Former First Lady Laura Bush has been an advocate for young readers for many years. The former librarian and teacher understands school budgets often leave out libraries, so she helped establish a library fund for the nation’s neediest schools to help with expansion and bring much-needed resources to libraries across the country.
The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries has helped over 3,000 schools and awarded over $17 million in grant money.
In 2020, The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries helped rebuild libraries damaged by tornados that swept through North Dallas.
Mrs. Bush’s foundation awarded $500,000 to the Dallas Education Foundation for the direct benefit of Dallas ISD to rebuild the libraries of Thomas Jefferson High School, Francisco “Pancho” Medrano Junior High School, and Walnut Hill PK-8. The grants helped expand, update, and diversify their library book collections.
To continue stimulating young readers, Former First Lady Laura Bush publishes a yearly summer and winter reading list that includes modern classics that educate children about a variety of subjects like kindness, nature, and the great outdoors. This winter’s list included recommended reading that will open children’s minds to wonderment and adventure.
The selected books included, Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Ellen Spinelli, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keatsi, Snow by Roy McKie and P.D. Eastman, The Mitten by Jan Brett, Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, Animals in the Winter by Henrietta Bancroft and Richard G. Van Gelder, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater.
The books can be found in local schools and public libraries across the country.
“I hope children all over our country borrow these classic winter books from their local libraries,” Bush said as reported by Peoples Newspapers. “Books give our children an opportunity to explore and learn through all seasons of the year.”
