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Children’s Book Festival

September 19 @ 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Fairyland’s Annual Children’s Book Festival returns! 

Join us for a day where the Bay Area’s most talented kid-lit authors, illustrators, publishers, sellers, and educators come together to celebrate the magic of BOOKS!

Just announced: Mychal Threets joins Book Fest!
Beloved librarian, author, and host of Reading Rainbow will be a featured guest speaker at this year’s event!

  • Meet 30+ kid-lit book creators ready to inspire.
  • Enjoy captivating stories read aloud by the authors themselves.
  • Watch talented illustrators bring stories to life before your eyes.
  • Cheer on the remarkable 8-12 year olds from our Youth Writers’ Workshop.
  • Shop for books by all the participating book creators with Books on B
  • Enjoy play-based and educational activities provided by our community partners.
  • Check out the family literacy resource fair
  • Hosted by Oakland’s beloved educator, Mr. Limata


Guest Speakers for 2026 Children’s Book Festival:

  • Cátia Chien, illustrator, 2026 Caldecott Medal Winner and a Golden Kite Award winner
  • Joanna Ho, author, recipient of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature Honor, a Golden Kite Award and more
  • Cindy Derby, illustrator, and recipient of a 2021 Caldecott Honor and Golden Kite Award honor
  • Randy Ribay, author, co-winner of the Michael L. Printz Award and winner of the Asian Pacific American Library Association Medal
  • Mychal Threets, author, librarian, and host of television series, Reading Rainbow
  • Youth Writers Workshop 

We are so thrilled to spend a day in celebration of books, literature, literacy, and learning with our beloved community!

PRESENTATIONS AT THE EMERALD CITY STAGE
10:30  Joanna Ho
11:30  Catia Chien
12:00  Randy Ribay
1:00  Cindy Derby
1:30  Fairyland Youth Writers
2:30  Mychal Threet

PRESENTING BOOK CREATORS’ MEET AND GREET IN THE MERRY MEADOW
11:00-12:00   Joanna Ho
12:00-1:00  Catia Chien
12:30-1:30  Randy Ribay
1:30-2:30  Cindy Derby
3:00-4:00  Mychal Threets

ACTIVITIES
11:00 Puppet Show The 3 Little Pigs in the 1920’s at the Puppet Theatre
11:00-2:00 Literacy Community Resource Fair
2:00 Puppet Show The 3 Little Pigs in the 1920’s at the Puppet Theatre
4:00 Puppet Show The 3 Little Pigs in the 1920’s at the Puppet Theatre

MEET AND GREET IN THE MERRY MEADOW
10:00-11:20
Sandhya Acharya, Claire Bobrow, Lisa Brown, Kalen Chock, Steph Lau, Fateme Mokhles, Sendy Santamaria, & Michael Slack

11:20-12:30
Jerrold Connors, Sophie Diao, Tiffany Golden, Bo Liu, Helen Taylor, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, & Claudia Walker

12:30-1:40
Fairyland Youth Writers, Monisha Bajaj, Alexandria Boiger, Maya Cameron-Gordon, Michael Genhart, Isabella Kung, & Shruthi Rao

1:40-2:50
Fairyland Youth Writers & Natasha Tripplett, Jasmine Fang, Sara Andrea Fajardo, Mike Jung, Sonali Patodia, & Deborah Underwood

 

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