Past Library of Congress National Book Festivals
Related Resources at the Library
Author Pavilions
More than 70 American authors, illustrators and poets will be making presentations on the National Mall throughout the day in Children, Teens & Children, Fiction & Fantasy, Mysteries & Thrillers, History & Biography, Home & Family, and Poetry pavilions. (Authors by Pavilion)
Library of Congress Pavilion
Experience some of the many ways that the Library of Congress collects, preserves, and provides access to knowledge; sparks imagination and creativity; and celebrates achievement. Explore the Library’s collections online, learn how to preserve your family’s memories, and get a preview of the Library’s new visitor experience, opening to the public in the spring of 2008. Stop by the Veterans History Project to hear veterans tell stories of their experiences in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, including veterans featured in Ken Burns’ program, The War, currently airing on PBS stations nationwide.
New Visitors Experience
Take a few moments to hear about the new visitors experience at the Library of Congress. A video describes plans for new exhibitions and the exciting opportunities for visitors to get unprecedented, interactive access to the rare and unique treasures that are protected and preserved by the “nation’s library.” You can sign up at the festival to get updates on the Library and information on the new visitors experience’s opening date.
Preserving America's Treasures
Learn how to preserve your family’s memories and digital photographs, discover what happens to compact discs and other recorded materials over time, sew pages in an oversized book, and view examples of the Library’s extraordinary motion picture, broadcasting, and recorded sound collections. Experts from the Copyright Office will demonstrate how to search copyright records and provide consultations on registering original works.
Imagination Station
Spark your imagination and have fun exploring the Library through a variety of interactive educational games targeted for young people.
Graffiti Wall
Tell us about the books you love and what you think are the top items to preserve in the Library of Congress’s collections.
Veterans History Project (VHP)
Learn about how you or your organization can interview veterans in your community for this growing collection of oral histories, memoirs, letters, and photographs documenting the war experiences of veterans and their civilian supporters.
See and hear presentations throughout the day by veterans, military historians, and individuals who have collected and used veterans’ histories.
VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
10:30 a.m.
The Library of Congress World War II Companion
Margaret E. Wagner, Susan Reyburn, and Linda Barrett Osborne will discuss this definitive reference work on the 20th century’s most significant event. The Companion draws on the collections of the Library of Congress, as well as those of libraries, museums and archives around the world to paint a total picture of this conflict. Veteran History Project historian Tom Wiener will moderate a discussion on the creation of the book and why it supersedes all previous one-volume books on the subject. The authors will sign their book at the conclusion of the discussion.
12:00 p.m.
The War
Based on the new PBS documentary film directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, The War offers a ground-level view of World War II, intertwining stories of service from four American towns: Waterbury, Connecticut; Mobile, Alabama; Luverne, Minnesota; and Sacramento, California. Lynn Novick and two veterans featured in the film will participate in a panel discussion. The veterans, Ward Chamberlin, who drove an ambulance with the American Field Service, and Joseph Vaghi, who served with the U.S. Navy in the European and Pacific Theaters, will talk about their experiences in the war and about filming with Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. Chamberlin and Vaghi will sign copies of The War at the conclusion of the program.
1:30 P.M.
The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War
Journalist and historian David Halberstam’s final book, completed just before he died in April, is a sweeping re-examination of a war too easily forgotten by many Americans. Among the veterans Halberstam interviewed were Lawrence Farnum, Richard Raybould, Paul McGee, Charles Hayward, and Ralph Hockley. They will recount their experiences and memories of working with him in a panel discussion led by Daun Van Ee of the Library’s Manuscript Division, himself a veteran of the Vietnam War. Copies of The Coldest Winter will be signed at the conclusion of the program.
3:00 P.M.
Forever a Soldier: The Veterans History Project 2008 Calendar
Five veterans featured in this wall calendar, packed with information and richly illustrated with items from the Veterans History Project and Library of Congress collections, will talk about their wartime experiences. Jose Mares, a veteran of the Korean War and a POW during that conflict; Brian and Jeanne Markle, who were married and then served together during the Vietnam War; Walter Morris, the leader of the first African American parachute battalion during World War II; and Tracy Sugarman, a Naval officer who landed on the beach at Normandy in June 1944, will be led in a discussion by Tom Wiener. Copies of the calendar will be signed after the presentation.
4:00 P.M.
Veterans History Project in the Classroom
Marty Potts with colleagues Diana Miner and Leslie Bower of the Loudon Valley High School in Purcellville, Virginia, will share their experiences using the VHP collections as a teaching tool. Two of their students will conduct a demonstration interview with Joe Ichiuji, a veteran of World War II who served with the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
Pavilion of the States
Visit Your Home State
Come to the popular Pavilion of the States to learn about the reading and literacy promotion projects as well as the literary traditions of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. Representatives from throughout the nation will provide information and answer questions about their state’s writers, libraries, book festivals, book awards and reading promotion activities. In addition, several authors will be dropping by their state’s table during the day.
