The will co-host the , a series of virtual events to help promote appreciation of children’s literature. The free online conference will run from June 4¨C8, and is sponsored by . It will feature storytelling, educational workshops and presentations tailored toward keiki surrounding this year¡¯s theme, “A Net Full of Stories, Imagined and Real.”
The 2021 conference will be held on Oʻahu and Â鶹´«Ã½ Island. It will stream online June 4–8, from Tenney Theatre and Chaminade University. UH Hilo will host a virtual event on June 7, which .
Â鶹´«Ã½ native Lehua Parker, author of several award-winning books including 2017 N¨¥n¨¥ Award nominee One Boy, No Water, will headline conference events on Oʻahu.
Â鶹´«Ã½ Island award-winning artist and author Caren Loebel-Fried, known for her eco-focused hand-colored block prints will be a featured guest at UH Hilo¡¯s event.
“The UH Hilo English department is delighted to host a one-day Children¡¯s Literature Â鶹´«Ã½ webinar,” said Kirsten Møllegaard, professor and chair of UH Hilo¡¯s English department. “In organizing the Hilo event, we¡¯ve made an effort to celebrate the creativity, artistry and joy of working with children and literature that exist in our local communities.”
The Hilo campus¡¯ event will also feature UH Hilo faculty Justina Mattos, an assistant professor of performing arts who recently received the UH Regents Medal for Excellence in Teaching and Kamalani Johnson, a lecturer and curriculum specialist at . Other speakers include a roundtable of children¡¯s librarians from public libraries in Kona, Kealakekua and Hilo.
Audiences will also hear from local and national writers, artists, educators, scholars and performers during the conference.
—By Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women¡¯s studies from UH Hilo.