Book banning is on the rise in the United States. A growing number of communities are trying to take reading choices out of the hands of children and families by declaring some books off limits. At least 220 public school districts imposed bans last school year on more than 4,200 books, according to PEN America. The targets of those bans are often books that feature people of color or people who are not heterosexual or books that deal with difficult subjects like sexual violence and substance abuse.
First Book is an antidote to these bans.
The nonprofit, one of the beneficiaries of The New York Times Communities Fund, operates what is essentially one of the nation’s largest bookstores. It offers a wide range of children’s and young adult books at large discounts — sometimes even free — to educators, child care providers and others who work with children.
In 2022 and 2023, First Book delivered more than 25 million books to communities across the country, including a wide range of titles that might not otherwise be available in those places.
“It’s not just about, for example, Latino authors for Latino kids,” said Kyle Zimmer, a co-founder and the president of the nonprofit, which is based in Washington, D.C. “It’s important — critically important — for people to see themselves and their cultures. But it’s also about every kid being introduced to other cultures.”
The impact of making these books available is concrete. During the 2022-23 school year, First Book enrolled 437 teachers, all of whom work in schools in low-income communities, in a pilot program to measure the impact of increasing the diversity of the books available in classroom libraries. The teachers used a credit of $250 to buy books from the First Book marketplace — an average of 48 new books per classroom. The participating teachers reported significant increases in the amount of time that students spent reading and in performance on reading proficiency tests.
First Book secures discounts from publishers by buying large quantities of books. Donations allow even deeper discounts and support the distribution of free books. Last year the group distributed 90,000 free books to teachers across the country, as well as 40,000 free books to families in public housing projects and 6,000 free books in a partnership with the Bronx Children’s Museum.
Like any great bookstore, a big part of First Book’s work is curation. First Book staff members review about 10,000 titles each year, and its website features both classics and lists like “The Best New Books of 2024.” In addition to highlighting diverse characters and stories, First Book uses its weight in the marketplace to encourage publishers to provide more of the kinds of books that the current generation of American children needs.
About a decade ago, for example, First Book persuaded the publisher to produce an English and Spanish edition of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by promising to buy the first 30,000 copies. After First Book’s orders exceeded 100,000 copies, the publisher, now part of Penguin Random House, decided to offer the edition through other outlets, too.
You can learn more about the beneficiary organizations and donate at nytcommunitiesfund.org. To donate by check, please make your check payable to New York Times Communities Fund, and send to P.O. Box 5193, New York, N.Y. 10087.
The post Books About Everyone, for Everyone appeared first on New York Times.
