Challenger Middle School student produces winning bookmark

Lake Los Angeles – CMS Librarian IA Ms. Kelly Riley reported the student who won the Design a Bookmark Contest at the Grades 9-12 level is Marceline Hernandez, pictured here with the certificate and bag of gifts. Ms. Kelly along with the students and staff of Challenger are so proud of Marceline and for representing their school.

She won at the local library level for Grades 9 – 12 and is in the pool for further competition amongst winning entries from all of North Region Los Angeles County Libraries.

The prize package for Marceline included a beautiful marker set, a sketchbook, and a small canvas tote with a small set of fabric markers all of which were tucked into a LA County Library branded tote.

“This is more than a competition; it’s a testament to the creativity and passion for reading that is alive in our community,” said Skye Patrick, CEO of LA County Library. “We’re excited to see the imaginations that our young artists will bring to life.”

This year, LA County Library was looking for original drawings, paintings, and designs that celebrate books, reading, and the joy of libraries. Winning designs will be prominently featured at local libraries, with the top entries being recognized as grand prize winners and distributed as official bookmarks throughout all LA County Library locations in 2025.

Each library selected a local winner in each grade-level category, with announcements made in November. The LA County Board of Supervisors will then select 20 grand prize winners, four representing each supervisorial district, in early 2025.

Participants competed in the following grade-level categories:

Kindergarten – Grade 2

Grades 3 – 5

Grades 6 – 8

Grades 9 – 12

Marceline said her inspiration for creating her meaningful bookmark was, “I created my bookmark because it was close to Halloween, so I thought it was a good time to do something witch themed.

“I added ‘find comfort in a good book’ because my art teacher put reference photos that had different sentences in them.”

Congratulations to Ms. Marceline and us the community wish you well in everything in which you do to succeed.

By Shirley Harriman