The Virginia Children’s Book Festival is expanding its outreach in the region.

Festival directors presented 80 new young adult and children’s books to the Charlotte County Library on Saturday, June 6. The books were donated in the names of VCBF founding sponsors Navona Hart, and Larry and Suzy Szasz Palmer.

“These books are a marvelous addition to our young adult and middle school sections,” said Charlotte County Librarian Jim Watkins.

“Through the Virginia Children’s Book Festival’s generosity, we can expand our library with new titles that will appeal to Charlotte County teens. We are grateful for the festival staff’s dedication and commitment to literacy in Virginia.”

The Virginia Children’s Book Festival collects and distributes books in addition to its centerpiece event each fall. Last year, festival staff and supporters handed out more than 500 books to children during the Farmville Jaycees’ Christmas Parade.

“We are happy to expand our mission and reach more of the region’s children by donating books in honor of our founding donors,” said Juanita Giles, VCBF director. “Access to books is the first step toward getting more children to read, and there’s no better place than the public library.”

The VCBF will donate books to all public libraries in Southside in the coming months.

About the 2015 Virginia

Children’s Book Festival

The Virginia Children’s Book Festival is a two-day event each fall that celebrates and encourages reading by youth of all ages by inviting children and teens from across Virginia to meet, learn and explore with some of the most popular and acclaimed authors from across the country. The VCBF began in 2014 and drew hundreds of children and book lovers from across the state.

The event is held on the picturesque campus of Longwood University.

Already one of the premiere literary events in the commonwealth, the VCBF continues to grow and inspire children of all ages.