January 12, 2024Every Child a Reader, On Our Radar

SOPHIE BLACKALL IS THE 2024 CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK POSTER ARTIST & OFFICIAL SPOKESPERSON

The Children’s Book Council, Every Child a Reader, and Random House Children’s Books are pleased to announce that Sophie Blackall has been chosen as the illustrator for the 2024 Children’s Book Week featuring the theme, No Rules. Just Read.

Blackall will also be the official spokesperson for Children’s Book Week in May 2024, with media appearances and a special live-streamed event planned.

This year marks the 105^th anniversary of Children’s Book Week, the longest-running children’s literacy campaign in the United States. Children’s Book Week is celebrated across the country in schools, public and school libraries, bookstores, community centers, and homes via story times, activity hours, author and illustrator events, scheduled reading time, and more.

You can view Blackall’s brilliant art, which vividly captures the spirit of No Rules. Just Read. on the Every Child a Reader website.

“I feel extremely honored to be the official spokesperson and illustrator for this year’s Children’s Book Week poster,” says Blackall. “To read is one of the most liberating pursuits available to us as human beings. It can open our minds and change our perspectives. It is a delight and an adventure. I wholeheartedly support children being able to select their own books and read them, however, wherever they choose. On the bus or upside down or in a tree. I am excited to follow in the footsteps of so many of my children’s book heroes to help promote the joy of reading, to celebrate the power of storytelling, and to applaud the boundless imagination that resides within every child.”

Shaina Birkhead, Associate Executive Director at Every Child a Reader said “Sophie Blackall has been a longtime supporter of Children’s Book Week and we are so thrilled that she has now joined the pantheon of poster illustrators for this beloved program. Children’s Book Week celebrates young readers and their right to find the books that speak to them and shape them for the future. Sophie’s visual interpretation of No Rules. Just Read. perfectly captures the joy in reading what you want, when you want, and however you want!”

The spring 2024 Children Book Week will be held May 6-12, with more news about the November Book Week to come.

Schools, libraries, bookstores, and other locations are invited to sign up today through March 1 to participate. Every participating librarian, teacher, bookstore, and parent will receive two posters in April, as well as links to downloadable bookmarks and activity pages. All materials will also be in Spanish. Further information on where to register for school, library, and bookstore events on an interactive map will be provided in March, as well as a list of local authors and illustrators available to do readings during Children’s Book Week.

Sign up here!

See the official poster reveal on Publisher’s Weekly here.

About Sophie Blackall

SOPHIE BLACKALL is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning illustrator of over 50 books for children, including the Caldecott Medal-winning Finding Winnie and Hello, Lighthouse, and the Ivy and Bean series. Her most recent picture book, Farmhouse, was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and her forthcoming picture book Ahoy! (April 2024), which celebrates imaginative play and features a fresh, new illustration style, will surely grab the attention of fans and reviewers alike. Sophie grew up on the beach in Australia, but now lives far from the coast, in upstate New York. When she gets restless on dry land, she imagines herself at sea, which is how Ahoy! came about.

About Every Child a Reader

EVERY CHILD A READER is a 501(c)(3) award-winning literacy charity whose popular national programs include Children’s Book Week, the longest-running literacy initiative in the country, celebrating 104 years in 2023; Get Caught Reading, a classroom poster project; and the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature program, in partnership with the Library of Congress. Every Child a Reader is managed by the staff of the Children’s Book Council and funded by grants and donors.

About Random House Children’s Books

RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN’S BOOKS (rhcbooks.com) is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, ebooks, and apps, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House is the longtime home of the beloved and bestselling Dr. Seuss books, which continue to make learning to read fun for millions of children everywhere. Random House Children’s Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

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