Lewis & Clark Library Awarded a 2018 Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant
December 28, 2018 (Helena, MT)—Lewis & Clark Library Children’s Librarian Marissa Bazan announced this week that she has been awarded an Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant to fund a special STREAM Story Time in January. The Lewis & Clark Library is one of 70 educators/libraries in the country to receive this mini-grant, and the only organization in Montana to receive an Ezra Jack Keats grant.
Since 1987, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, which fosters children’s love of reading and creative expression in this diverse culture, has awarded annual grants of up to $500 each to qualifying teachers and librarians in public schools and public libraries. Educators and librarians apply with a proposal for a creative, innovative, and imaginative program for their students, which may fall within the curriculum or outside it as a special project.
“We are thrilled to receive an Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant,” stated Bazan. Bazan will use the grant to host a STREAM Story Time featuring Ezra Jack Keats story, Peter’s Chair, on Saturday, January 5th at 10:30AM. Peter’s Chair is the story of Peter, who has a new baby sister. First his father paints Peter’s old cradle pink, then his high chair, and then his crib. Then his parents want to paint Peter’s chair! “Let’s run away, Willie,” he says to his dog. And they do. Bazan explains that “Peter’s Chair is a gentle and reassuring story about sibling rivalry. This program is intended for preschoolers, ages 3-5, and will feature a STEM activity.”
STREAM programing focuses on Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Math and Bazan feels that it is important to cultivate a child’s creativity while encouraging them to explore their world through stories and early literacy programs. “Getting kids excited about reading is what matters most.”
Ezra Jack Keats was an award-winning author and illustrator of books for children.
He is best known for Caldecott Award-winning book, The Snowy Day, about a little boy playing in the snow. First published in 1962, this now-classic book broke the color barrier in mainstream children’s publishing. The vivid and ageless illustrations and text, beloved by several generations of readers, have earned a place in the pantheon of great American children’s literature.
Many of Ezra’s stories are about a group of friends growing up in the city. The
neighborhood they live in looks like the streets where Ezra grew up in
Brooklyn, New York.
For more information on Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grants, visit: http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/faq/faq-mini-grants/ and for more information on Ezra Jack Keats books visit: http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/.
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