An Exclusive Interview with Barbara Bush

By Kim Watts-Diaz

The First Lady of Family Literacy

Barbara Bush wants you to make reading a priority for your whole family.

"Take the kids to the library once a week, and pick out a book for everyone, including yourself," the former First Lady urges. "You set an example by just sitting and reading something that interests you. My parents did that all the time. We’d read aloud together, but they’d also sit and read alone - and it made my siblings and I very curious about books. Once your children get that curiosity, books will become a habit and they’ll be readers for life."

That curiosity led to a lifelong love of reading for Bush; it’s also the cornerstone of her Foundation for Family Literacy, through which she has raised millions of dollars for more than 400 school- and community-literacy programs in 44 states. Since the early days of her husband’s vice presidency through the current presidential and gubernatorial terms of sons George W. and Jeb, eradicating illiteracy has taken international precedence for Mrs. Bush.

"Literacy is probably the most important issue in the world," she says. "Half the world population is functionally illiterate, and everything we dislike in the world, from poverty and hunger to high crime and unemployment rates, is connected to illiteracy."

Illiteracy is an especially unfortunate handicap for families here in America, Bush says. "Those who can’t read don’t have a level playing field in life. If you can’t read, you can’t get a job and you can’t take care of yourself or your children."

However, it is a handicap that can be remedied, she believes. "We have such a high quality of life available to anyone who pursues an education."

Getting Kids ‘Reading Ready’

School and community outreach funded through the Foundation for Family Literacy focuses primarily on improving basic literacy in families where English is a second language, or where parents’ income level and job opportunities are impaired by a lack of access to education.