WCAAD Three Students Won County-level 1st Place Award at the 46th Annual LA Bookmark Contest

The county-level winners of the 46th LA Library Bookmark Contest were announced on March 24, 2026, followed by a grand award ceremony held at the Keneth Hahn Hall of Administration, Los Angeles. Three students from West California Academy of Art and Design (WCAAD) won the 1st Place Award in this year’s county-level finals: Alyssa Eng, 12 years old, Fifth District, Grades 4–6 category; Alissa White, 10 years old, Second District, Grades 3–5 category; Brian Liu, 9 years old, earned, Third District, Grades 3–5 category.

The 1^st district supervisor Hilda L. Solis, the 2^nd district supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, the 3^rd district chair Lindsey P. Horvath, the 4^th district supervisor Janice Hahn and the 5^th district supervisor Katheryn Barger presented the awards to the winners.

Among more than ten thousand participants, only 20 students countywide received top honors at the county level. Winners were selected from five districts, with only one finalist per grade group in each district.

Alyssa Eng’s bookmark titled “Enchanted by Reading” is filled with whimsical charm. In her artwork, a mermaid is immersed in a book, her long golden braid gently floating in the seawater—a symbol of the boundless imagination sparked by reading. The rich layers of color, along with the dynamic movement of fish and bubbles, bring the composition to life. With its exquisite detail, the piece captures the viewer’s attention instantly—a work that is both childlike and artistically accomplished.

Alissa White’s bookmark features a vibrant backdrop of rainbows and a starry sky, creating a world full of imaginative reading. Colorful animals soar among the clouds and rainbows, circling around the word “READ”—a visual metaphor for the freedom and boundless exploration that reading brings. At the center, a young girl sits quietly with a book in her hands, the rainbow beneath her appearing to radiate light through her act of reading. The composition is bold and vivid, brimming with richness and motion, expressing the idea that “reading sparks imagination and sets dreams soaring” in a way that is both childlike and creatively powerful.

Brian Liu’s bookmark, centered around the theme “READ & LEARN,” frames reading and learning as a journey of exploring the stars and the universe. Each letter is cleverly shaped into a spacecraft with fiery trails lifting off, adding a strong sense of movement to the composition. The detailed depiction of stars, planets, astronauts, and small spacecraft creates an immersive space atmosphere. The artwork not only reflects a child’s imaginative world but also conveys a meaningful message: reading can take us higher and farther.

Since 1980 the County Library has conducted the contest to encourage children’s artistic expression, nurturing their love of reading and allow them to share their joy of books and the written word. The contest is open to students from kindergarten to 12^th grade whose entries are judged in separate categories according to grade level. Each library selects a local winner in each grade level category in November. Grand prize winners for each LA County supervisorial district are selected by the Board of Supervisors in the spring.

The three WCAAD students who received top honors at the county level previously won at their local libraries to qualify for the finals: Brian Liu earned 1st place in the Grades 3–5 category at the West Hollywood Library; Alyssa Eng won 1st place in the Grades 4–6 category at the Arcadia Live Oak Library; and Alissa White won 1st place in the Grades 3–5 category at the Lennox Library.