I mean, after the initial flurry of activity surrounding the prospect of a Jenna Bush book deal, there’s barely a ripple when HarperCollins announces it wins, and that the book will be published this fall? Ah, well. Anyway, USA TODAY reports that the co-first daughter says her forthcoming book for teens – about a 17-year-old single mother in Panama who is living with HIV – will end with a “call to action.” She adds that her book, which will be supported by a tour to schools, libraries and bookstores, is aimed at “getting kids thinking and involved,” Bush said Monday by phone from Panama, where she has worked since September as an unpaid intern for UNICEF.
Bush, a former public school teacher in Washington, D.C., says: “I’m aware that not all kids can pick up and fly to Panama. I’m very lucky.” But, Bush says, “there’s so much they can do” to deal with issues of “exclusion” – from research on HIV discrimination to “inviting new kids to sit with them in the cafeteria.” Her book has an expected print run of 500,000 copies; Kate Jackson at HarperCollins Children’s Books was the acquiring editor.