FGCU’s College of Education, in partnership with the Southwest Florida Reading Festival, hosts a literacy festival on Friday, Feb. 3 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Library Lawn. The event is free and open to the public. It was originally scheduled in October but postponed due to weather.
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. The public will have the opportunity to purchase books from the authors.
Presenters are:
- 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.
For more information, contact Assistant Professor in the College of Education Cynthia Dawn Martelli at (239) 590-7765.