FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH AND DAUGHTER JENNA DISCUSS AND SIGN THEIR BOOK “READ ALL ABOUT IT” AT CENTRAL LIBRARY

Event Is Authors’ Only Los Angeles Appearance

May 22, 2008 -- First Lady Laura Bush and daughter Jenna Bush Hager greeted a capacity crowd at Central Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium this afternoon to read from and discuss their new children’s book,” Read All About It.” The Bushes’ appearance was an invitation-only event for major supporters of the Los Angeles Public Library and the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.

“Read All About It” was published by HarperCollins in April and tells the story of a boy named Tyrone who excels in all aspects of his schoolwork except reading. But when strange visitors start dropping by the classroom for story hour, Tyrone discovers there's more to books than just words on pages. A portion of the book’s proceeds benefit Teach for America and The New Teacher Project.

After a welcome from City Librarian Fontayne Holmes and Library Foundation President Carolyn Wagner, Veronique Peck introduced the First Lady and her daughter, who read from their book as images were projected on the auditorium screen. Also participating in the event were a class of second-grade students from Esperanza Elementary School.

After the reading, the First Lady and her daughter answered questions from the audience. The event concluded with an onstage book signing.

The First Lady is a librarian and joined with the Library of Congress to launch the first National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., which last year attracted more than 120,000 book lovers from across the nation.

Jenna Bush Hager has written “Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope” (HarperCollins, 2007), which chronicles her experiences working as in intern with UNICEF in Latin America. Her share of the profits went to UNICEF and the remainder to the woman whose life is the basis of the book.

The event at the Los Angeles Public Library was arranged by Veronique Peck, a longstanding library supporter whose late husband Gregory Peck established the Gregory Peck Reading Series in 1995. The Peck series features some of the most acclaimed actors of our time, who read aloud from their favorite novels, short stories, plays, poems, essays, and letters. The readings are a benefit of Library Associates membership at the Sustainer level and above, and take place at Central Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium.

The Los Angeles Public Library serves the largest population of any library in the nation. Its Central Library, 71 branch libraries, more than six million books and state-of-the-art technology accessible at www.lapl.org, provide everyone with free and easy access to information and the opportunity for life-long learning.

The Library Foundation of Los Angeles seeks private contributions to benefit the Los Angeles Public Library. Since its creation in 1992, the Library Foundation has raised more than $75 million for programs and services that reach thousands of people each year.

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5-20-08