Who was the late Barbara Bush’s favorite son? That was ongoing joke between brothers George W. Bush and Neil Bush during the 27th annual Celebration of Reading on Thursday at the Post Oak Hotel where each presented their case.

“I still hear her on a regular basis, and I’m confident she said ‘Go to Houston and make this event the best you can make it’,” said the elder Bush, 43rd President of the United States turned author and painter. “If mother was alive she’d say to Neil, ‘Lose the beard’.”

The younger Bush may be scruffier, though he also played a big role in raising more than $1.9 million for the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation. What would their mother and former first lady have to say about that?

Some of the funds raised benefit Houston’s Adult Literacy Blueprint, a new, joint initiative between the Mayor’s Office for Adult Literacy and BBHLF. The blueprint identified that one in every three Harris County adults is functionally illiterate and serves as a call-to-action for a comprehensive plan to improve the systemic crisis of low adult literacy rates.

“We invested some of last year’s Celebration of Reading money into the development of the blueprint — about $400,000 — for five and half months worth of focus groups,” explained Julie Baker Finck, PhD and President of BBHLF. She worked with Deloitte analysts and consultants to engage more than 100 community leaders on the blueprint’s design. An executive summary was released on April 29; the full document becomes available in June.

Five other programs which address digital and family literacy also benefit from Thursdays’ seven-figure proceeds: My Home Library, Third Ward Initiative, Curiosity Cruiser, Camp Adventure and #WeRead.

“When the pandemic hit we knew kids were going home and didn’t have access to school libraries, so we partnered with HISD and Spring ISD to give out more than 100,000 new books when parents and their kids drove in for food distributions,” Finck said. “We also launched #WeRead with the Mayor’s office to record over 200 videos of Houstonians reading aloud that teachers and parents could use.”

She noted that 2021 marks the Foundation’s third year of investment — roughly $200,000 — in Third Ward Initiative’s program with University of Houston’s College of Education to place trained student reading tutors inside classrooms. Camp Adventure, a summer learning program in partnership with HISD and Children’s Museum of Houston to provide four weeks of school, resumes this year. And on April 3, BBHLF’s Ladies for Literacy launched its third Curiosity Cruiser, “super libraries on wheels.”

“We now have a fleet,” Finck quipped. And an impressive lineup of well-known authors, too.

Elin Hilderbrand, Mark Sullivan, Susan Glasser and Peter Baker all flew-in for Thursday’s events. Matthew McConaughey made a digital cameo via a pre-recorded Zoom interview with Celebration of Reading emcee Dominique Sachse. George W. Bush appeared onstage first, and true to form, he came out swinging.

“I was discouraged by the language about immigrants. Americans may have lost sight of the beauty of immigration,” he said. His latest book, “Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants,” features the stories and his painted portraits of 43 American immigrants. “As a budding artist, I found myself opining about the issue of immigration through my art.”

As is tradition, he read a passage aloud from “Out of Many, One.” The former President selected the second subject from his book, Paula Rendon, whom his parents hired in 1959 to help raise the Bush children.

“She was like a second mother to my siblings and me. The first immigrant I really knew showed me how hardworking, family-oriented newcomers add to the cultural fabric, economic strength, and patriotic spirit of America… When Dad was elected President, Paula — a Mexican-American immigrant who had risen from poverty — moved into the White House with him and Mom… We learned a lot from Paula. She taught us what it means to work hard. She taught us what it means to sacrifice for family. And she taught us to be grateful to immigrants, who keep the American dream alive by realize it and passing along to new generations of diligent, determined United States citizens.”

Later, during seated a Q&A session with Sachse, George W. Bush expressed his desire for Congress to fix current Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals legislation and support for immigration reform.

“Reform would make our borders more secure, not less,” he said. “Why can’t we have a national work program? I hire eight Mexicans to work on the tree farm in Crawford, Texas — they’ve got to go home for two months of the year and re-apply for visas. But what if those don’t get approved?”

Glasser and Baker, the husband and wife duo who co-authored “The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III” shared that their next book project will cover the Donald J. Trump presidency and impeachments.

And that’s where politics ended — well, sort of. Both Bush brothers joked about McConaughey’s rumored gubernatorial run. The actor, who appeared onscreen in purple-tinted sunglasses and a ponytail — mainly spoke about his writing process for “Greenlights,” which debuted at number one on the New York Times non-fiction, best-seller list in October 2020.

Earlier in the day, Terri and John Havens hosted a private luncheon at their River Oaks home for Bush family members, Celebration of Reading authors, and top-level event sponsors. There, the mood felt lighter than in past years. Terri opted for purple tabletop decor, a nod to the couple’s Louisiana State University alumni status. And City Kitchen served bananas foster, which originated in New Orleans, for dessert.

The Bush and Havens bond goes way back. The day George H.W. Bush left the White House in 2009, he boarded a flight to the Havens’ health spa in Southern California, Cal-a-Vie.

Neil Bush presented Terri and John with a signed, one-of-kind copy of “Out of Many, One” on Thursday. That’s also when he praised this year’s lineup of authors as a “bumper crop.” Almost everyone immediately accepted the invitation, including Hilderbrand. Her 27th novel hits bookshelves on June 1.

“ ‘Golden Girl’ is this totally wacky premise about a Nantucket novelist killed in a hit and run and goes up to the great beyond on page one,” Hilderbrand said. “The powers that be let her watch what happens to her loves ones for the summer. That sort of crazy ‘heaven can wait’ story line. It’s very comforting to anyone who’s lost someone, especially before their time.”

Sullivan, former reporter turned mystery, suspense and historical fiction writer, spoke of being inspired by unsung heroes of generations past.

amber.elliott@chron.com