Johnstown, PA (Jan. 26, 2022) –Pennsylvania’s only Children’s Book Festival kicks off this month with call for students to get creative and design and submit bookmarks that represent their favorite book or story. The bookmark contest is part of the annual event hosted by The Learning Lamp that connects children and families to top-selling, critically acclaimed children’s authors, illustrators, and storytellers. The 2022 festival will be held in person for the first time since 2019. The bookmarks will be on display at the 13th annual festival, which takes place April 2 and 3 at Bottle Works in Johnstown’s historic Cambria City neighborhood.
“The bookmark contest is one of my favorite aspects of the Children’s Book Festival,” said Kerri Belardi, director of communications for The Learning Lamp. “It’s an exciting way to get kids involved by sharing their creativity with the community while event getting them excited about reading and the arts.”
The bookmark design contest is divided into four age brackets:
Division #1: Grades Pre-K & K
Division #2: Grades 1 & 2
Division #3: Grades 3 & 4
Division #4: Grades 5 & 6
Each individual division winner receives a prize package that includes a personal library of books. Winning entries are selected by popular vote of those attending the festival.
Teachers can also win a set of books for their classroom by submitting student-created bookmarks as a group. Any child from preschool to sixth grade, including children who are homeschooled, can take part. Only one bookmark entry per child. Visit thelearninglamp.org for a printable entry form. Completed bookmarks can be dropped off or sent to The Learning Lamp at 2025 Bedford St., Johnstown PA, 15904. The deadline to submit is Thursday, March 24, 2022 by 4 p.m.
The Children’s Book Festival is spearheaded by The Learning Lamp and is FREE to families by design. The goal of the event is to provide quality, interactive literary experiences that inspire children of all abilities and income levels to read, write and draw, and encourage families to read together. Highlights of the weekend include visits from:
Eric Litwin – #1 New York Times best-selling author and musician who is best known for the original Pete the Cat series, as well as The Nuts and Groovy Joe. His books have sold over 13 million copies and have won 26 literary awards. One of three headlining authors throughout the weekend, Litwin merges literacy and music to help early learners as they enjoy The Learning Groove.
Don Tate – the award-winning author/illustrator and founding host of The Brown Bookshelf– a blog dedicated to books for African American young readers. Tate is a member of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign created to address the lack of non-majority narratives in children’s literature. Tate models for all children, but especially children of color, the adventures of reading, writing, illustrating, and storytelling. Families will be able to meet Tate as he reads, conducts writing and illustration workshops, and signs copies of his books including Swish! The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters; Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions; and more!
Luke Flowers – an author/illustrator who has illustrated more than 60 children’s books, including A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood by Fred Rogers. Flowers has most notably authored and illustrated the Moby Shinobi series with Scholastic, selling over 1 million copies since the first book was published five years ago, and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth ABC Storybook.
Wes Tank – hugely popular multimedia performance artist who will have your head bobbing as he raps zany rhymes of children’s literature over amazing hip-hop beats that both kids and parents love through StoryRaps on children’s streaming app Kidoodle.TV and YouTube. Throughout the two-day event, Wes will teach kids a magical form of storytelling that promises to be a blast!
Joe Wos – internationally-renowned cartoonist from Pittsburgh who started drawing mazes at the age of 7 and is regarded as a master maze maker. A fan favorite, Wos wows adults and children alike with real-time illustrations and storytelling.
The festival also showcases themed arts and crafts activities, writing and illustration workshops, new and used book sales, refreshments and more! Plus, every child who comes to the Book Festival will receive a free book from FirstBook.
For more information on the Children’s Book Festival of Johnstown, call 814-262-0732 extension 245 or visit thelearninglamp.org or like and follow our Facebook page at facebook.com/CBFJohnstown/.
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The Learning Lamp is a nonprofit organization with a mission to engage all children in the support they need to succeed. We deliver high quality programs that are affordable and accessible to families of all income levels. In 2020, The Learning Lamp served 28,938 youth/adults from 51 public school districts and 36 other schools and organizations in 13 Pennsylvania counties.
Our programs include: child care and preschool, after school programs, tutoring, SAT prep, school staffing, alternative education programs for at-risk students, online learning, credit recovery, drug and alcohol prevention programs, and grant writing and project consulting for schools.
@thelearninglamp:Ready to make a positive impact in the classroom? Ignite Education Solutions is hiring a part-time Substitute Personal Care Aide to work in the Greater Johnstown Area School District. Benefits include training and development opportunities and more! When school is off, you're off! Candidates must have a high school diploma and the ability to pass clearances. Apply online today at http://tiny.cc/4v3avz
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