Collect State Stickers and Stamps
A popular feature, especially among young readers and their families, is a free map of the United States that can be presented at each table for an appropriate state sticker or stamp. The map also includes a reading list of books for young people nominated by each state.
The Pavilion of the States is organized by the Library's Center for the Book, which will be distributing brochures and information about its reading promotion activities. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is the major pavilion sponsor, with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Book Sales Pavilion
There will be two sales pavilions on the festival's grounds with identical inventories of selected books by 2007 National Book Festival authors. Visit and browse before going to book signing areas to meet your favorite authors.
Let's Read America Pavilion
TARGET
Along with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, Target sponsors the Letters About Literature program, which invites students in grades 4 through 12 to write a letter to an author, past or present, who has inspired them or altered their view of the world or themselves. Target awards six national winners a trip to attend the National Book Festival and a $500 Target GiftCard. State winners each receive a $50 GiftCard for their appreciation of reading. For details on Letters About Literature, visit Target in the Let’s Read America II pavilion.
At the pavilion, you can have your photo taken with Bullseye, the Target dog, in the Big Red Chair. Measuring almost five-feet-wide, the Big Red Chair is the symbol for Ready. Sit. Read!. Developed in partnership with the United States Department of Education, this national initiative focuses on children from birth to age 9 and aims to foster a love of reading at an early age.
Through Ready. Sit. Read!, Target sponsors Letters About Literature, supports book festivals across the country, sponsors a military read-aloud-by-videotape program, and puts books in the hands of parents through pediatrician visits. For more information on Ready.Sit.Read!, visit Target.com/readysitread.
Since opening its doors, Target has given five percent of its income to organizations that support education, the arts, and safe families and communities. Today that translates to $3 million every week.
Target is proud to be a Distinguished Benefactor of the 2007 National Book Festival.
AT&T
AT&T invites you to join Dipper, the AT&T CARES star, in the Let’s Read America I pavilion. AT&T encourages all employees and retirees to volunteer with local nonprofit organizations and schools. In addition to providing time off to volunteer, AT&T provides grants to the organizations where employees and retirees volunteer.
In the Let’s Read America I pavilion, you’ll have the chance to meet some of AT&T’s literacy volunteers, pick up a souvenir, and pose for a photo with Dipper.
The 2007 National Book Festival marks AT&T’s seventh year as a Charter Sponsor. AT&T is proud to partner with the Library of Congress in this annual celebration of reading.
AARP
Stop by to pick up a complimentary copy of AARP CEO Bill Novelli’s new book entitled 50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America. Fifty books will be handed out every hour of the festival – from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For the first time in history, long life is not a rarity, which is great news for America’s 78 million baby boomers, the oldest of whom are now in their early 60s. Mr. Novelli believes that this is a unique moment in time when the need for change coincides with the boomers’ power to create change, giving them a unique opportunity to transform society dramatically and for the better.
Also check out AARP Books, which publishes a wide range of titles on health, personal finance, lifestyle, and other subjects to enrich the lives of older Americans, and Books for Grownups, an ongoing series of lists of new books for baby boomers brought to you by the editors of AARP The Magazine and Publishers Weekly. The latest editions of AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin will be available for festival participants.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
The Library of Congress Federal Credit Union (LCFCU) invites you to join them with their favorite bunny, “Sammy the Saver” Rabbit, for lessons in family savings habits in the Let’s Read America I pavilion. Stop by the LCFCU fun center where author and lyricist Sam Renick will conduct readings and songfests with Sammy. Young visitors will also learn good savings habits with fun coloring activities and have fun with money management challenges using Googolplex online games and puzzles for all student levels from primary through high school in the 5-Spot Clubhouse, AJ’s Mall, and C-Note University.
LCFCU is a member-owned financial services cooperative that provides financial literacy support for all age groups - from primary school students through retirement. Membership is open to all residents, employees, students, and worshippers in the District of Columbia, in addition to its original sponsor group families of employees and contractors at the Library of Congress. LCFCU has provided volunteers to support the Library of Congress at previous National Book Festivals and, for the first time this year, is actively participating in the festival to champion financial literacy for families.
Financial literacy support is available daily for all ages from LCFCU on its Web site, www.lcfcu.org, through a partnership with BALANCE, a financial fitness program, and consumer finance news from the Home & Family Finance Resource Center in English and Spanish. More 24/7 financial literacy assistance for family members is online at lcfcu.org with Anytime Adviser, money management tutorials in English and Spanish; Guides to Independence, online courses with rewards for completion for teens and young adults; MoneyMix, interactive assistance for the 25-30 set; and Plan It, for the pre-retiree age group of 40-60.
