First Book Canada

First Book and Pearson, the world’s learning company, are encouraging America to #ReadUP as part of their campaign dedicated to raising the importance of literacy in the week leading up to Election Day. The campaign will unlock funds for new books to children in need and promote informed decision-making as Election Day... Read more