every ten minutes. constantly on your mind. ds wn yoads way it is hard. it is a difficult thing. n s d pye me o

and as she finished saying prayers one night she was tiptoeing out of the room like moms and dads do, you know that phrase from natalie. don't forget god bless the troops. so this is all abouyo s t ha guut how good it will be when daddy and mommy go home.

i am going to stopow. adthok- s the books no does that make sense? we will had out some copies now. she is going to read the book have been through. you c not just little kids but beautiful young women like you. you don't have to be -- you can dsn'tatr.8. timeith u'5r or 18 or 19. everybody is going to get a book. i will stop now and give ito .

la odmoing, everybody. before we begin i just want to thank general schwartz for being here. thank you for your service. thank you f all youor t honts of events together and the uso does such wonderful things and i want to thank you for being the organization that gives out scholarships for military hildren. nk.reciate it la >> i am jill biden. you can call me now and at -- n --na --nana. i want to introduce you to talie. this is natalie's story as well our or ho mrmo and dads have gone to iraq or

afghanistan? most of you. e ven sd atctlyou izhewe around this country was many americans don't even know anybody at all in the military and they don't know how strong and resilient you are t.your ms and dadsay domehi yll tis i ded as a teacher that the best way to get that message across was for teachers to read this in their clsrooms and moms and dadso ttoirilo ple eiv arkendhath whole book is about. i will start to read and natalie is going to read some of it and acally ts is what my son looks likendss eig, tli

you can see this is what she looks like. this was a couple years ago when she was a little bit younger. now weilte hstor oh. this -- she drew this picture for the inside of the bk. i love this picture. does daddy really have to go. ld h to do hard things, and her father takes natalie in his arm. home is wh wityoling

i like it she whispers. natalie sits on the floor with stuffed animals all-around her. rookserls are here. ever i h one thing i't here. daddy isn't here. i am sure you felt the same way. es g.de theer s isre daddy is not here natalie thanks again as you watches a red leaf, this is the soldier thinking of her daddy. that is far away that she kif r hile

is away. natalie cole's it the day we eat turkey. what day is that? thanksgiving. make a wish, says na, aul sp. pu we i wish that daddy would -- nana put a finger to her lips. keep your wish secret and hope thatomeday it will come true. rana thndblg outside the kitchen window. natalie helps bake holiday cookies. gm, says her younger brother hunter. ddndm.eso send the cookies t s sthr favorite things. will daddy be coming home? natalie sees her mother turned away and white her eyes. lovyomm ieou anduts herrm

be brave, that wnatalie. dade dad's friend alex is shovelling the sidewalk. your dad is helping the country. i want to help too. on the lawn natalie and hunter tapun y p the swbs snowman's head. hunters and she years. a sunoco soldier. be brave, natalie. listands in the church hallway looking at a page of the

church bulletin. she touches the page. her father's name is here with opilayll them. the girl behind her is looking at the names. natalie wonders is her daddyr mommy far from home? is her mr daddy save? thare gs t g through your mind. the girl answers smiling. natalie knows that they will become friends be bre. tuhee. thank you. natalie's baby tooth is hanging by a thread. mom turned on the computer and gets bad on video .

th. daddy, hunter waves. natalie's tooth is going to come out. she is going to pull it. he waves back. i am afraid, daddy. d mayhur ! re bir ny of you skype with your mom or dad when they were overseas. did you? good. so nice that you are able to see them when ty are far ay. nieeaol e maolse picture and one of them is natalie's dad. the teacher points to h. soldiers are far away, she says. they areigt tr li fro. on her way to recess she looks at the picture again.

she leans over and kisses her dad on the nose. y remoith?al yes? that belly and hunter are playing soldier with their daddy dolls. you have daddydolls? yes? nt tsy. nae hal of her face. she pretends her doll is a puppet. ag boy. he stopped crying and whites his eyes. be brave, natalie. okay. this is the page where t tle tired, natalie yawns.

