Friday, April 15, 2011

April Literacy Events!

Reading Rockets and AdLit.org Accepting Entries for Citizen Writer Contest Through April 30

This year's contest challenges students to think and learn more about America's people, places, and ideals as they write.  
 
To inspire maximum creativity, four very different kinds of writing prompts are being offered, each designed to match students' interests and stretch their creative skills. For kids who enjoy visualizing their ideas, the Mapmaker challenge could be a perfect fit; or, if you have students gifted in music and poetry, they might want to try the In Verse challenge, which  asks students to write songs and poems.  The Take a Letter challenge invites students to write a letter to a person in history, and the Free to... challenge invites students to exercise their freedom by writing a short essay or article about an issue important to them.

Prize winners will have their work published on
Reading Rockets and AdLit.org
and will receive a gift basket of age-appropriate books and a personalized certificate. 
 
Dia Event Celebrates Many Children, Many Cultures, Many Books 

El día de los niños/El día de los libros
(Children's Day/Book Day), known as Día, is a celebration EVERY DAY of children, families, and reading that culminates every year on April 30.  
 
 


Award-winning children’s author Pat Mora will join the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) for the national kick-off 15th anniversary celebration of Día at the Valencia Branch of the Pima County Library System from 11:30 – 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, 2011. Learn more. Pat Mora will also be celebrating Díapalooza on her blog  by posting a Día related item and reflection each day.
 
Read a Poem a Day to Celebrate Poetry Month!
National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996 with the ultimate goal of widening the attention of individuals and the media—to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books and journals of wide aesthetic range and concern. This year the Academy offers a list of 30 ways (one activity for each day of the month!) you can celebrate National Poetry Month.  Read the list here!

Authors Patricia MacLachlan and Gregory Maguire to Speak April 27 
Celebrated authors Patricia MacLachlan and Gregory Maguire will lead a discussion about books, writing, and children's literacy on Wednesday, April 27th.  A question and answer period will follow, along with a reception for the public.

The event will take place from 6:00 to 9:00 at the Thoreau School, 29 Prairie Street, Concord, MA. Tickets are $18 ahead of time, $20 at the door, and $10 for university students with an ID; children are free of charge.  All proceeds will benefit the Evergreen Garden Playschool, a Waldorf inspired preschool and kindergarten in Devens, MA.