WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Goodnight Moon, the iconic children's book that's a bedtime ritual for millions of families, is now available as a bilingual edition. The catalyst for the English-Spanish board book is First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise that tackles the lack of books and educational resources available for the 32.7 million U.S. children growing up in low-income families. First Book brings brand new -- free and low-cost -- books and resources to educators and programs serving kids in need, ages 0 to 18.
The bilingual edition of Goodnight Moon is part of First Book's Stories for All Project, an effort to increase the diversity in children's books. The initiative is making classic children's books and books featuring diverse characters, authors and illustrators more accessible to children in need, and, in the process, helping to demonstrate the growing market for culturally diverse books.
"First Book was delighted to work with HarperCollins Children's Books to release the first-ever bilingual edition of Goodnight Moon, making it accessible to a whole new generation of children and families," said Kyle Zimmer, First Book president and CEO. "Millions of children in the U.S. are growing up without books, resulting in them starting school far behind their more affluent peers and, in many cases, they never catch up. First Book provides the very best books and resources that are critical to educators serving kids in need. In the process, we are also building a robust market for books that reflect the full diversity of our country."
Goodnight Moon/Buenas Noches, Luna will be available through the online First Book Marketplace, which offers books and educational resources – from board books, college prep and school supplies – at 50-90% off retail prices – exclusively to educators and programs serving children in need.
"Having a treasured book like Goodnight Moon available as a bilingual edition means so much more than just making a classic bedtime story more accessible," said Rhian Evans Allvin, executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. "This creates opportunities for very young English language learners to enjoy a cozy story time in their native and learned languages and to create a culture of reading in classrooms and homes. It is also a sign of respect: that we value ALL of our children and families. In order to learn to read, kids need a steady supply of books, from birth on up. First Book is a terrific resource to help every child reach her full potential."
First Book's initiative to launch the bilingual book also created a market opportunity for publisher HarperCollins Children's Books.
"While we already have separate editions of Goodnight Moon available in English and Spanish, we realize there is a growing need for bilingual books and are thrilled to partner with First Book on this project," said Susan Katz, president and publisher, HarperCollins Children's Books. "We are pleased to bring this new bilingual edition of Goodnight Moon to retail for the general consumer market as well."
First Book's Stories for All Project was launched in 2013 with a challenge to publishers: First Book would purchase $500,000 worth of books on a non-returnable basis from the publisher offering the best selection of titles featuring diverse content and protagonists, at the best possible prices. Twenty-four publishers submitted proposals. Because of the quality of responses, First Book doubled its investment, awarding a total of $1 million to two publishers: HarperCollins Children's Books and Lee & Low Books.
This summer, First Book issued a new challenge to publishers, asking them to submit diverse book manuscripts from never-before-published authors, as well as high quality diverse books previously available only in hardcover. The challenge netted almost 200 submissions from 33 publishers. First Book will purchase 10,000 copies of every book it selects, with an announcement of the winning selections expected later this year.
Educators and programs serving 70% or more children in need, ages 0 – 18, can sign up to access First Book's free and low-cost educational resources, including Goodnight Moon/Buenas Noches, Luna, at www.FirstBook.org/register.
About First Book
First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise that has distributed more than 120 million brand new books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada. First Book also has the largest and fastest growing network of programs serving kids in need. By making new, high-quality books available on an ongoing basis, First Book is transforming the lives of children in need and elevating the quality of education. For more information, please visit us online or follow our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.
About HarperCollins Children's Books
HarperCollins Children's Books is one of the leading publishers of children's and teen books. Respected worldwide for its tradition of publishing quality, award-winning books for young readers, HarperCollins is home to many timeless treasures and bestsellers such as Charlotte's Web, Goodnight Moon, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Where the Wild Things Are, The Graveyard Book and series including The Chronicles of Narnia, Ramona, Warriors, Pete the Cat, Fancy Nancy, Divergent, and The Selection. Consistently at the forefront of digital innovation, HarperCollins Children's Books delights readers through engaging storytelling in all formats, including ebooks and apps. HarperCollins Children's Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, one of the leading English-language publishers in the world and a subsidiary of News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India. You can visit HarperCollins Children's Books at www.harpercollinschildrens.com and www.epicreads.com and HarperCollins Publishers at www.harpercollins.com
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SOURCE First Book