Books for Kids Kicks Off Children's Book Week with Scholastic's READ EVERY DAY, 5/6

Books for Kids Kicks Off Children's Book Week with Scholastic's READ EVERY DAY, 5/6 Shawna Hamilton Doster, Executive Director, Books for Kids, hosts a lively family event with a stellar line-up of entertainers, authors and hands on activities to increase funds and awareness for the national non-profit Books for Kids, which creates libraries and literacy programs for at-risk pre-school children in low-income neighborhoods. The non-profit literacy advocate, Books for Kids was founded in 1986 in New York City to distribute 1000 books to needy children for Christmas. Books for Kids will open six new libraries in 2012 in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Connecticut, Washington, Delaware and New York City. In the New York area, sponsors include Tina Fey as well as the William Morris Endeavor Foundation and the Hachette Group and Mario Batali along with the Mario Batali Foundation. Libraries are mostly located in the NY Tri-State area, but under the leadership of Executive Director, Shawna Hamilton Doster, Books for Kids has expanded nationally and opened libraries in Delaware, Texas, California, Tennessee, Washington, DC and Arizona, partnering with national corporate sponsors, Homewood Suites by Hilton and ING Direct. , and kicks off Children's Book Week. A festival of family fun - every activity is planned to highlight the importance and empowerment of literacy and the right to read for all children. Enjoy special offers at the Scholastic Store, fun surprises and more. Each library begins at a price of $75,000 to transform the space into a colorful and inspiring environment, stocked with brand-new age appropriate books, and fund a year's worth of program support for teachers, families and children who make use of the facility. The mission of Books for Kids is to promote literacy among all children with special emphasis on low-income and at-risk preschool aged children. Books for Kids Kicks Off Children's Book Week with Scholastic's READ EVERY DAY, 5/6 Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 06/05/2012