Disney and First Book team champion children's literacy

NEW YORK -- Disney XD, Marvel Entertainment, First Book and ABC Owned Television Stations have teamed up to champion children's literacy through the "Reading With: Marvel Comics Close-Up" initiative.

INITIATIVE INCLUDES ABC OWNED TELEVISION STATIONS
More Than 210,000 Books to be Donated to Local Communities

The effort includes the donation of more than 210,000 books to communities across the country. The initiative also features a series of Disney XD interstitials, "Marvel Comics Close-Up," hosted by Marvel's Chief Creative Officer, Joe Quesada, and teen actor Dylan Riley Snyder ("Kickin' It") beginning Monday, January 21, during the second season premiere of "Ultimate Spider-Man" on Disney XD. Further encouraging kids to read, new and classic Marvel Comics stories will be available at disneyxd.com/comics

"We are thrilled to bring the reach and community spirit of our locally owned stations to the literacy efforts of Disney XD and Marvel's 'Marvel Comics Close-Up.' The effort allows our local communities to identify worthwhile organizations to receive the free books, while also highlighting the value and impact literacy has in our society," said Rebecca Campbell, President, ABC Owned Television Stations.

ABC Owned Television Stations in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno are participating in the initiative and engaging communities by nominating a local organization, school or library to receive a book donation, part of Disney's donation of 8 million Disney Publishing Worldwide books to First Book announced in 2011.

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information, visit marvel.com

First Book has distributed more than 100 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada. By making new, high-quality books available on an ongoing basis, First Book is transforming the lives of children in need and elevating the quality of education. For more information, visit firstbook.org or follow First Book's latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

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