The National Book Foundation, the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, and the Campaign for Grade Level Reading have joined forces for the Book Rich Environments initiative. So far, the organizations have worked together to provide more than 270,000 books to areas with limited access to reading material. Penguin Random House, Hachette, and Macmillan were among the publishers that donated. The Manhattan Book Rich Environment kick-off event was held on June 12 at the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center in East Harlem. Readers selected books and met authors like Jeanne Birdsall, seen here with an attendee. Additional events will take place throughout the country this summer.
