Award-winning illustrator to headline Plum Creek Literacy endowment event

Caldecott award-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney presented “A Sense of Place: Real and Imagined,” at this year’s endowment event to support children’s literacy through Concordia’s annual Plum Creek Children’s Literacy Festival. The event took place at The Cornhusker in Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday, Sept. 24.

Pinkney also received the first Spirit of Literacy Award at the event. The award was designed by Concordia’s art instructor Seth Boggs and is a significant development in the festival’s goal of recognizing individuals who have invested their talents in promoting literacy education.

In his book, The Lion and the Mouse, Pinkney brings to life one of his favorite Aesop fables. “I was inspired by the majestic king of the jungle saved by the determination and hard work of a humble rodent,” Pinkney explains in the artist’s notes for the book. “A wordless version seemed quite natural; these engaging characters led me to make the story fuller by providing a sense of family and setting.”

In addition to Pinkney, festival authors and illustrators Bill Harley, Grace Lin, Brian Pinkney, Roland Smith, Barbara Robinson, Eileen Christelow and Dyanne DiSalvo were on hand to entertain the audience.

The endowment evening included a dinner, autographed book sales and a silent auction that showcased many one-of-a-kind items donated by well-known authors, illustrators and artists.

The event helps the festival stay on firm financial footing. Over the past 16 years the festival has grown from hosting 200 children to having nearly 9,000 children and adult attendees.