Today is day two of the CT Children’s Book Fair and it’s amazing to think that we have been a part of this for 18 years!  So why is it that we are still doing it, along with so many of our original volunteers?  The Connecticut Children’s Book Fair is a unique opportunity for the Dodd Research Center to reach out and be involved in promoting literacy.  Reading to children for just a small amount each day nets amazing results.  It helps them open doors to a big, exciting world and develop a love of stories and poems.  When children become readers, their world is forever wider and richer.

Over the 18 years of the Fair, we have moved three times, had conferences for teachers, character breakfasts, speakers for 5th year students in the Neag School of Education, and partnered with wonderful organizations such as the UConn Co-op and School of Fine Arts.   We have met over 350 absolutely wonderful authors and illustrators, and forged relationship that have helped us with programming and enrichment of the Northeast Children’s Literature Collection archives.