Readings with Sam and Sammy:
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
1:30 – 2:00 PM
3:30 – 4:00 PM
PBS KIDS
Grow and Learn with PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! Teachers, parents, and kids-of-all-ages won’t want to miss the Let’s Read America pavilion. PBS has a dazzling day in store with games, prizes, online content, picture-taking, crafts, and stage shows featuring reading, math, and science.
Be the first to get a Polaroid with the definition-dynamo from “WordGirl” and the Super Readers from our new hit, “Super Why!” Learn how the DESIGN SQUAD tackles weekly engineering challenges and play science vocabulary games.
The PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! character lineup continues with favorites like Clifford the Big Red Dog, Curious George, Arthur, Cassie from “Dragon Tales,” Maya & Miguel, the Berenstain Bears, Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Zoboomafoo, Piggley Winks, Ruff Ruffman from “Fetch!,” Leona from “Between the Lions,” Mr. McFeely the Speedy Deliver Man from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and more.
There’s something for everyone: Kids can enjoy skill-building activities; parents will love resources from PBS Parents.org, like the Bookfinder and PBS Parents Guides to Early Math, Creativity, Going to School and Media, even Birthday Party Planning. Teachers will learn all about the PBS Teachers Web site, the comprehensive online destination that provides top-quality resources for preK-12 educators, including professional development, searchable multimedia, easy personalization, and insightful blogs.
It’s all happening in the Let’s Read America I pavilion and continues on pbs.org and your local PBS station!
PENGUIN GROUP (USA)
Don’t miss the Pearson area with Penguin Group (USA) and the Pearson Foundation, where kids can have their photo taken with the Penguin. Visit the activity tables to create your own personalized “ABC” books to take home, as well as custom-made bookmarks and other fun crafts. Throughout the day, children can experience story time and sit with the Penguin while enjoying some entertaining tales. There will also be group readings, free books, and other prizes given away all day long.
Story times:
10:00 - 10:30 AM
12:00 - 12:30 PM
2:30 - 3:00 PM
SCHOLASTIC INC.
Take a moment to share the love of reading with your children in the Scholastic Cozy Corner, (La Esquinita), located in the Let’s Read America I pavilion. There will be books to borrow, free books, and “fun stuff” giveaways – as well as a lively read aloud of new and classic titles. The Corner will feature a wide selection of books – including Spanish-language favorites!
Read Aloud Times:
12:30 - 1:00 PM
2:00 – 2:20 PM
US AIRWAYS
On behalf of more than 36,000 employees, US Airways is proud to partner with the Library of Congress and sponsor the National Book Festival. US Airways and its employees are committed to supporting organizations in the communities where they live and work. As the airline grows, so does its commitment to the community. US Airways supports educational initiatives that provide a richer, more in-depth view of the world around us.
Join US Airways and members of the airline’s employee volunteer corps, the Do Crew, in the Let’s Read America pavilion to assemble and decorate your very own airplane. With US celebrate reading and help literacy take flight!
OTHER FAMILY ACTIVITIES
Free PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! Character Pictures
Pose with your favorite PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! characters and get a free Polaroid picture outside of the Let’s Read America I pavilion. The PBS Shutterbug Team will be on hand to take pictures throughout the day.
Be the first to get a Polaroid with the definition-dynamo from “WordGirl” and the Super Readers (Super Whyatt, Wonder Red, Alpha Pig and Princess Presto) from our new hit “Super Why!”
Abby Cadabby from “Sesame Street”
Arthur
The Berenstain Bears
Caillou
Cassie from “Dragon Tales”
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Curious George
DESIGN SQUAD cast members
Digit from “Cyberchase”
Hooper from PBS KIDS
Jay Jay the Jet Plane
Leona from “Between the Lions”
Maya & Miguel
Noddy from “Make Way for Noddy”
Piggley Winks from “Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks”
Zoboomafoo
Mr. McFeely the Speedy Delivery Man
from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”
SCHOLASTIC INC.’s MAGIC SCHOOL BUS®
Come celebrate one of the most beloved and popular children’s book and TV series of all time. Join Miss Frizzle, the best-known and most admired science teacher of several generations of students, and “The Dirtmeister,” geologist extraordinaire, as you come on board the real live Magic School Bus outside the Let’s Read America I pavilion. Like the animated TV show and the more than 130 titles in the Scholastic series, the traveling exhibit offers an exciting learning experience with wonderful characters, fascinating stories, and simple explanations of scientific phenomena. The Magic School Bus has been enjoyed by tens of millions of kids in 60 countries for the past 20 years. You won’t want to miss your trip on The Magic School Bus and the opportunity to participate in fun experiments, enjoy read alouds, and receive a free book.
Read Aloud/Experiment Times:
11:00 - 11:30 AM
12:00 – 12:30 PM
1:00 – 1:30 PM
4:00 – 4:30 PM