The author corresponds with her imagined niece to convince her to see the value and timeless relevance of literature, just as Jane Austen wrote to her neice.
Presents a collection of interviews with a variety of people discussing their particular reading styles, divided into the general categories of avid and infrequent readers, and providing insight into what factors cause people to develop a love of reading.
Nine-year-old Liesel Meminger is sent to live with foster parents when her brother dies and her parents disappear and throughout the 1930s and 1940s, her book-stealing and story-telling help sustain her and the Jewish man they are hiding.
Features a group of multi-ethnic middle-school children discussing Christopher Paul Curtis' book, Bud, not Buddy; the topic of racism, self-esteem and the plight of homeless children through the book's characters and themes. Includes a visit with Curtis and a trip to a local library.
"Uncle Dan Hunter is taking his virtual reality program public, and thirteen-year old Carter and his cousin Isabelle are helping him demonstrate the suits at a children's bookstore--but when a blackout fuses "Wind in the Willows" with "Peter Pan," Carter has to battle pirates and weasels to rescue the two children trapped in the suits"--Provided by publisher.
Until now Uncle Dan has only used classic books in his program, so being commissioned to turn a new manuscript into a virtual reality world sounds exciting--but while they are testing the program, Isabelle realizes that the book is plagiarized from The purloined letter, and it is up to Carter to teach the author a lesson.
