Acclaimed children's author to speak on the importance of the freedom to write and read

Robie H. Harris to deliver lecture and book signing at Lesley University to celebrate Constitution Day on Sept. 15

Cambridge, Mass. - Renowned children’s author Robie H. Harris will deliver a lecture and book signing at Lesley University to celebrate Constitution Day on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011 at 6 p.m. in the University Hall Amphitheater.

Harris will explore the importance of writing honestly to children in “Freedom to Write, Freedom to Read: A Writer’s Choice, A Child’s Right.” Harris frequently focuses on the responsibility of those who work with youth to legitimize the real and powerful feelings they possess. She will also address the obstacles her award-winning books have encountered, including challenges and banning.

For over 25 years, Harris has written acclaimed picture and nonfiction books with honesty and humor, including Goodbye Mousie, It’s Not the Stork, and Mail Harry To The Moon. Her most recent book, Who Has What? A Book About Girls’ Bodies and Boys’ Bodies, will be published in September.

A panel discussion with Associate Professor Mary Ann Cappiello, Children’s Librarian Julie Roach, and MFA graduate student Sara Farizan will follow her discussion.

The event, free and open to the public, will be held in the University Hall Amphitheater on Lesley’s Porter Campus, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. Lesley University and the Cambridge Community Foundation jointly present the special lecture.

Harris served as a Lesley University trustee from 1986 to 1993 and a Corporator from 1993 to 2009. In 2000, she as awarded an Honorary Degree from Lesley for her work as a children’s author.

Harris’s appearance is part of Lesley’s celebration of Constitution Day, a commemoration of the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. The day honors all U.S. citizens, including those who are citizens both by birth and naturalization.

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Lesley University (www.lesley.edu) is a 9,000-student, multi-site university for women and men, and is one of the nation's largest providers of graduate professional education opportunities to K-12 educators. Anchored by a strong liberal arts curriculum, Lesley offers undergraduate and graduate programs in education, the arts, human services and the environment at its Cambridge and Boston campuses, online, and in 150 locations in 23 states. Lesley's four schools include the School of Education, the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, The Art Institute of Boston, and Lesley College, an undergraduate residential college. Lesley University prepares individuals for lives and careers that make a difference, and serves the evolving needs of students and a diverse society through innovative programs and pedagogy, high quality instruction, scholarship, advocacy, and outreach.

updated 08/29/11 | 01:01 PM