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 by
Jacqueline Monahan
jaxn8r@msn.com
Photos by Judy Thorburn
City of
Las Vegas presents the 2nd Annual Target Children’s Book Festival
The pages turned on Saturday, November 3rd in Centennial Plaza as the
2nd annual Target Children’s Book Festival got underway. Several open
air booths housed the activities, refreshments, authors and sponsors
that filled the plaza with books and balloons.
Represented were the Clark County School District, the Las Vegas-Clark
County Library District, (library card sign up, book exchange and
giveaways) Heaven Can Wait Sanctuary, Tino Turtle Travels, (about a
turtle who travels the world, camera and all) United Way Success by 6,
Wishingstone Publishing, Vegas PBS Ready To Learn, Book Pals, Clark
County Reads, (literacy program information and specialists), Nevada
Talking Book Services, and the Titanic and Bodies Exhibitions, featuring
hands on activities. I saw a mini skeleton and a full-size skull at this
booth.
Also featured were the children’s books of
www.HarmonySoup.com , the
Target Book Club, Nevada Kids to Kids, City of Las Vegas Office of
Cultural Affairs, an Arts and Crafts Booth, (construction paper pizzas
in their own authentic box) and Animalations Publishing (yes, animals
play a big role). Even the United States Air Force had a booth,
celebrating their 60th anniversary. Want to fly? You’d better learn how
to read first. How’s that for motivation?
The Library District distributed yellow back packs which the children
could begin to fill with free books from various sponsors. I saw several
that were stuffed until they could hold no more. A lifelong love of
books starts early, usually with the pride of ownership. “These are
mine!” one youngster was overheard to exclaim, carrying a backpack that
was almost as big as she was.
Children could also get their faces painted, their caricatures drawn,
and request balloon animals or the helium-filled kind, red or white with
the Target bull’s eye logo all over them. Some of these could be
observed escaping a small hand accidentally and becoming airborne.
Others popped unceremoniously, accompanied by startled looks and a
realization of cause and effect (using a balloon for a chair is not such
a good idea).
Walking amid the young readers were Tino the Traveling Turtle and The
Mad Hatter who juggled three bowling pins for anyone who’d stop and
stare for a few moments. Live characters from between the pages
encourage children to “look them up” so to speak, by opening a book.
Refreshments were provided free of charge by Dog Daze (hot dogs, chips,
bottles of water) and Snowie (shaved ice in a cup). Flavorings were
added by stepping over to a large, multi-sided dispenser and choosing
one (or several) toppings. Your humble correspondent chose a flavor trio
of banana, wild cherry and the fierce sounding tiger’s blood
(watermelon-strawberry) for an icy, blended taste treat.
The main stage featured an endless parade of stories and music, with
Phantom stars Brent Barrett and Kristi Holden, Michael Goudeau of “Lance
Burton, Master Magician”, and Channel 3 weatherman Kevin Janison reading
passages from their favorite books.
Janison also wrote his book, Deputy Dorkface, about a town that is not
allowed to bathe. While that premise was a hit with many of the kids in
the audience, the sentiment was not shared by their parents. Janison
engaged the audience with his broadcaster’s voice and sense of mischief,
handing out Deputy Dorkface sticker badges and asking the crowd if they
could think of one profession that didn’t require reading. No one could,
but Janison admitted that rodeo barrel-racing once stumped him.
Musical entertainment was provided by the United States Air Force Band
of the Golden West (wind instruments) and Viva Mexico, a children’s band
comprised of guitars, violins, trumpets and a large bass fiddle.
Local authors Carla Masterson (What’s On the Other Side of the
Rainbow?), Sandy Hogan (Reginald and Elizabeth, Lions of Moremi) and
Eric Blanc (The Success of Robert Fitzgibbons) manned their booths ready
to tell a story or sign a book quicker than you could say “Once upon a
time.” Masterson’s book offers a much-needed reassurance to children
about feelings, manners and self-esteem. There’s a surprise on the very
last page.
Literacy enrichment events like this are especially important to our
state. In 2005 Nevada’s youth ranked 43rd nationally in reading and the
average Nevada 4th grader reads below the basic level. Making reading
fun through efforts such as this make everyone a winner.
The Target Children’s Book Festival is a program of the Vegas Valley
Book Festival, which is presented by Nevada Humanities and the City of
Las Vegas.
For more information:
http://www.vegasvalleybookfest.org
http://www.artslasvegas.org
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