SALISBURY – Livingstone College will hold its annual Children’s Book Festival on Saturday, April 28. The festival will be held on the front lawn of the campus from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., and is for children ages preschool through 12 years.

Each child will receive new books, food and enjoy fun on the lawn, said Deborah Johnson, book festival organizer and UNCF director of the college.

“The purpose of the book festival is to create a love and appreciation for books in children,” Johnson said.

The book festival was first held at Livingstone College in 1991 under then President Dr. Bernard Franklin with Wilson Cherry as organizer.

According to the Education Testing Services, the more reading materials in a home, the higher students are in reading proficiency. Children who do more reading at home are also better readers and have higher math scores.

“Our book festival is a tradition that we intend to uphold because it helps to instill a love for reading in children that will benefit them as scholars,” said Livingstone College President Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr.

“Today, young people are easily distracted by video games and cell phones. It is our responsibility as an educational institution to help them rediscover the fun and adventure of books,” he said.

The festival is open to the public.

For more information, call Deborah Johnson at (704) 216-6118 or Marsha Mitchell at (704) 216-6120.

About Livingstone College

Livingstone College, founded and supported by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, is a private historically black institution located in Salisbury, N.C. Through a Christian-based environment suitable for learning, it provides excellent liberal arts and religious education programs for students from all ethnic backgrounds designed to develop their potential for leadership and service to a global community. For more information, visit www.livingstone.edu.