World’s Largest Book comes to UCLA for fight to end illiteracy

  JANA SUMMERS Students sign the World’s Largest Book in
Westwood Plaza on Wednesday. Each signature will result in a needy
child receiving a book from a sponsor.

By Ivy Dai
Daily Bruin Contributor

The World’s Largest Book made its appearance at Bruin
Plaza Wednesday, as UCLA students signed their names to it.

Sponsors of the event ““ Coca-Cola, Scholastic Books and
First Book, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to
“give children from low-income families the opportunity to
read and own their first new books” ““ have pledged to
donate one book to a needy child in Los Angeles for every signature
on the book.

“The World’s Largest Book campaign brings together
the leaders of the private, public and government sector for a
basic cause ““ to provide books for kids and not just fight
illiteracy, but to end it,” said Chandler Arnold, director of
corporate strategy at First Book.

The U.S. Department of Education reported in April that 32
percent of the nation’s fourth-graders are at the minimum
reading proficiency level.

The UCLA campus was chosen as the site of the event because
“UCLA exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism that First Book
supports,” Arnold said.

Third-year neuroscience and English student Jessie Mai signed
the 12- by 15-foot motorized scrolling book Wednesday.

“Literacy is such an important cause because books are the
first gateway to a child’s imagination,” Mai said.

Nicole Josephson, a fourth-year psychology student, said the
event allowed UCLA to get involved in the community.

The book signing “raises the issue of how do we, as UCLA
students, connect with the kids,” Josephson said.