Texas--more than 20,000 free, new books for adolescent students were distributed to Austin-area schools, libraries and community organizations in November, thanks to a collaborative effort among the U.S. Department of Education, Townsend Press and First Book--a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide books to children in need.
TEXAS -- More than 20,000 free, new books for adolescent students
were distributed to Austin-area schools, libraries and community
organizations in November, thanks to a collaborative effort among the
U.S. Department of Education, Townsend Press and First Book--a nonprofit
organization whose mission is to provide books to children in need. The
distribution is part of a national campaign to provide 520,000 books to
improve the literacy skills of struggling adolescent readers. Since June
2006, the Department, First Book and major book publishers have
distributed more than 1.65 million children's books in
hurricane-affected communities and across the country. Most of the
titles donated for the Adolescent Readers Initiative are from Townsend
Press' Bluford Series, which focuses on a group of urban high
school students and their families.