Barbara Bush marked her 65th birthday Friday doing what she loves best - pushing literacy and reading aloud to children.
Seated amid about a dozen children on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America," the first lady read aloud the story "Leo, the Late Bloomer," and was rewarded with a chorus of "Happy Birthday, Mrs. Bush.""Oh, how'd you know?" she asked. "Who told you that secret? Thank you very, very much."
President Bush telephoned birthday wishes to his wife from Iowa, wrapping up a four-state political trip. The president, who turns 66 on Tuesday, was returning to the White House this evening for dinner with Mrs. Bush and visiting West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
"I did talk to Barbara this morning. She seemed unexcited about her 65th birthday," he said. Mrs. Bush said Thursday she "couldn't care less" about the milestone.
Reading to children is "about the most important thing parents can do," the first lady said.
She cited studies finding that children who were read to at home do better in school, and said she and her husband read regularly to their children when they were young.
"It was a chance for us to put an arm around a child and have a special time," she said. "It does a lot for bonding with your children and it pays off later."
Mrs. Bush read again later to second graders at a library in nearby District Heights, Md. She has two more commencement speeches to give: at Kennebunk High School in Maine on Sunday and at Dunbar High School in Washington next week.