A Celebration of Books

Explore-A-Story

A unique and fun-filled event that celebrates books and reading for families of elementary school children in Greater Los Angeles.  It is an incredible day of authors and celebrity readers, performers, a Disney Family Film Festival, crafts, food, and a Barnes & Noble book fair with book signings – all inspired by great children’s stories.

The Wonder of Reading

Proceeds from Explore-A-Story benefit The Wonder of Reading, a nonprofit organization that serves public elementary schools in Los Angeles County. It actively engages students, parents, school officials, corporate sponsors, and volunteers to inspire a love of reading in children through its community-based 3-R Program: Renovate the school library, Restock the library collection, and create a sound Reading program that trains volunteers to read one-on-one with students on a continuing basis.

By the end of 2008, The Wonder of Reading implemented the 3-R Program in 203 schools, read more than 340,000 students, helped to provide more than $2.1 million worth of books, and trained 5,500 volunteers to read one-on-one with children.

Event Details

Your ticket to Explore-A-Story will get you into all the events happening throughout the day at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood on Sunday, April 13, 2008.

Hear childrens’ book authors/illustrators and celebrities read from their favorite books in the Upper Theaters. Then head to the Barnes & Noble Book Fair in the lobby to get your book signed by its author or celebrity reader! 20% of book sales go to benefit The Wonder of Reading.

Watch short films based on children’s book classics and the feature film Mary Poppins at the Disney Family Film Festival in the Lower Theaters.

In the Plaza, kids can get creative with crafts and fill up on great food while having fun with Radio Disney featuring DJ Nate and the Street Team. Families can experience storytelling and musical performances on the outdoor Stage.

Visit The Giving Tree to learn more about what we do at The Wonder of Reading from our friendly staff and how you can help with our mission to encourage a love of reading in children. Visit The Giving Tree to meet our amazing staff. Parents can bid on exciting items at the silent auction.

2008 Guests and Performers:

Special Celebrity Guest
Julie Andrews

Authors and Celebrity Readers
Laila Ali Conway
Laurie David & Cambria Gordon
Sid Fleischman
Robin Preiss Glasser
Felicity Huffman
Mark Johnson
Deborah Nourse Lattimore
Kadir Nelson
Lin Oliver
José-Luis Orozco
Madison Pettis
David Shannon

Plaza Events
Radio Disney featuring DJ Nate and the Street Team

Performers
Chic Street Man
Jim Gamble Puppet Productions
Kitsune Taiko (Traditional Japanese Drumming Youth Group)
Mariachi Cielo Nuevo
David Prather (Poetry Jam)