The College of Education aims to instill the need to read in children and young adults with its first FGCU Literacy Festival on Friday, Oct. 7.
The event is free and open to the public and features author presentations, book signings and more from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Great Lawn in front of the FGCU Library and various campus locations (schedule below). The festival features sessions with children’s and young-adult authors and book signings. Andy Larson from Thinkersize, a pioneer in educational gaming with Cranium CoRE, will also present.
Students from Title I schools in five area counties — schools with high percentages of children from lower-income families — will take part in the festival and each child will receive a free book. College of Education students — some of whom may one day teach in these Southwest Florida schools — will read and have activities around the library lawn throughout the festival.
For more information, contact Dawn Martelli, Assistant Professor in the College of Education, at (239) 590-7765.
Presenters
- Debra Frasier: Author and illustrator of award-winning picture books, including “On the Day You Were Born” and “Miss Alaineus, A Vocabulary Disaster.”
- Sharon Flake: Author of young-adult literature including “The Skin I’m In,” “Money Hungry” and “Unstoppable Octobia May.”
- Edward Bloor: Author of young adult fiction, including “Tangerine,” “London Calling,” “Story Time,” “Taken” and “A Plague Year.”
- Mark Wayne Adams: Author and illustrator of “Outback,” “Jilli, That’s Silly!” and “Best Sketchbook.”
- David Mark Lopez: Known for writing the “Maddie’s Magic Markers” series, including “Ride Like an Indian” and “Run Like a Fugitive.” He lives in Bonita Springs.
- Lynn Morgan: Wrote two books about her dog, “April the Aussie” and “April the Aussie: Two Years Later.” She lives in Naples.
- Lisa Wroble: Author of “Food for a Greener Planet” and “Kids in Pioneer Times.”
- Andy Larson: Co-founder and idea generator for Thinkersize, which has become the largest school library automation company in the world. Cranium CoRE is an online product of Thinkersize dedicated to improving student engagement in a challenging and interactive gaming environment that supports the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
