Bookmark Reveal: The 2018 Children’s Book Week Bookmarks Are In With Big Old Names Attached

Every year I reveal the bookmarks released in conjunction with that most honorable and long lasting children’s literature tradition, Children’s Book Week. Originally established in 1919 (which, obviously, means that next year there’s going to be a great big party to celebrate the centennial), Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. The program is administered by Every Child a Reader and the Children’s Book Council (CBC) is the anchor sponsor. To celebrate, the CBC organizes the week, creates the Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards, and creates promotional materials like posters and bookmarks.

This year, the CBC was not content to settle on a single artist. How about five instead? Available to print here, let me lay them on you. They are:

Don Tate

Felicita Sala

Leo Espinosa

Sophie Blackall

Vashti Harrison

Nice, right?

Children’s Book Week resources are available here, while voting for the Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards begins March 1 and ends May 6, the last day of Children’s Book Week. You can read up on the awards here, if you like. And to round us off, here’s the press release for the entire endeavor.

Thanks to Shaina Birkhead for helping to make this happen.

Five New 2018 Children’s Book Week Bookmarks Revealed

Featuring Sophie Blackall, Leo Espinosa, Vashti Harrison, Felicita Sala, and Don Tate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY – Feb. 26, 2018 – Every Child a Reader is proud to announce that the official new 2018 Children’s Book Week bookmarks have been designed by five award-winning and bestselling children’s book illustrators. The bookmarks are part of the new 2018 resource materials being posted online, as over 700 schools, libraries, and bookstores prepare for the 99th annual Children’s Book Week. From April 30 thru May 6, these locations will host Book Week events using a wide array of downloadable materials.

Also available now are materials for voting for the 2018 Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards, which runs from March 1 to May 6. Online are voting booth instructions, ballots, I Voted badges, and much more; these awards are the only national book awards voted on only by children and teens.

Shaina Birkhead, Programming and Strategic Partnerships Director for Every Child a Reader, said: “The Children’s Book Week bookmark is a beloved annual tradition and we are honored by the talent and time that these five illustrators were able to give in the creation of materials that get kids excited about reading. And the award voting is a great time for kids to “voice their choice!”

About the Illustrators

Sophie Blackall is the bestselling and Caldecott medal-winning artist behind Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear. Her work has appeared in the bestselling Ivy and Bean series and many award-winning picture books.

Leo Espinosa is an award-winning illustrator and designer from Bogotá, Colombia, whose work has been featured in The New Yorker, Wired, Esquire, The New York Times, and The Atlantic, and has been recognized by American Illustration and the Society of Illustrators.

Vashti Harrison is an author, Illustrator, and filmmaker with a love for storytelling. While working for her MFA in Film and Video from CalArts, she snuck into animation classes to learn from Disney and DreamWorks legends. Her debut book, Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, was a bestseller in 2017.

Felicita Sala is a self-taught illustrator who has worked on several animation projects along with husband Gianluca, but her passion is making picture books. Ode to an Onion, written by Alexandria Giardino, will be released in Fall 2018.

Don Tate is the illustrator of many award-winning books, including The Cart That Carried Martin, Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite, and Summer Sun Risin’. With the publication of It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw, Don began a new career as a children’s book author.
About Every Child a Reader

Every Child a Reader is a 501(c)(3) literacy charity dedicated to inspiring a lifelong love of reading in children and teens across America. Every Child a Reader’s three major national programs are: Children’s Book Week, celebrating 99 years this April 30-May 6, 2018; the Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards; and the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature program, in partnership with the Library of Congress. The 2018-2019 National Ambassador is Jacqueline Woodson.

Media Contact: Shifa Kapadwala shifa.kapadwala@cbcbooks.org

Filed under: Press Release Fun