EAST BRUNSWICK — After noticing that the majority of children’s books do not feature female lead characters, Liliana Cantillo put together a project that would highlight prominent women in history.
The East Brunswick Library assisted Liliana, a member of Girl Scout Troop 80350, with her Girl Scout Silver Award project themed “Female Role Models in Literature.”
Liliana planned and organized several workshops for the library and local daycare facilities that shared the stories of several notable women for children, accompanied with related arts and crafts projects, according to information provided by the library. She also regularly updated a poster display at the library and created a website about female role models in literature.
“We’ve worked with several kids working on volunteer and service projects,” Suzanne Klein, a children’s librarian at the East Brunswick Library who served as an advisor on the project, said in the statement. “Liliana’s project was really impressive, and many families really enjoyed the programs and activities she planned.”
The biggest part of her Silver Award project was organizing a community book drive, collecting new books for the library at St. Bartholomew of East Brunswick and other community events. In total, almost 400 new children’s books were collected, as well as an additional $600 to be used for additional programming in the Youth Services Department, according to the statement.
“Everyone was so nice,” Liliana said in the statement. “I was impressed by how many people gave books.”
Information about Liliana’s project can be found online at http://femalerolemodelsinliterature-troop80350.weebly.com/.