By Thomas G. Robinson, Russo’s Books Business Development Representative

Do you remember the magic of your first book?

I can recall the first time I was given a book. I think I was 9. My tastes were simple then. The book was “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” by Charles M. Schultz, and was given to me by my best friend, Ward Angles, while we were in fourth grade. We had similar interests and both enjoyed the Peanuts characters, often sitting around in the school library reading Peanuts books from the shelves.

Getting that book as a gift meant a lot to me. I never would have bought it myself, as I never had much money as a kid. But having it in my hands whenever I wanted to read it was magical. It instilled a love of book ownership in me that I still feel today. Now, having worked in the book business for over 7 years, maybe it did a lot more for me.

That’s why First Book – Bakersfield is so important. It gives children from low-income families an opportunity to be given a potentially life changing book, perhaps introducing them to a lifelong love of books.

What is First Book, you ask?

From their website: “First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 60 million free and low cost books in thousands of communities. First Book now has offices in the U.S. and Canada.”

Established in 2001, First Book – Bakersfield has already brought the magic of books to over 3,000 children in Kern County. This year alone, 19 literacy programs have received over 2,800 books through grants from the First Book Bakersfield Advisory Board. These programs include Kern County pre-schools, local elementary school districts, Teen Challenge and the Bakersfield Homeless Center, to name a few.

Russo’s Books is proud to be a part of this program.  On Saturday, Feb. 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., we will be hosting local celebrity readers to help promote awareness for First Book.  We will also be donating a portion of the day’s receipts to First Book to help fund this special literacy program.

Here is the schedule of celebrity readers:

10:30 to 11:00 a.m - Debby Kroeger and animal friend, CALM

11:30 – 12:00 p.m. -  Kern County Fire Department

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. -  The Silver Tongue Society, South High School and Randy de Jong

1:00 – 1:30 p.m. –  Dr. Christine Lizard Frazier, Kern County Superintendent of Schools

1:30 – 2:00 p.m. -  Dee Slade, African American Network

2:00 – 2:30 p.m. -  Harold Hanson, Bakersfield City Council

Russo’s Books in The Marketplace is located at 9000 Ming Avenue. Call 665-4686 for more information or go to www.russosbooks.com.

The Importance of Literacy:

61 percent of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children.

36.5 million Americans – 40 percent of them children – are currently living below the poverty line.

90 million Americans lack basic literacy skills.

If you or someone you know can benefit from this program, please go to www.firstbook.org for more information.