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First Book

50 million books distributed and counting

First Book provides children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.

First Book Recipient Group

C.U.D.D.L.E.S.
Memphis, TN

C.U.D.D.L.E.S., a program providing academic and rehabilitation services for children with educational, physical, social and emotional handicaps, received 500 books within their first year of joining First Book. C.U.D.D.L.E.S. distributes books to begin, or add, to the personal libraries of the children in their program.

First Book Partner

United States
Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) named First Book its signature charity in November 2000. U.S. Coast Guard personnel and families support First Book by volunteering on Advisory Boards, hosting book parties for children, and storing and distributing books from U.S. Coast Guard warehouse facilities nationwide. First Book and the USCG have distributed over 13 million books through our partnership.

Register with First Book!

Register with First Book and gain access to award-winning new books for free and to deeply discounted new books and educational materials.

First Book Advisory Boards

First Book Advisory Board volunteers fundraise in their communities to provide grants of new books to local programs that serve children from low-income families.

First Book Marketplace

The First Book Marketplace is an online store offering programs serving children from low-income families the ability to purchase award-winning books at greatly reduced prices.

First Book National Book Bank

The First Book National Book Bank distributes brand-new books, donated by publishers, free of charge to programs serving children from low-income families, or for a minimal shipping fee.

Minimum Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to register with First Book, an organization must:

Serve children where at least 50% are from low-income households; or be a Title I or Title I eligible school; or be a military family support program.
Not discriminate against individuals based on race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, or physical or mental disability.

First Book Advisory Boards

First Book Advisory Boards, located in more than 270 communities in the United States, provide programs serving disadvantaged children the opportunity to purchase books from special catalogs offering thousands of quality children's book titles. A typical First Book Advisory Board grant lasts for one year and offers each child in the program a steady diet of books (usually one book per month), all at no cost to the children or the program.

All First Book Advisory Board grant applications are reviewed at the local level. After registering with First Book, please contact the nearest Advisory Board to see if it is currently accepting grant applications. The Advisory Board will supply you with a grant application.

Eligibility: To be eligible to receive books through an Advisory Board, organizations must:

With the exception of Title I or Title I eligible schools and military family support programs, organizations recieving books through a First Book Advisory Board grant must serve children where at least 80% are from low-income households.
Be within the Advisory Board's geographical service area.
Complete and submit a First Book Advisory Board grant application.

First Book Marketplace

The First Book Marketplace is an online store that enables programs serving children from low-income families to purchase children's books at deeply reduced prices. The Marketplace offers a broad range of high quality and award-winning titles for children ages 0-18, including board books, picture books, novels, reference books, and bilingual titles. The average price for a Marketplace title is less than $1.80, including shipping and handling.

Eligibility: To be eligible to purchase books from the First Book Marketplace, organizations must:

To be eligible to receive books through the First Book Marketplace, an organization must meet the minimum eligibility requirements.

First Book National Book Bank

The First Book National Book Bank distributes large quantities of publisher-donated brand-new books to programs serving children from low-income families. There are 25 to 30 book distributions hosted by the First Book National Book Bank annually at a variety of sites across the United States. The books are free to programs that are able to pick them up or just $0.25 per book to have them shipped. Because distributions are based on generous donations from our publishing partners, there is no set schedule or list of upcoming locations for book distributions.

After registering with First Book, you will receive email notifications alerting you when book distribution applications are available. If you are interested in obtaining books from an upcoming book distribution, you will need to complete and submit an online application. Specific instructions on how to do this are included in emails sent to registered programs.

Eligibility: To be eligible to receive books through the First Book National Book Bank, organizations must:

Be registered with First Book.
With the exception of Title I or Title I eligible schools and military family support programs, organizations receiving books through the First Book National Book Bank must serve children where at least 80% are from low-income households.
Complete a First Book National Book Bank book distribution application.

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