natalie and hunter staying overnight. hunter is already asleep. natalie snuggles next to her grandmotr. we had didn'te, nana? nana smiles. but it was a good day. you were such a helper too. we sent hundreds of boxes overseas your daddy isn't the only soldier in thermy. ome wh u.y no they know care. let's say prayers before y fall asleep. natalie closes her eyes and hepens h eort brief moment. don't forget, nana, she says in a sleepy voice, god bless our

troops. br nali lig itaonsin team. anyone here on the swim team? yes? natalie stairs at the blue shimmering water. she hears theou osplashing . 't! hetan win yon t. pretend you are swimming to daddy. she takes a deep breath. one, two, 3, jp. naler t wat e tendeslahi i did it! i did it! be brave, natalie. e eehimm. hunter where thre sso dtyt could

stand up by itself. let me wash it. but mmy, soldiers get dirty when they wear their uniforms. why n' liin a picture. carefully she draws long red stripes after each one. next she picks up a crayon and arlors in thblue sque in t atsh making? the flag. it has to be the best picture ever. ranae.for someone very special. natalie is so excited. she bounces here and bounces there. she sees soldiers everywhere

hugging their families. suddenly she sees meone mmun there is daddy! natalie racist her father and hugs him around the legs. i am going to let natalie read the last page because this is thees pt l. >> lift her up, up, up to his older. dad, you are my bve daddy. her dad lap. noits you, mbrvrl

>>nd he ves with us townn in -wnshon ticest's d wathpren a wa kid, he's got a really neat portuguese water dog, and we kid about whose dog is the smartest. [laughter] i think our dos th smartest. our dog's the best dog. jes h d out that in the souvenir stores they sell these little dogs that are portuguese water dogs. so champ said, why can't i have a do los aur] etthao i bhtbu hem along. so if anybody wants a champ dog, we'll give everybody a champ dog. and i noticed, by the way, i noticed sometimes beautiful young women about age 19 and 20

[lteoo eyteth t, y gr one and pretend it's for your sister, your younger sist, okay? [laughter] and you guys, now, what do you think of champ, he's soft, isn't he? isn't he sft anu wifo t d i'gog o xt te s you guys? i'm going to bring along champ. he's such a good dog, he would just lie here, and he wouldn't do anything. we should have brought along champ today. so thank you all. and just rember, when yr thnthe as,fo yswahig t and, parents thank you very much, and thank you for your service. it's amazing what you do. and jill and michelle, michelle a,estd gatitily mihe american people of all of the things that our

military does for them. and he talks about everybody should be able to do at least one act of kes anr, iome' lng f you. did you want to ask a question? any of the kids want to ask any questions or tell -- say anything? >>aue]o you want to a, baby? gh >> oh, you're very, very welcome. this is -- mrs. biden wrote this book. i didn't write the book. and so i had nothing to do wit. [ltest happen to be her husbd. ackgu >> [inaudible] >> you felt the same way? >> [inaudible] >> is that right? what, when your mommy and day left, what was the thing that bother you tos

w ythdd inbl >> yeah. but -- oh. that's, did you, what was the hardest part when you were going to bed, or whenou got up, or when you were havingner? s tiarr t heim going to dinner, yh. anybody else? yes, baby. wei yhae wis uideown? ol--ea t rds ue down. when he put the collar on, he put it upside down. but i'll bet your mommy or daddy can undo it for you, a we can get it the right way. wedhaolr t'snot --nnca e t up? here's one right there. okay, you got champ right side up now. i don't want to take your champ.

yes, honey, did you want to say something? [di gh w ihi sed something. [laughter] they said, can we get a dog like this because my aunt has one. that's going to be up to your parents. i can't really do that. you know what i had to do to get that do i alysgshe wa ttle guy, and then when i got to be a big guy, i had dogs. and i used to be what they call a united states senator. i used to work at the capitol. and i commuted everyay, g tohin, ti' . and one day i came home, and i always had big dogs. and my doggies were gone. and mrs. biden said, look, the dog misses you so much, you're never home. and she joked, and she said, anrogf ll youwhatyou c get

tct pidore president. [laughter] you think i'm kidding, i'm not kidding. true story. and i said why's that? she said, at least you'd be home then. and she said it would be ffent. prenvenc ail gsuin l man, this is kind of tough or something. and i'd get in the airplane, and mrs. biden, literally, would tape on the bulkhead of the chair of the seat in front of me in the airplane a picture o a an g w? hrase rot elected vice president, we have a family dinner christmas eve, and my granddaughter, my number three granddaughter got up and id, pop, we've got a prize for you. [ausin they broug chamy sha gelected vice president to get a dog. and so i don't know what your mommy's ing to make you do. [laughter] to get a dog.

