Helping hands: Book fair highlights love of reading, supports Mid-State Literacy Academy
Ahead of Mid-State Literacy Council’s book fair with Barnes & Noble starting Friday, Wanda Mertick, MSLC board member and chair of MSLC/B&N book fair committee, shared the following:
I read to my children from infancy until they were in late elementary school, but then I stumbled across “Honey For A Child’s Heart” by Gladys M. Hunt. Along with many excellent recommendations for books for children of all ages, one of the points she made was to continue reading to children, even when they are independent readers.
So, I started reading aloud again, and many wonderful memories were made over the years — reading “The Book Thief” as a family and then going to a school auditorium to Zoom live with the author as part of the Centre County Reads event; passing “Little Women” to my daughter to read aloud as I couldn’t speak through my tears; turning the illustrated pages of “Hugo” to see what Hugo was holding in his hand only to find our “Harry Potter” bookmark nestled on the page (we laughed so hard!) to name a few. My children are in their 20s now and they fondly remember our experiences of reading together.
Mid-State Literacy Council’s book fair with Barnes and Noble is an amazing partnership that helps raise awareness for literacy, puts books in the hands of people we serve, and allows us to purchase much-needed resources. This year, as you explore the bookstore for gifts for yourself, others, and, by extension, Mid-State Literacy, perhaps you will find inspiration for reading aloud to others.
Here is the schedule of events for the book fair:
Friday
7 p.m.: Jeffry Wert, author of “The Heart of Hell: The Soldiers’ Struggle for Spotsylvania’s Bloody Angle”
Saturday
10 a.m.: Elaine Berrena, Mindfulness: Practicing Gratitude and Improving Well-Being (age 10 and up)
11 a.m.: National Children’s Story Time with Wanda Mertick and Ashley Kraige
11 a.m.: The State College Poetry Workshop Readings
11:15 a.m.: Colleen Connolly-Ahern author of “Make Book Club Lit Again: Recipes and Ideas to Bring Classics to Life”
noon: Children’s Drum Circle with Jenn Bittner
12:30 p.m.: Cupcakes for all and Thankfulness Celebration, Ruth C. Kistler Service Award
1 p.m.: J. L. Delozier, author of “The Photo Thief”
2 p.m. panel: How We Write: Connecting Internally and Externally, Privately and Publicly Authors: J. L. Delozier, Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, Elizabeth Parfitt, Stan Hunter Kranc, Lori Duffy Foster
3 p.m.: Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, author of “The Restless Crucible”
4 p.m.: Musical Performance by State College Suzuki Program
5 p.m.: Trisha Ann McKee, author of books “The Last Time We Met”, “Winter’s Promise”, “Christmas Bump”
6 p.m.: Annika Sharma author of “Love, Chai & Other Four-Letter Words”
Sunday
1 p.m.: Marsha Ann Tate & Earl Houser, author of “Images of America Bellefonte”
2 p.m.: Charles Springer poet, and author of “Nowhere Now Here”