Shreve Memorial Library will join libraries, schools, bookstores and organizations across the United States in celebrating Children’s Book Week May 1 through May 7. Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. The 2023 theme for Children’s Book Week is “Read Books. Spark Change.” and reminds all of the power that books and stories have to inspire positive change. Shreve Memorial Library branches throughout Caddo Parish will celebrate Children’s Book Week with special storytime programs throughout the week and conclude Children’s Book Week with the Shreve Memorial Library Children’s Book Festival on Saturday, May 6. All storytime programs and the Shreve Memorial Library Children’s Book Festival are free and open to the public.
Throughout Children’s Book Week, library branches will host storytime program for early learners. Each storytime program will highlight the work of children’s authors such as Brian Lies, Kwame Mbalia, Judd Winick, John Gallagher, Laura Numeroff, Mo Willems, Eric Carle and more, featuring stories that inspire readers. Storytime programs combine storytelling with interactive game play, rhymes, crafts and fun to encourage a love of reading, early literacy, and vocabulary development. Children’s Book Week storytime programs are scheduled as follows:
Monday, May 1
11:00 AM Drop-In Storytime at Rodessa Branch, 10093 Main Street, Rodessa
12:00 PM Spontaneous Storytime Anytime at Gilliam Branch, 12797 Main Street, Gilliam
4:00 PM Children’s Book Week Read-In at West Shreveport Branch, 4380 Pines Road
4:00 PM Children’s Book Week: Watercolor Bookmarks at North Shreveport Branch, 4844 North Market Street
4:30 PM Children’s Book Week Storytime at Hollywood/Union Avenue Branch, 2105 Hollywood Avenue
Tuesday, May 2
11:00 AM Impromptu Storytime at Oil City Branch, 102 Allen Street, Oil City
11:00 AM Drop-In Storytime at Rodessa Branch
12:00 PM Spontaneous Storytime Anytime at Gilliam Branch
4:00 PM Children’s Book Week Read-In at West Shreveport Branch
Wednesday, May 3
10:00 AM Read Me a Story at Mooretown Branch, 4360 Hollywood Avenue
10:00 AM Preschool Storytime at Broadmoor Branch, 1212 Captain Shreve Drive
11:00 AM Drop-In Storytime at Rodessa Branch
3:30 PM Judd Winick: Children’s Book Week Author Spotlight at Cedar Grove-Line Avenue Branch, 8303 Line
Avenue
4:00 PM Children’s Book Week Read-In at West Shreveport Branch
4:00 PM Little Bats Craft at Atkins Branch, 3704 Greenwood Road
Thursday, May 4
10:00 AM Children’s Book Week Celebration at David Raines Branch, 2855 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
10:30 AM Terrific Thursday Storytime at Hamilton/South Caddo Branch, 2111 Bert Kouns Industrial Loop
11:00 AM Drop-In Storytime at Rodessa Branch
11:00 AM Impromptu Storytime at Oil City Branch
12:00 PM Spontaneous Storytime Anytime at Gilliam Branch
4:00 PM Children’s Book Festival Storytime at Belcher-Wyche Branch, 409 Charles Street, Belcher
4:00 PM Children’s Book Week Read-In at Higginbotham-Bryson Branch, 9359 Greenwood Road, Greenwood
4:00 PM Children’s Book Week Read-In at West Shreveport Branch
4:00 PM Stuffed Animal Sleepover at North Caddo Branch, 615 N. Pine Street, Vivian
Friday, May 5
4:00 PM Children’s Book Week Read-In at West Shreveport Branch
Shreve Memorial Library will wrap up its Children’s Book Week Celebration with the annual Shreve Memorial Library Children’s Book Festival. The festival will be held on Saturday, May 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the beautiful campus of LSUS. The daylong event features national and local children’s book authors and illustrators, costumed characters, activities and games for children of all ages, author talks, and lots of fun. This year’s festival features award-winning authors Brian Lies, Dhonielle Clayton, John Gallagher, Kwame Mbalia and Judd Winick. Admission to the festival is free and open to the public.
Children’s Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading. Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, young people across the country participate by attending events at schools, libraries, bookstores, celebrating at home, and engaging with book creators both online and in person. The 2023 Children’s Book Week will take place during two dedicated weeks of celebration, May 1 – 7 and November 6 – 12. For more information about Children’s Book Week, visit www.everychildareader.net/cbw/ and follow #ReadBooksSparkChange on social media to see how readers across the country are celebrating.
For more information about Children’s Book Week storytimes and the Shreve Memorial Library Children’s Book Festival, please visit www.shreve-lib.org.
About Shreve Memorial Library
Shreve Memorial Library transforms Caddo Parish lives with resources, services and support to create a better world. Focusing on service priority areas of creating and maintaining young readers, stimulating imagination, providing lifelong learning, information fluency, and ready references, and informing citizens, Shreve Memorial Library’s 21-branch system is maintained by a parish-wide property tax millage to support the informational, educational and recreational needs of its constituents. For more information, visit www.shreve-lib.org, like on Facebook, and follow @shrevememorial on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Remember to dream, discover, do – Shreve Memorial Library and you!
