The D23 Expo, the Disney fan event, will be held this weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center and, as part of the celebration, Disney will donate $500,000 and eight million books to First Book, a national nonprofit organization that provides new books to children in need. Also at D23, authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson will read excerpts from their new book, The Bridge to Never Land. The authors will be joined by David Arquette and Corey Burton, stars of the series Jake and the Never Land Pirates.
Since its founding in 1992, First Book has distributed more than 85 million new books to children from low-income families in thousands of communities throughout the United States and Canada. First Book now distributes an average of more than 25,000 books per day. Disney Publishing Worldwide has worked with First Book since 1999, helping to get books into the hands of kids and their families. Last year, First Book distributed a total of 7.5 million books; the donation of eight million Disney books – including titles for the youngest readers up through teen series – will help First Book double this number.
