Johnstown, PA (Feb. 6, 2019) –The Children’s Book Festival of Johnstown is an annual event that connects top-selling, critically-acclaimed children’s authors, illustrators and storytellers with area kids. To kick off the festival, The Learning Lamp is calling on local students to create bookmarks that reflects the theme of this year’s event: Pails, Scales & Tails. The theme is selected based on books written and illustrated by the 2019 featured artists. They include stories of construction sites (pails), fish (scales) and puppies (tails). Children can create a bookmark using one or all of these concepts. The bookmarks will be on display at the 11th annual festival, which takes place April 6 and 7 at Bottle Works Arts 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 at The Learning Lamp. “It’s a delight when we receive packages from local schools stuffed full of colorful and creative bookmarks that students spent time working on. Last year, we received 596 entries and this year we hope to receive even more!”
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 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. Rules and entry forms have been delivered to area schools. 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 sent to The Learning Lamp at 2025 Bedford St., Johnstown PA, 15904. The deadline to submit is March 22, 2019 by 5 p.m.
The Children’s Book Festival of Johnstown is spearheaded by The Learning Lamp. Its goal is to provide quality, interactive literary experiences that inspire children to read and encourage families to read together. Highlights of the weekend include visits from:
Sherri Duskey Rinker – the New York Times bestselling author of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, Mighty, Mighty Construction Site and Steam Train Dream Train .
Barry Louis Polisar – five-time Parents’ Choice Award winner, author, songwriter, poet and storyteller. Polisar has written songs for Sesame Street and The Weekly Reader.
Tom Watson – author of the popular Stick Dog and Stick Cat early chapter book series. (Teacher guides and activity kits available at http://stickdogbooks.com!)
Joe Wos – internationally-renowned cartoonist from Pittsburgh. Wos started drawing mazes at the age of 7 and is regarded as a master maze maker.
The festival also showcases themed arts and crafts activities, writing/rhyming workshops and a STEAM-based workshop featuring The Learning Lamp To Go program – a children’s mobile makerspace that encourages exploration, innovation and tinkering through hands-on projects with a STEAM (science, engineering, technology, art and math) focus. Families will also find new and used book sales, and refreshments. Plus, every child who comes to the Book Festival will receive with 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/.
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. The Learning Lamp served 37,197 children and adults from 52 school districts and 71 private and private schools and other organizations in 19 Pennsylvania counties and communities in Maryland and West Virginia in 2017.
Our programs include: one-to-one tutoring; before/after school programs; portable classrooms aimed at building math and science skills; alternative education programs for at-risk students; evidence-based prevention programs; online learning and credit recovery; SAT preparation; educationally-focused child care; literacy-based preschool programs; and grant writing and project consulting for schools.
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