MARC ARONSON

URBANA — Marc Aronson, author or co-author of more than a dozen nonfiction books for young readers, will spend Friday visiting Uni High as part of the College of Education's three-day Youth Literature Festival.

Aronson will speak to all subfreshmen from 9 to 11 a.m. in the North Attic.

He will then participate in the third annual Uni High Cultural Fair, where he will have a booth in Uni Gym and be available to talk to students.

Aronson will conclude his visit by speaking to teacher Bill Sutton's senior history seminar during fifth period.

Wide-ranging author

A trained historian, Aronson has written about a diverse array of subjects, from Sir Walter Raleigh and Bill Gates to avante-garde art and the reading habits of teenagers.

He will talk to the subfreshmen about race and focus mainly on his book "Race: A History Beyond Black and White" (2007). He will discuss the concept of race, where it came from, and how he feels we are constantly affected by it.

To get ready for his visit, the subfreshmen have been reading portions of the book in their English and social studies classes.

Other books by Aronson include "Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials" (2003), a School Library Journal best book; "Robert F. Kennedy: Crusader" (2007); and "For Boys Only: The Biggest, Baddest, Best Book Ever!" (2007).

Besides being a prolific author, Aronson is an award-winning editor and the publisher of Cricket Books at Carus Publishing.

He earned his Ph.D. in American history from New York University. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.

A celebration of literature

Aronson is one of more than 20 authors and illustrators who will visit local schools Thursday and Friday as part of the Youth Literature Festival.

The main purpose of the festival is to bring the community together and celebrate the importance of literature to people's lives.

The festival will conclude Saturday with a full day of events, including youth entertainment groups, storytelling, puppetry, hands-on activities for young children, and a community resource fair.

One of the entertainers will be Uni senior Hannah Leskosky, who will perform her ventriloquist act Saturday at noon on the South Quad.

The East Central Illinois Youth Orchestra will perform later that afternoon in the South Quad area at 1:45.

For a complete schedule of events, click here.

Long time in the making, and a Uni connection

Preparations for the festival have been going on for almost two years. Former Uni Director Kathleen Patton was one of the event's main organizers when she worked in the College of Education from September 2007 to July 2008.

Patton said that Mary Kalantzis, dean of the college, and Violet Harris, associate dean and a specialist in children's literature, were the ones who came up with the idea for the festival. The duo formed a committee consisting of teachers, librarians, and others in the community interested in youth literature to help them.

"The festival committee hopes that many students will have the chance to meet and talk with a variety of writers, learn about new books and new writers, attend readings, book signings, and the other activities, and really celebrate reading and literature," said Patton.

"One of the coolest features for high school-aged students is the teen poetry café at the Urbana Free Library, which local volunteers and a couple of the visiting poets are facilitating. It's an opportunity for teens to perform their own poetry, and I'm sure there are a lot of Uni students who will love it."

Meeting their goal, and then some

According to Patton, the committee members came up with a wish list of authors they wanted as visitors. Although the original goal was to have 15 authors, the organizers ended up expanding to 21.

The committee tried to maintain a balance of visitors: authors, illustrators, poets, fiction, nonfiction, men, women, Caucasian, African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, those who wrote for children, and those who wrote for young adults.

Schools in Champaign, Urbana, Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Rantoul, and other areas in East Central Illinois were then contacted and asked to request an author or illustrator. In all, 44 area schools will receive visits during the festival.

Uni librarian Frances Harris said she was contacted last spring and asked to choose an author. She said she chose Aronson because she thought “he would be the one most suitable for Uni.”

"His books are very readable, and his mission is to tell nonfiction like a story," said Harris. "He believes in nonfiction as pleasure reading."