Let's Read: A Celebration of Family Literacy
to
Pierson Auditorium on the University of Missouri, Kansas City campus Holmes, Kansas City, Missouri
Let's Read: A Celebration of Family Literacy will present Taye Diggs, actor & author, and Shane W. Evans, KC based illustrator in a community event at Pierson Auditorium on the University of Missouri, Kansas City campus.
Taye Diggs is an actor whose awards include an NAACP Image Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. His performance credits include motion pictures (How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Chicago), stage (Rent, Wicked), and television (The Good Wife, Private Practice).
Shane W. Evans is the illustrator of numerous award-winning books for children, including Underground, winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award; We March, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012, and Osceola, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.
Together, Diggs and Evans wrote and illustrated three books: I Love You More Than..., Chocolate Me!, and Mixed Me!
Diggs and Evans’ books exemplify the importance of representation, diversity, and inclusion in children’s literature through themes that embody the modern family and celebrate that which makes us unique. Literacy KC’s spring event will feature a panel discussion, meet and greet and a celebrity story time with the author and illustrator in April.
The organization will also be honoring Dr. Mark Bedell, Superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools, as a Community Partner for his work in leading the successful efforts toward full accreditation for the school district.
Literacy KC’s Family Reading Program, Let’s Read served over 1,500 adults and supplied over 4,400 books to families in Kansas City last year. Family reading programs are important to solving the problem of illiteracy, because children of parents with low literacy skills have a 72% chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves. This event will help raise funds for Literacy KC’s family reading program as well as other program and operating costs for the organization.
Sponsorship and single tickets are available. Contact Kate Brown at kbrown@literacykc.org to learn more about this or media opportunities related to the event.
About Literacy KC:
Literacy KC has been dedicated to changing lives through improving reading, numeracy and digital literacy for adults and their families in the KC metropolitan area for 33 years. The organization recently moved into a new location in the heart of the community it serves at 3036 Troost. More information about Literacy KC and how you can help can be found at http://www.literacykc.org.