In honor of the late Augusta Baker's 100th birthday and the 25th annual A(ugusta) Baker's Dozen--A Celebration of Stories, this year's event is a special three day festival featuring award winning authors Leonard Marcus and Patricia Reilly Giff. Events will take place April 14-16 at the University of South Carolina and the Main Library, 1431 Assembly St., Columbia.
Patricia Reilly Giff has written more than 100 books for elementary and middle school readers. Her latest book, Storyteller, received both critical acclaim and starred reviews. She received the Newbery Honor for Pictures of Hollis Woods and Lily's Crossing, which was also named a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. Nory Ryan's Song was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA Notable Book.
Leonard Marcus is a renowned historians and critic, and one of the children's book world's liveliest writers and speakers. His highly acclaimed books include Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon, and many others. He reviews for The New York Times Book Review, and his reviews have appeared in Parenting magazine for 21 years.
This year's three-day event kicks off with An Evening with Leonard Marcus at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 14 at the University of South Carolina in the Hollings Library. Festivities continue with the Augusta Baker Lecture by Patricia Reilly Giff at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 15 at the Main Library, 1431 Assembly St. Storytelling for Families features regional and local storytellers appearing from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 16 at the Main Library. All events are free and open to the public.
The celebration honors nationally-known author and storyteller Augusta Baker and continues her legacy of inspiring others to introduce children to the magic of literature and stories. Baker, who spent most of her professional career serving as Coordinator of Children's Services at the New York Public Library, moved to Columbia in 1980 and was the storyteller-in-residence at USC until her death in 1998.
To further Augusta Baker's efforts to introduce children to quality literature, the event also features Storytelling for Fourth Graders on Friday morning. The invitation-only event brings together more than 2,000 fourth graders on the grounds of the historic Robert Mills House in Columbia to hear regional and local storytellers.
A(ugusta) Baker's Dozen is presented by the Richland County Public Library, the USC School of Library and Information Science, and the Friends of RCPL. Additional 2011 sponsors include: C.G. Fuller Foundation, Baker & Baker Fund for Children's Literacy, Historic Columbia Foundation, Richland County School District One, The IF Foundation and the Gayle Holmes Storytelling Fund of the RCPL Foundation.
For more information on the event or the authors, visit http://myrcpl.com/children/augusta-bakers-dozen.
