Press Releases: 2006-07

Keats’ grant buys books for Cortland and DeKalb Libraries

March 30, 2007

The Family Literacy Program at Kishwaukee College partnered with the Cortland Community Library and the DeKalb Public Library for a series of programs aimed at pre-school children and their families that was made possible by grants from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.  Keats was an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator whose books broke new ground as timeless stories that featured children of color as protagonists and the inner city as a setting. The programs at both Libraries were designed by Carla Raynor, Coordinator of the Family Literacy Program at Kishwaukee College, and incorporated literacy and art with an emphasis on the multi-cultural experience.  As part of the grants, both Libraries received copies of the works of Ezra Jack Keats.  Pictured with several of the books received via the grant are, L to R, Barb Coward, Director of the Cortland Community Library; Carla Raynor, Coordinator of the Family Literacy Program; and Theresa Winterbauer, Youth Services Librarian at the DeKalb Public Library.