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For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
September 27, 2008
Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the 2008 National Book Festival Authors' Breakfast
East Room
8:20 A.M. EDT
MRS. BUSH: Good morning. Welcome to the White House. Thank you for coming to the Eighth Annual National Book Festival. I want to say a special thanks to Dr. James Billington and to everyone at the Library of Congress for working year-round to arrange this one great day of readers on the National Mall. Thank you very much, Dr. Billington, and thanks to everyone from the Library of Congress who has joined us today.
I want to thank the sponsors of this year's National Book Festival for
making today's celebration possible. And, of course, a special thanks
to the authors, the poets, the illustrators who are here today for
giving us the reason to celebrate. Thank you all very much for joining
us.
The writers at this year's festival have given us an insight into so many parts of the world -- from our own home kitchens to the castles of England. So thank you all for joining us.
We'll start this morning by hearing from two of our talented authors: Jan Brett, who writes and illustrates, for children. Jan is the artist for this year's wonderful National Book Festival poster. I hope you all have all seen it. (Applause.) Jan's poster has all the state animals and birds in a parade toward the Capitol. So thank you, Jan, for it's a beautiful poster.
Mike Richman has Redskins fever. Since the early 1970s, he's rarely missed a game. His latest book, "The Redskins Encyclopedia," is a 432-page tribute to the history of this local sports franchise. Mike, we're happy to host you here at the White House.
We'll also hear from Chris Duhon of the NBA's New York Knicks, and Ivory Latta of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream. Chris and Ivory are basketball players who are taking time to give back by helping hurricane victims and collecting gifts for needy children.
Thanks to Bob Lanier, an eight-time NBA All-Star and children's book author, for joining us here today. Thank you very much, Bob.
First, we'll hear from a man who promotes reading every day by sharing the resources of the largest library in the world. Ladies and gentlemen, the Librarian of Congress, Dr. James Billington. (Applause.)
END 8:23 A.M. EDT
