天美传媒

by Rachel Voorhees

Author and keynote speaker Tom Lichtenheld drawing

In an age when technology is the primary focus of young people, it鈥檚 important to acknowledge books and the people who continue to keep alive students鈥� interest in reading. On October 18, on 鈥檚 Garden City campus, the hosted Lit-Fest, a conference cosponsored by the and the that brought together authors, librarians, educators and young readers.

First held in 1990, Lit-Fest has paved the way for other conferences of its kind, said Renee McGrath, manager of youth services for the Nassau Library System. The focus at Lit-Fest is on literature for children and young adults.

鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful to celebrate books; it’s what we’re about,鈥� said Judith Cohen, Ph.D., a literacy professor at Adelphi for 35 years. “We need to surround children with books, both to educate and inspire them.”

天美传媒 is the venue for Lit-Fest because of Ms. McGrath鈥檚 long-standing association with the University. Her two children graduated from Adelphi in 2010 and 2012, respectively. She has also worked with Adelphi faculty such as Dale Flashner, M.A. ’84, director of the graphic design studio, on logo designs for the New York Library Association’s Youth Services Section and the Long Island Library Conference.

Renee McGrath

鈥淚鈥檓 always here,鈥� Ms. McGrath said. 鈥淎delphi is a truly wonderful place to be.鈥�

Lit-Fest 2013 featured New York Times鈥� bestselling authors and as the keynote speakers. Both were eager to share their experiences about writing for children.

鈥淚 love talking to librarians and educators to find out what my books mean to them,鈥� said Mr. Lichtenheld, who has written or illustrated 16 books including Duck! Rabbit! and Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all book people,鈥� added Ms. Haddix, author of 25 books including Into the Gauntlet and Leaving Fishers.

Students, educators and librarians from schools across Long Island listened to the keynote speakers, participated in workshops and discussion groups and took a tour of Adelphi鈥檚 . Librarians learned about the research and creative processes involved in making children鈥檚 books, and the discussion groups allowed participants to share teaching ideas for a variety of books.

Keith Klang, a librarian at the and leader of the Guys Read discussion group, said keeping children, particularly boys, interested in reading is a librarian鈥檚 most important task.

Author and keynote speaker Margaret Peterson Haddix addressing the attendees at Lit-Fest

鈥淢y goal is to help other librarians reach boys in a better way,鈥� Mr. Klang said. 鈥淚f a young boy loses interest in reading, he may never get it back or it might not be until high school or college when he gets it back. In between that time [when he wasn鈥檛 reading] he could have been improving his reading skills.鈥�

Among the books discussed at Lit-Fest were Charlie Joe Jackson鈥檚 Guide to Summer Reading by Tommy Greenwald and You Never Heard of Willie Mays?! by Jonah Winter鈥攂ooks geared toward a young male audience.

Attendees look forward to this semiannual event at Adelphi and put into practice what they learn after the conference is over. Lit-Fest allows educators and librarians to share ideas on how to keep children engaged in reading, and to share with peers their passion for literature.

鈥淲e are lovers of stories,鈥� Ms. McGrath said. 鈥淲e know how special these books are and it鈥檚 great to come together to talk about them.鈥