Contact information:
Kathleen Patton or
Cindy Reiter
(217) 333-4687
kapatton@uiuc.edu
creiter@uiuc.edu
www.ed.uiuc.edu/youthlitfest
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (April 21, 2008)
Community Leaders Read in Schools to Announce New Youth Literature Festival
CHAMPAIGN, IL: Community leaders will visit three Champaign-Urbana schools Friday morning, April 25 to read to students. The purpose of the visit is to announce the UIUC College of Education’s inaugural Youth Literature Festival, which is planned for October 2-4. Visiting readers will be reading from the works of the author who is slated to visit that school during the October festival.
Mrs. Carol Scharlau will visit Countryside School in Champaign at 8:45 a.m. to read from the works of Jennifer Holm. Mrs. Susan Herman (wife of UIUC Chancellor Richard Herman) will visit Champaign’s Carrie Busey Elementary School at 9:00 a.m. to read from the books of Ashley Bryan. Mrs. Mary White (wife of University of Illinois President B. Joseph White) will visit Urbana’s Thomas Paine Elementary School at 10:00 a.m. to read from the works of Robert San Souci.
The Youth Literature Festival will take place October 2-4, 2008 encompassing the greater Champaign-Urbana area. The first two days (Thursday, October 2 and Friday, October 3) will be comprised of author visits to schools in east Central Illinois (Urbana, Champaign, Rantoul, Paxton-Buckley-Loda, among others), culminating in a day of celebration and activities for the community at large on Saturday, October 4. The events on Saturday, October 4 will feature entertainment for children and adults of all ages, from storytelling, puppetry, readings, lectures, book signings, and discussions featuring the Festival authors and illustrators, to a poetry cafe for middle and high school students, from museum and library exhibits at Krannert Art Museum and Orpheum Children's Museum, to student musical performances. These events are designed to bring together families from throughout the area, those involved with the public sector, and a variety of community groups for one main goal: putting literature at the heart of our lives.
