This week, we received an interesting note from translator Vital Voranau, who is collaborating with a publisher in Belarus to make A.A. Milne’s beloved “Winnie-the-Pooh” available in print to Belarusian children for the first time ever!

For more information about Mr. Vornau’s translation of the adventures of our favorite “silly old bear” and how you can help share the joy of reading with children, check out the book’s site at http://www.vinia-pych.com.

“The name of my book is CatWings. I enjoy my book, because I like cats and they are harmless. Thank you very much.” - Roneiqua

Every Fourth of July I think about Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, and his often quoted words, “I cannot live without books.” That our own democracy has grown and flourished owes much to Mr. Jefferson and his Declaration, but also to the rise of the printed word.

Independence Day is a great time to share books with children. Reading Rockets has a Celebrate America list of recommended reading for children ages 0-9. Use this list to throw together a book-nic to go along with your Fourth of July barbeque and read about real and legendary American heroes and heroines, revisit classic American songs, and follow the adventures of travelers across the United States while you wait for the fireworks.

You can also read aloud the Declaration of Independence together. The concepts outlined in this famous document may be difficult for young children to understand so you may want to consider some strategies for pre-teaching concepts and vocabulary before you get started.

I picked up some great new Fourth of July reading at the American Library Association (ALA) convention last weekend in Anaheim, California, including a proof of Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out which is due out in September. Using the White House as the unifying theme, more than one hundred authors and illustrators help share more than 200 years of American history in this inspiring read-aloud anthology, sales of which will benefit the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, a Reading Rockets and AdLit.org partner.

And at the ALA convention, I was also reminded about why libraries are so very important to our country and how they serve to improve our democracy. Check out these 12 Ways Libraries Are Good for the Country. What else would you add to this list?

Remember though, your local library is likely to be closed on Independence Day, so head there today to get your books for the long weekend!

For the last few weeks I have been writing to you about First Book’s partnership with eBay Foundation and the Community Gives campaign.

Last Thursday, I was given the chance to see the first ripples of our powerful partnership’s impact when we delivered the first of 333,000 new books that will be distributed this year to First Book children nationwide in celebration of First Book and eBay Foundation’s ambitious goal: to identify, connect and serve 50,000 of the most under resourced programs nationwide with access to an ongoing supply of new books.

On Thursday morning eBay employees and eBay community members came together to read to First Book children in bicoastal reading parties — one held near eBay’s headquarters at Dorsa Elementary School in San Jose, CA; the other near First Book headquarters at Anthony Bowen YMCA in Washington, DC.

I have shared a few photos from the event below.  Please take look!

Today marks the last day of the campaign, which closes at midnight tonight. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of so many of you, we have nearly reached our goal.

For those who have not yet donated, I hope you’ll take a moment to do so now.   This is your last chance to have your gift to First Book matched by any extra dollar from the eBay Foundation.

Please donate now at www.communitygives.org.

On June 2, I stepped foot into First Book headquarters as a full time employee in a mere 21 days I’ve already helped get over 238,000 books into the hands of children from low-income families! One of my first tasks was to venture to Oklahoma City with some of my colleagues for a First Book National Book Bank distribution. You would think I would have had my fill of moving boxes considering I just moved my home, but the heavy lifting was diluted by the purpose. All the work in the warehouse is one aspect of how our organization gets the books out to the kids and I had a hand in that. And although it did a get a little tiring, a mental chant of “books to kids, books to kids,” fueled me to help get that last shipment onto the truck.

It’s a bit of an adjustment going from reading MLB.com, Braves.com and watching Baseball Tonight everyday to researching nonprofit organizations that serve children, but so far it’s been fantastic. I can now go to the ballpark and enjoy a baseball game and by day I will be working on reaching out across the country to get more groups engaged, registered and excited about First Book and all of our outlets to help kids.

It’s only been 21 days I can’t even imagine how much more I can help this organization 21 days from now.

Junior League St. Louis established the award in response to a contribution given by the honorable William H. Webster in memory of his wife, Drue. Since 1985, 37 women have been honored because they exemplify Drue’s selfless style of volunteerism and service to the community and the Junior League. After ten years of chairing First Book-St. Louis and overseeing the distribution of more than 70,000 new books to local programs, it is no wonder that Heather Winsby was chosen as this year’s recipient.

Community Development representative Anna Williamson was there to receive the $500 donation on behalf of First Book-St. Louis and share First Book’s excitement on this award. Congratulations, Heather!

The near-capacity crowd listened intently as Leonard expertly guided us on a whirlwind trip through the decades that shaped children’s literature as we know it today. Afterwards, a lively chat followed between the author and the audience, covering topics such as the merits of the graphic novel and the rise of publishing’s “Potter Phenomenon.” It was both a fascinating and fun evening, and I would encourage anyone who has an interest in the history of children’s literature in America to pick up a copy of the book – it’s a terrific read! (And if you would like to find out more about the book, please check out First Book’s recently recorded podcast interview with the author!)

A special thank you goes out to the wonderful Gussie Lewis of Politics and Prose for coordinating such a memorable event… and extra special thanks to Leonard for so patiently signing that stack of books I bought!

Loyal readers of the First Book blog might remember this post from our coverage of Book Expo America 2006, when the meeting was held here in Washington, DC. Tim Russert was the keynote speaker for the show. I had the luck to be there that night and to hear him tell the audience about “Big Russ,” his beloved son Luke, and the joys of the writing process. I’ll never forget it.

In a lovely tribute to Tim, our friends over at Book Expo America have posted the 2006 podcast of Tim’s speech on their web site. Please have a listen. And keep in mind these words from those great folks over at Storypeople.com:

“It is still so new & all we see is the empty space, but that is not how it is in the landscape of the heart. There, there is no empty space & he still laughs & grapples with ideas & plans & nods wisely with each of us in turn. We are proud to have known him. We are proud to have called him friend.”

Thanks, Tim.