By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published May 19, 2011 at 11:20 AM

Today I learned that Target is giving Milwaukee Public Schools' Forest Home Avenue Elementary School, 1516 W. Forest Home Ave., a school library makeover.

That's great news. Many older schools are in need of just this kind of boost. Earlier today I wrote that principal Tom Matthews spent a year making over his school's once-decrepit library.

And because my mom and my grandfather are alumni of Forest Home Avenue, where a neighbor of mine teaches, I feel a special twinge of pleasure at hearing this news.

Target and The Heart of America Foundation has picked a number of schools across the country to receive the makeovers, which include a complete renovation which incorporates technology updates, ecologically friendly designs, light construction and 2,000 books.

You can see some examples of previous library makeovers here.

Also,  Target will incorporate a Target Meals for Minds school-based food pantry to show its ongoing commitment to the schools.

Forest Home Avenue Elementary, located directly across the street from Forest Home Library, serves 835 kids on Milwaukee's South Side. Nearly 100 percent of its student body qualifies for free and reduced lunch.

There will be a kick-off event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 24, with Ralph Smith of The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for the Library of Congress, Target's president of community relations Laysha Ward and principals from the schools getting the makeovers, including Forest Home's Sara Marquez.

The principals will then take part in a summit meeting with education experts to discuss best practices for making the most of the new libraries.

Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.