Ann Morrison Park was a great setting for the February 1 kickoff of Read Me Treasure Valley 2012, the community-wide read of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Read Me Treasure Valley is a one-book program for adults and older teens, offered through a partnership between Ada Community Library, Boise Public Library, The Cabin, The Idaho Statesman, Boise State University's The Story Initiative, and the Idaho Humanities Council. (Read Me Treasure Valley replaces The Big Read, which started in 2001 as What If Everybody Read the Same Book and spent the past six years as part of the National Endowment for the Art’s Big Read project.)

At the kickoff, Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey, who has been involved in the community read since its beginning in 2001, addressed the crowd and noted that The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was chosen by the community as this year's read.

Associate State Librarian Marj Hooper said that Read Me Treasure Valley was a great model for a community-wide read. Hooper stressed the value of adult reading and the example it sets with children, quoting Emilie Buchwald when she said, "Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

Boise Mayor Dave Bieter said that the when a community comes together for civic engagement such as this, it battles against complacency. Mayor Bieter quoted Mark Twain on the value of saying: "A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read."

Copies of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are available at area libraries in several formats, including large print, audio, and ebook. Ada Community Library Director Mary DeWalt said she hopes that everyone takes advantage of the opportunity to read or reread the book and enjoy a variety of related programming around the valley. 

• Visit the Read Me Treasure Valley website at http://www.readmetv.com/.
• See pictures of the kickoff at http://www.flickr.com/photos/icflphotos/sets/72157629135807729/.
• See the Boise Weekly video clips from the kickoff at http://video.boiseweekly.com/video/Read-Me-Treasure-Valley-Program.
• Read more at about Read Me Treasure Valley at http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/01/30/1973631/community-reading-project-turns.html.