Nicknamed "everybody's grandmother," first lady Barbara Bush projected a friendly, unassuming, and witty presence to the nation. With five grown children and more than twice as many grandchildren, she was the center of a large extended family. That family-rootedness showed in her work for family literacy, the idea of involving the whole family to help both parent and child learn to read and write. She became a public spokesperson for the cause after her husband George Bush (1924-; see entry in volume 5) became vice president in 1981. During her time as first lady, she founded the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. In 2001, she became only the second woman—and the first since Abigail Adams (1744-1818; see entry in volume 1)—to be the wife and the mother of U.S. presidents.

"The home is the child's first school, the parent is the child's first teacher...