2013 Elementary Literature Fest Coming to St. Charles

St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 and the St. Charles Public Library are joining to present “Get Connected: The 2013 Elementary Literature Festival” which will take place April 15-19.

Most of the week’s feature events will involve prominent, award winning authors and illustrators of children’s books in-person making in-person visits to District 303’s 12 elementary schools. For the first time, some authors will appear in classrooms via Skype.

“Our message during this Literature Festival will be that we need to do everything we can to get kids connected to reading” said Peter Vander Bleek, the learning resource director at Bell-Graham Elementary. “Because of the availability of text on technology such as computers and tablets, kids have more access to literature and knowledge than ever. The Literature Festival has always been about connecting kids with reading by getting books in their hands and putting kids in the company of published authors, who discuss their craft.”

The Storytellers Olio is the highlight of the Literature Festival. The olio will be Thursday, April 18, at the , and is free to the public and is open to all readers. Four big-name storytellers, who were guests of the Literature Festival, will present their best stories for the enjoyment of the audience. A pipe organ concert begins the evening’s events at 6 p.m. and the storytelling starts at 7 p.m.

The festival is a co-operative effort of St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 and the St. Charles Public Library, the Parent-Teacher Organizations of the 12 elementary schools, the St. Charles Education Association, the Greater St. Charles Education Foundation and Onesti Entertainment Corporation.

For more information, visit www.d303.com and select Elementary Literature School Festival from the Calendar of Events.

Some of the authors and illustrators scheduled to appear at the schools include:

• Dan Gutman author of “The Genius” series, “My Weird School” series and “Baseball Card Adventures” series.
• Kate Klise, author of the multiple award-winning books Regarding the Fountain and Dying to Meet You.
• Amy Krouse-Rosenthal, author of Duck Rabbit!, It’s Not Fair! and The OK Book.
• Aaron Reynolds, author of the New York Times Bestseller and 2013 Caldecott Honor Book Creepy Carrots!
• Sally Walker, author of 2006 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner Secrets of a Civil War Submarine, along with the critically acclaimed Frozen Secrets: Antarctica Revealed and Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917.

SOURCE: St. Charles Community Unit School District 303