National Survey Finds 86% of Americans Believe Children's Lack of Basic Reading Skills Is a Significant Problem

 Mercury Mountaineer Drive for Literacy Campaign to Deliver One Million Books
               Nationally to Children from Low-Income Families

    IRVINE, Calif., May 31 Results from a new national survey
released today reveal that while almost all Americans (99 percent) agree it is
important that children be exposed to books and reading at a young age; nearly
as many (86 percent) believe children's lack of basic reading skills is a
significant problem.  To that end, the Mercury Mountaineer Drive for Literacy
campaign launches today with the goal of placing one million books in the
hands of children who need them.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010531/HSTH014 )
    Mercury, Random House Children's Books and First Book, a national
non-profit that provides books to children from low-income families, have
banded together to launch the campaign.  The four-month Mercury Mountaineer
Drive for Literacy campaign will distribute books in all 50 states this summer
at events taking place in 60 cities.  More than a simple book give-away, the
campaign will give 300,000 children personal libraries of up to a dozen books
over the course of a year and support the establishment of at least 40 new
First Book Local Advisory Boards nationwide.
    "As a country we know that our young people need to be reading, yet many
children -- particularly those from low-income families -- grow up without
access to books," said Kyle Zimmer, President of First Book.  "By providing
new books to these children, First Book is not only working to fight
illiteracy, but to end it and the Mercury Mountaineer Drive for Literacy
brings us one step closer to doing just that."
    The summer-long campaign is funded by a $1 million donation from Mercury.
Mercury's donation continues the company's long-standing commitment to
education and celebrates the launch of its all-new 2002 Mountaineer.  The
donation was matched by a grant of one million books from Random House
Children's Book Publishers.
    "It is our understanding that if children do not have books at home, their
reading ability may suffer when school is out.  That's why the Mercury
Mountaineer Drive for Literacy is taking place during the summer -- when kids
need books most," said Mark Hutchins, president, Lincoln Mercury.  "We
recognize that reading is a crucial skill, and we want to do our part to make
sure that all children can discover the joys of reading."
    Children from low-income families have, on average, four children's books
per home, and one team of researchers recently concluded that two-thirds of
low-income families they studied have no books at all in their homes, making
reading difficult for these children when school is out.
    Whoopi Goldberg, entertainer and First Book supporter, is committed to the
campaign.  "We are all these children have, and I think it is absolutely great
that Mercury put a million dollars into them," said Goldberg.  "That's why I
support First Book and the Mercury Mountaineer Drive for Literacy."
    Regardless of economic status, all children need to have access to books
and one-on-one reading time, especially during the summer months.  To help
parents encourage reading, First Book and Mercury offer their "top ten" tips:

     1.  Be a role model by reading books yourself
     2.  Keep books at home, so that children see books are part of your life
     3.  Visit the local public library -- it's free
     4.  Spend time talking about books and stories
     5.  Play alphabet games
     6.  Make books special, by teaching your kids to care for them
     7.  Set aside a consistent time to read, such as after dinner or before
         bedtime
     8.  Encourage your kids to read with other family members, such as
         grandparents and brothers and sisters
     9.  Turn off the TV.  With no distractions, you can enjoy reading
         together
     10. Praise and reward your children for reading

    Mercury Mountaineer Drive for Literacy events will at be held at public
libraries, parks and community centers this summer in 60 cities: Pittsburgh,
PA, Philadelphia, PA, Washington, DC, Boston, MA, Cleveland, OH, Detroit, MI,
Chicago, IL, Minneapolis, MN, St. Louis, MO, Nashville, TN, Charlotte, NC,
Atlanta, GA, Orlando, FL, Miami, FL, Dallas, TX, Houston, TX, San Antonio, TX,
Denver, CO, Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA, San Diego, CA, Los Angeles, CA,
Honolulu, HI, Anchorage, AK, Portland, OR, Billings, MT, Boise, ID, Salt Lake
City, UT, Las Vegas, NV, Phoenix, AZ, Albuquerque, NM, Cheyenne, WY, Fargo,
ND, Pierre, SD, Des Moines, IA, Omaha, NE, Wichita, KS, Oklahoma City, OK,
Little Rock, AR, New Orleans, LA, Jackson, MS, Birmingham, AL, Tampa, FL,
Greenville, SC, Raleigh, NC, Norfolk, VA, Milwaukee, WI, Indianapolis, IN,
Louisville, KY, Cincinnati, OH, Charleston/Huntington, WV, Baltimore, MD,
Wilmington, DE, Newark, NJ, New Haven, CT, Providence, RI, Portland, ME,
Concord, NH, Burlington, VT, and Buffalo, NY.

    The recent national telephone survey of 1,000 American adults was
conducted May 18-21, 2001 by Wirthlin Worldwide.  The confidence interval for
a survey of this size is +/- 3.1 percent.   The survey examined American
attitudes regarding children's literacy in the United States.  In addition to
the items mentioned above, results indicate that more than three in
four adults (82 percent) agree that the more books that are in a home, the
better the children in that home tend to read.

    About Mercury
    Mercury, based in Irvine, Calif., markets the full line of Mercury
vehicles, including the all-new 2002 Mountaineer sport utility vehicle,
Cougar, Sable, Grand Marquis and Villager.  For more information, visit
mercuryvehicles.com .

    About First Book
    First Book ( http://www.firstbook.org ) is a national non-profit organization
with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the
opportunity to read and own their first new books.  First Book distributes
books to existing community tutoring, mentoring and family literacy programs
that serve low-income children.  In 2000, First Book distributed more than
four million books to hundreds of thousands of children in more than
290 communities around the country.  By joining forces with Mercury and Random
House for the "Drive for Literacy" campaign, First Book will reach even more
children.

    About Random House Children's Books
    Random House Children's Books is one of America's foremost publishers of
literature for infants through young adult readers in all formats, from board
books to picture books to novels and narrative nonfiction.  The imprints of
Random House Children's Books offer publishing programs that bring together
world-famous franchise characters, multi-million copy series, and top-flight
award-winning authors and illustrators.  Random House Children's Books is a
division of Random House, Inc., a unit of the Book Division of Bertelsmann AG,
a leading international media company.

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