Colorful posters, bookmarks, book- shaped pens, stencils and specific suggestions for promoting reading are now available to support "Shape Your Future -- READ!," the Library's national reading promotion theme for 1995-1996 (see LC Information Bulletin, Jan. 9, 1995).
"Once again we are grateful to the American Library Association for producing bright and lively graphics that promote our theme," said John Y. Cole, director of the Center for the Book. "Lois Ehlert's `shapes' poster is a knockout, and so are her bookmarks."
For ordering information about the Lois Ehlert poster and bookmarks, the stencils and the book-shaped pens, write or call ALA Graphics, American Library Association, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611, or phone (800) 545-2433, and press 7.
The "Shape Your Future -- READ!" campaign poster and brochure produced by the Center for the Book feature a rainbow rising out of a book, recalling the center's "Books Give Us Wings" slogan. The brochure suggests 24 specific "Ideas for Shaping Futures" that can be used by individuals, schools and libraries or organizations. It also contains quotations about the importance of books from astronaut Guion Bluford, novelist Anne Bernays, Poet Laureate Rita Dove and actor Tony Randall; and a list of "25 Books That Have Shaped Readers' Lives."
Said Mr. Randall: "When I was about 15, I discovered Thomas Wolfe. I think I memorized Look Homeward Angel. I would stop strangers and read to them on the street. It was all I thought about for several years. I thought I'd discovered writing. When I first read it, I knew I wanted to be an actor. By the time I grew out of it, I was an actor." Said Ms. Bernays, "Part of the difference a book makes to you depends on when in your life you read it. I read The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy when I needed it. It opened up the world to me in the strangest way. Until that moment, I was overly dependent on my parents, but after it, I moved off into my own life. It was just magic."
The brochure was made possible by a contribution to the Center for the Book from Pizza Hut Inc., cosponsor with the center of National Young Reader's Day and sponsor of the BOOK IT! Reading Incentive Program in the nation's schools.
For copies, write the Center for the Book, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540, or call (800) 4-BOOK IT.
Ideas for Shaping Futures
- Read while exercising on your bike or treadmill.
- Read about possible careers.
- Get a library card and use it.
- Volunteer as a literacy tutor.
- Give a book as a gift.
- Read aloud to family and friends.
- Recommend a favorite book to a friend.
- Visit your local bookstore.
- Join a book discussion group.
For Schools and Libraries
- Sponsor career workshops.
- Encourage personal recommendations of books worth reading.
- Publicize and distribute lists of recommended books for readers of all ages.
- Invite local authors and well- known personalities to speak about how reading has influenced their future.
- Sponsor writing contests for poems, stories or descriptions of favorite books.
- Use local newspapers to encourage reading and discussion of interesting topics.
- Participate in National Young Reader's Day.
For organizations
- Use your newsletter to spread the word about the importance of reading.
- Provide literacy training classes for employees.
- Sponsor a book discussion group.
- Support a local literacy project.
- Sponsor a book fair.
- Establish reading achievement awards for employees and their families.
- Form a reading promotion partnership with a local school.
25 Books that Have Shaped Readers' Lives
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
- Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- The Bible
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
- Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- Hiroshima by John Hersey
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Roots by Alex Haley
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Walden by Henry David Thoreau
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles
