A(ugusta) Baker's Dozen:
A Celebration of Stories
RCPL’s annual storytelling festival, cosponsored by the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science, brings to life the world of storytelling and children’s literature. The festival honors the works and achievements of nationally-known author and storyteller Augusta Baker, who moved to Columbia in 1980 and was appointed the Storyteller-in-Residence at USC.
2008 A(ugusta) Baker’s Dozen
Walter Wick, photographer of Scholastic’s highly acclaimed I Spy series, will be the featured guest for the 22nd annual A(ugusta) Baker's Dozen - A Celebration of Stories on April 18-19 at the Main Library.
Wick grew up in rural Connecticut and loved to experiment with everyday objects—he built stilts from old tree limbs and skateboards from plywood and roller skates. In high school, he developed an interest in photography that led him to the Paier College of Art where he studied photojournalism. After working briefly for a commercial studio, he moved to New York City to set out on his own.
Wick spent time experimenting with his photography and expanding his portfolio and was approached by Jean Marzollo, the editor of a kindergarten magazine, who asked him to create a poster based on his photograph “Odds and Ends,” which would later become the inspiration for Scholastic’s I Spy series.
For nearly two decades, Wick has photographed more than 30 books worth of compilations of everyday objects for the popular I Spy series, which was the basis for an HBO Family series, Wick has also written and photographed seven other books including, A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder; Walter Wick's Optical Tricks; and Can You See What I See?: Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve, which debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in 2002.
The two-day festival, sponsored by RCPL and the USC School of Library and Information Science, honors nationally-known author and storyteller Augusta Baker and continues her legacy of inspiring others to introduce children to the magic of literature and stories.
Don't miss the Saturday Storytelling for Families from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 19.
Questions? Call 803-929-3474.
A. Baker's Dozen Advisory Committee:
Marcia Brown, Paula Fox, Lillian Gerherdt, Susan Hirschman, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Anita Lobel, Katherine Paterson and Maurice Sendak.
Sponsored by:
Friends of the Richland County Public Library, Baker and Baker Fund for Children’s Literacy, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, C.G. Fuller Foundation, Richland County School District One and Historic Columbia Foundation.
