Literacy/Reading

The November 10 opening of Warner Brothers' animated adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's classic Christmas tale, The Polar Express (Houghton Mifflin), starring Tom Hanks, is just over a month away.

By Robert Gray In July, NEA chairman Dana Gioia announced the dismal results of a survey of America's reading habits, including the news that those people admitting to having read fiction, poetry, or plays had dipped to 46.7 percent in 2002, down from 54 percent the last time the survey was done in 1992. A copy of the study still rests on my desk, taunting me.

The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg's Caldecott Medal-winning children's book, will hit the big screen this November 10 in an animated adaptation from Warner Bros., starring Tom Hanks.

In George Orwell's novel 1984 (Signet), one of Big Brother's most famous slogans is "War is Peace." And while Orwell's ominous, futuristic story was published 55 years ago, the "Rhetoricians for Peace," an independent activist group, believe that such Orwellian doublespeak has taken on special relevance these days.

The results of a major survey on the state of reading in America were released last Thursday by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the organization termed its findings a "bleak assessment" and the news "dire." In his preface to Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, NEA chairman Dana Gioia explained that the report's key findings could be summarized in one sentence: "Literary reading in America is not only declining rapidly among all groups, but the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young.&

Since June 2002, ABC News' Good Morning America has been promoting the fun of reading to adults through its "Read This!" book club segment, which airs monthly. Now, the popular morning show has taken aim at children's literacy with the launch of Book Drive America, an effort to bring books to children, schools, libraries, and community centers in need across the country.

This month, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW) released a new study, "America's Most Literate Cities," which provides a literacy ranking of America's 64 largest cities. Topping the list was Minneapolis, with Seattle, Denver, Atlanta, and San Francisco rounding out the top five.

The written word's influence on other artistic mediums is often taken for granted, but San Francisco-based singer/songwriter Deborah Pardes is hoping that literature's broad reach into other art forms will inspire both the illiterate and alliterate alike to read.

The list of Citywide Book Clubs continues to grow. When Bookselling This Week first published a listing of book club initiatives in March 2002, it included 45 community-reading events. At present, the list -- BTW's fifth update -- numbers 131. Seven new book clubs have been added and information for four book clubs has been updated since the last list, published in January.