Cook County’s Project Rainbow Announces Bookmark Design Contest Winners in Celebration of National Book Month

COOK COUNTY, IL — Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the County’s Emmy Award-winning Project Rainbow initiative today announced the winners of the first-ever Bookmark Design Contest for the 2025–26 school year. The winning designs are recognized as the official bookmarks of Cook County.

The contest invited students in grades K–6 to create original bookmark designs celebrating books, reading and community pride. Students across Cook County showcased their creativity, imagination and a shared love of reading.

The winners are:

• Grades K–3 Winner: Myra M.
• Grades 4–6 Winner: Ava P.
• Honorable Mention: Zoey F-P.

Each winner received a Kindle ColorSoft Kids reader, a certificate celebrating their achievement and a Project Rainbow T-shirt. The students were also recognized with a Cook County Board resolution at the October meeting of the Board of Commissioners.

The winning bookmarks are the official bookmarks of Cook County for the 2025-26 school year, are displayed as stand-up banners in the lobby of the Cook County Building through the month of October and featured on the Project Rainbow website.

Winning bookmark artwork can be viewed at projectrainbow.cookcountyil.gov/bookmark.

“We’re proud to celebrate the creativity of Cook County’s young artists,” said President Toni Preckwinkle. “There were so many wonderful submissions from students across the County. Their designs remind us of the joy of reading and the importance of supporting literacy and imagination in our communities.”

“This contest continues Project Rainbow’s mission to inform, inspire and impact Cook County’s youth and families in creative and imaginative ways – this time in a way that connects learning with civic pride,” said Project Rainbow Creator Nick Shields. “We’re thrilled to see how students across the County showcased their brilliance by embracing this opportunity to express themselves through the worlds of literacy and art.”

Project Rainbow, launched by Cook County to address early education inequities amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to inspire families through free early childhood programming and immersive learning initiatives. This contest underscores the initiative’s commitment to nurturing creativity, literacy and civic engagement among the county’s youngest learners.

About Project Rainbow Project Rainbow is Cook County’s free, Emmy Award-winning learning initiative led by Board President Toni Preckwinkle, delivering educational media, early childhood programming and creative resources via County TV, a mobile app and partnerships with local cultural institutions. For more information about the contest or all Project Rainbow initiatives, please visit https://projectrainbow.cookcountyil.gov.