More than 85 award-winning authors, storytellers, and illustrators talked about their work and autographed their books for fans. Tens of thousands of people, young and old, visited and were inspired by the many authors and the excitement on the Mall. Among those authors best known by children were Avi (Crispin), Jerry Spinelli (Maniac Magee), Julie Andrews (Mandy), Stan and Jan Berenstain (The Berenstain Bears), and Paige Davis (Paige by Paige) from Trading Spaces.

"Reading is a brightly shining window on a rainy day," Dr. James H. Billington, the 13th Librarian of Congress said, to sum up the Festival. He was quoting the famous U.S. diplomat George Kennan who has had a love of books for almost a century. (Kennan is turning 100 years old this year.)

In a news conference with student reporters, Librarian Billington and actress and author Julie Andrews agreed that "nothing can take the place of the imagination that comes from reading." Billington and Andrews were commenting on the impact of the Internet and video games on the reading habits of children today.

Studies show that children do better in school if they grow up in a home surrounded by books, said Dr. Billington. He should certainly know about books: The Library of Congress, built in 1800 by an Act of Congress, is the largest library in the world. The Library has 532 miles of shelves, which are filled with over 19 million books, 2.6 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 56 million manuscripts. The items in the Library are not just from the United States, but from all over the world.

The National Book Festival truly celebrates reading in what Julie Andrews calls the "wisdom, words, and wonder" of books.

• Scholastic Store
• 

  The Scholastic Store

  Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers Scholastic Summer Challenge Book Pick. Operation Iraqi Freedom, that's the code name. But the young men and women in the military's Civil Affairs Battalion have a simpler name for it: WAR. In this new novel, Walter Dean Myers looks at a contemporary war with the same power and searing insight he brought to the Vietnam war of his classic, "Fallen Angels". He creates memorable characters like the book's narrator, Birdy, a young recruit from Harlem who's questioning why he even enlisted; Marla, a blond, tough-talking, wisecracking gunner; Jonesy, a guitar-playing bluesman who just wants to make it back to Georgia and open a club; and a whole unit of other young men and women and drops them incountry in Iraq, where they are supposed to help secure and stabilize Iraq and successfully interact with the Iraqi people. The young civil affairs soldiers soon find their definition of "winning" ever more elusive and their good intentions being replaced by terms like "survival" and "despair. " Caught in the crossfire, Myers' richly rendered characters are just beginning to understand the meaning of war in this powerful, realistic novel of our times. Learn more about Walter Dean Myers. $17.99 books;hardcover books;hardcovers | Ages 12 and Up

  
  Sunrise Over Fallujah
  Ages 12 and Up $17.99
  
• Teacher Store
• 

  The Teacher Store
  	Jerry Spinelli Grades 4-6 by Jerry Spinelli See below for complete list of titles. Appropriate titles of equal value may be substituted if any of the listed titles are unavailable at shipping time. Set Includes: Fourth Grade Rats Knots in My Yo-Yo String Report to the Principal's Office Wringer $13.50 You save: 41% Paperback Book Collection | Grades 4-6

  
  Jerry Spinelli Grades 4-6
  Grades 4-6 $13.50