The 14th annual Plum Creek Children's Literacy Festival hosted by Concordia brought several thousand children to campus on Friday. Young students from all over the Midwest attended sessions with nationally acclaimed authors and illustrators and participated in a variety of literacy activities. New this year was a session for sixth- through eighth-graders called "Music Alive!" by Concordia's music department.
"Although the festival has grown from an initial attendance of 200 to thousands, the festival atmosphere has remained the same," said Dr. Janell Uffelman, festival director and one of its founding members. "Authors, illustrators, children, adults, donors and volunteers have all come to embrace the joy of reading and the mission of the festival."
On Saturday Concordia hosted the adult conference for the festival. Saturday's schedule included a wide variety of workshops presented by authors, illustrators and literacy experts. Carmen Deedy was the luncheon guest speaker. Deedy is the award-winning author of numerous best-selling children's books including her newest picture book, Martina, the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale. Book sales will be available throughout the conference.
"It is so encouraging to see all of the smiling faces on campus," said Vikki Gremel, festival coordinator. "The festival is a lot of work, but seeing those faces makes it all worthwhile!"
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This year's festival authors and illustrators:
- John Archambault is dedicated to making reading comfortable, stimulating, and above all, fun for young readers. Archambault's books include Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, chosen to be included in the Twenty-first Century Literature Collection; and The Ghost-Eye Tree, a Children's Choice designation and Irma Simonton Black Honor Book. Archambault is also an accomplished songwriter and has recorded several CDs of children's tunes.
- David Biedrzycki has produced illustrations for newspapers, magazines, ad agencies and design firms, in addition to illustrating many books. Biedrzycki will bring his illustrations to life on a digital drawing pad, creating a unique illustration that children will be able to access on the web.
- Carmen Deedy, award-winning Cuban-born author of numerous best-selling children's books, draws from her love of laughter, Cuban folklore and family. Her newest picture book, Martina, the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale, promises to have readers thinking of cockroaches in a whole new way.
- John R. Erickson started his own publishing company in his garage and self-published the first ten Hank the Cowdog stories. Hank the Cowdog is now a nationally-known character, and his books and tapes have sold in the millions.
- Shelley Gill of Homer, Alaska, lives her books, telling true stories of her adventures and sharing her love of the beautiful Pacific Northwest and Alaska. She has authored more than 20 children's books, including AlaskA, Hawai'i, Kiana's Iditarod and Sitka Rose. She has also developed accompanying curriculum for many of her books that feature active learning activities across the disciplines.
- Gordon Korman of Long Island, N.Y., is a New York Times bestselling author of more than sixty books for kids and young adults, most recently Swindle, The Juvie Three and One False Note, the second installment in the multi-author series The 39 Clues. Over fifteen million copies of his novels are in print, and his books have been translated into French, Swedish, Danish, Spanish, Norwegian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Greek and Thai.
- Preston McDaniels of Aurora, Neb., turned his drawing hobby into a career. Since then, he has illustrated 25 books, including all the books in Cynthia Rylant's award-winning Lighthouse Family series and the Phineas MacGuire series written by Frances O'Roark Dowell. In addition to illustrating, he has also written his first book, A Perfect Snowman.
See also: www.cune.edu/PlumCreek