[laughter] do you have one? what kind of dogo u h htw [inaudible] and a miniature. schnauzer. >> oh, that's cool, man. two dogs. okay. yes, honey, you have- you want to tell me something or mrs. biden somethi? inbl >> oh, that's a shame. that sometimesappens. sometimes happens to dogs. well, you're all so gd, and you know what? i think they've got som f anen, mng rns ck to jill, and i thank you very, very much for your hospitality. folks, thank you so much. and to all those of you who serve, god lovea. wee lyealld y ou y yo tst icer

oduced. thank you. >> is there a nonfiction author orook you'd like tosee featured on booktv? twr.book.n e-mail >> wt are you reading this summer? booktv wants to know. >> well, i'm an avideader, and mawswoo on a personal presidential favorite of mine, john kennedy. and i have the book here, it's "jack keny: ilve h on trein ouin cmahe ucst etbr people in to talk about their books, and we've had chris matthews in. he also came and spoke at the library of congress with all o

the susesas iat inib einre opotost, etc., and see the personal side of jack kennedy. and matthews has done such incredible researcand inrvieit a bookhat yo revedvin so vapri r summer reading, especially with president kennedy's affinity and love for the sea as well. all we would need is to run it on hoy f tnd w . hershoee o caucus has been the author of "the assassins of the turquoise palace." agai an extraordinary book and, again, she'scome befe r cus. hwn pnastas someone who grew up in iran, a

woman of jewish descent who grew up in iran whose family had to flee, but as it followed the events that gon ianan sa g m truth is set in fiction than not, and especially with the assassination attempts that took pla in germany that shhronsso . alhe relevance today especially as we look at our dealings with in, and it's a revealing look at the culture and at the, atys rrre i an - asl. so this is fiction, but it makes for interesting reading. something that's certainly of light reading but also focused

jurod a book, and is we had a little reception for him where he got up and spoke about his book as well. and i think it's thoutful advice for anyon inongr in ntbeorebe thoughtful with some really practical advice. but also i think lessons in fe woo,usme hnm everyone from john wooden to presidents and to gandhi. thtfidouimdhas this really coguo see that as well. so i would, i would recommend

this book. and, of course, john lewis, the leary j lst me wis b,ro he wusecy arv and the keynote speaker at the university of connecticut's graduation, and i'm honored to have received an autographed copy. and as you're probably aware, john does a dillgrimmage every - pim eyye erhe rctos triin tt famous march between selma and montgomery. it's this very compelling story, of course, "ss tid at tree journey of this incredible american hero and civil rights leader. clearly an i inspiration t us all. so those are four books that i would recommend and that i'm reading. d ti wdem i

't atve mmer, and i just happened to see my english teacher in high school on saturday at an event. and, of curse, my favorite book and larely because ofthis acaneaisth great "the great gatsby". it always makes for great summer reading and, o course, taken from the 1920s during the roaring 0s and the jazz age and can the time - t anf see language of f. scott fitzgerald, the way that he is able to write both symbolically, but ao with mixed metaphors. and asecrhebl ouilt time, eating with a ferocious delicacy. and so this is always a great read, and i hope that it has

some influence on my, my children. inhe category o foritok "tll mockingbird." and the highest honor i think any elected official or anyone who serves in public office could be is to be referred to as ofurthinibovh. itten by harper lee that's just still always a great read and whose legends stay with us today as well. anno friyow, death of the salesman. it's also been making a great revile on broadway, and so many people, you know, it's acclaimed, and it's the enar flg. hore