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Last week, First Book staffers, along with volunteers from our friends at Barclays, visited Girls Prep Bronx Elementary School in New York City, and brought along some books.

The Barclays volunteers joined kindergartners in their classrooms and read Penguin Chick Grows Up, Dr. Seuss’ My Many Colored Days, and the special Barclays edition of Bunny Money.  At the end of the reading period, the students were excited to learn that they would each be taking home the three new books in a Barclays backpack.  One classroom even sang a song to the volunteers to thank them for visiting and bringing new books.

This is the second time that Barclays has visited a Girls Prep school; last year, volunteers read to students at the Girls Prep Lower East Side Elementary School and also provided them with a book grant to the First Book Marketplace.  Girls Prep Lower East Side Middle School will also be one of the first First Book recipient groups to receive a Barclays book grant for use on the First Book Marketplace Graduation and College Readiness section.

If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend (other than reading a book, of course), then look no further!  This Saturday, September 25^th, The Library of Congress and Honorary Chairs, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, will hold the 2010 National Book Festival in Washington D.C.’s National Mall. The Festival, for the 10^th year running, will celebrate the joy and magic of reading by bringing together authors, their fans, and book-lovers of any kind.

This year, over 70 authors, including Rosemary Wells, author of Bunny Money (a First Book favorite), and Katherine Paterson, the current  National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, and author of the Newbery Medal- winning  Jacob Have I Loved, will attend the event to discuss their work, talk with fans, and sign books.

So come join this tremendous celebration of literature this Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM in the National Mall!

For more information about the 2010 National Book Festival, including a complete list of authors and events, visit http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/.

Last week, volunteers from Barclays Wealth and Barclays Capital surprised students at Southside Elementary Museums Magnet School in Miami, Florida with a donation of 2,000 brand new books. The volunteers shared a very special afternoon of reading with the first-grade students of Southside; children crowded around their Barclays visitors, anxiously waiting to hear new stories and lobbying for the chance to be the next reader. After reading Bunny Money and The Berenstain Bears Lend a Helping Hand with the Barclays volunteers, students took home their very own copies of each title to read independently, share with siblings and friends or have the stories read to them again.

As part of a new partnership with Barclays Wealth, First Book will donate 2,000 new books to Southside Elementary for its children as well as its school and classroom libraries, where current and future students will enjoy them for years to come. In 2010, Barclays Wealth and First Book will distribute 10,000 brand new books in communities where Barclays employees work and live. We are proud to work with Barclays as the company follows it philosophy of banking on brighter futures, looking after local communities and supporting charity at work.

When 25 volunteers from Barclays Capital arrived at North Star Academy Elementary in Newark last Tuesday to share their love of reading with elementary students, little did they know that those students, in return, would share their own fiery passion for learning and their courage to succeed.

As the “Morning Circle” routine began, kindergarten, first-grade and second-grade students chanted about their classroom pride and enthusiasm for math. Next, the Emory Eagles of second grade performed an incredible original song about matter (their current unit of study in science). When the students were finally introduced to the Barclays Capital “superheroes,” who had arrived to read brand new books with them, their young faces lit up with excitement. The scholars of North Star Academy have an unmatched love for reading, and the donation of new books, such as Bunny Money by Rosemary Wells and Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold, from Barclays Capital allows these students to take home and enjoy their very own books.

In partnership with First Book, Barclays Capital has donated a total of 4,000 new books to North Star Academy this year. All of the school’s campuses are receiving these resources, which will help North Star continue to pursue its mission of closing the achievement gap. Here at First Book, we are proud to partner with Barclays Capital and North Star—two fantastic organizations that are dedicated to creating bright futures for all children.

Volunteers from Barclays Capital continued to give books and spread joy to students in the New York City metropolitan area last week. As part of their Investing in Bright Futures program, Barclays Capital volunteers visited PAVE Academy in Brooklyn, New York and announced that they would donate 2,000 brand new books to the school.  On Tuesday, volunteers brought copies of Bunny Money, by Rosemary Wells, and Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride, by Marjorie Priceman, to read with PAVE’s first-grade students. At the end of the day, the first-graders were thrilled to take home their very own copies of both books!

In 2010, Barclays Capital will donate more than 30,000 new books to children from low-income populations throughout the United States. We are proud to work with Barclays to provide financial literacy materials and educational resources to children in need, as well as invest in the bright future of our next generation of leaders.