American, Scholastic Promote Classroom Reading

American Airlines and Scholastic will sponsor Scholastic Read For 2004, targeting 8 million consumers in schools and in the air.

Scholastic has put kids' book collections in American Admiral Clubs in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., for families to read during layovers on holiday travel. The publisher ran promotional spots during CBS Eye on America telecasts during November flights. Pilots read at 10 schools on Dec. 5; Scholastic donated a total of 300 books to those schools.

In 2004, schools worldwide will participate in different events, including one simultaneous day of reading. New York City-based Scholastic hosts a Web site to serve students globally.

Scholastic began the classroom reading initiative five years ago. Fort Worth, TX-based American has sponsored it in the U.S. for three years.