Former first lady Barbara Bush turns 90, celebrates 25 years of foundation

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine, June 8 (UPI) -- To celebrate her 90th birthday Monday, former first lady Barbara Bush will speak of the importance of literacy at a tribute dinner hosted by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

The New York-born wife of former President George H.W. Bush will attend the Celebration of Reading event -- formally named Barbara Bush @ 90: A Cause for Celebration Dinner -- Monday night at 7:30 p.m.

Other featured guests include authors Sandra Brown, Jill Conner Browne, James McBride and Brad Meltzer. Celebrities Amy Grant, Reba McEntire and Michael W. Smith will also be in attendance.

Barbara Bush, born in 1925, served as first lady between 1989 and 1993 and is related to three U.S. presidents so far: her husband George H. W. Bush, her son George W. Bush and her great-great uncle and 14th president, Franklin Pierce. She is a mother of five and grandmother to 17 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren -- she gave herself the nickname of "everybody's grandmother" in 1988.