The National Book Festival is this weekend, September 21-23, 2013.
Go.
It’s awesome.
And it’s free.
It’s on the National Mall here in DC, but if you can’t make it, don’t fret. There are tons of online resources available–so it’s kind of like you’re there even if you’re far from our Nation’s Capital.
Honestly, it’s one of my most favorite weekends of the year, and that’s not an exaggeration.
This year? On Saturday, I’m thrilled about trying to catch a glimpse of KEVIN HENKES (of Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Owen, A Good Day, many others…), Fred Bowen (from our fave Washington Post section, the Kids Post), Veronica Roth (no joke! she wrote Divergent and Insurgent), the Poetry Out Loud winners, & more.
And Sunday? GIADA!!! Did you read about her new books for kids? Yes. She combines cooking and adventure and kids. We read all about it in the Kids Post this very day. They’re called the Recipe for Adventure series, and the first takes place in Naples and the second in Paris.
Also? Mark Teague (LaRue books, Pigsty, and more), Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner & A Thousand Splendid Suns) & more.
Here’s the skinny. . .
- The National Book Festival–What it is and Why You Should Go:
Follow @LibraryCongress on twitter because the Library of Congress hosts the event along with honorary chairs, President and Mrs. Obama. If you go, use #NatBookFest to add your tweets to the mix!
- What it is: The festival is essentially a celebration of books and reading. It features 100+ authors, poets and illustrators in several pavilions where you can actually meet and hear firsthand a ton of different poets and authors, get books signed, have photos taken with storybook characters and participate in a variety of activities.
So check out the schedule. Figure out what two or three authors you and your kids want to see. Then search your house for your favorite books by that author, shove the books, some sunscreen, some waters, and some snacks in your backpack, and get your tail on down first thing in the morning.
In the past, they’ve had reusable bags and posters available for visitors, and you just wander around, smiling and happy and in disbelief that you’re in the presence of seriously awesome literary rockstars.
- Where it is: Between 9th and 14th Streets on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Sept. 22 from noon to 5:30 p.m. Rain or shine.
- Why you should go: I wrote about the awesome of the National Book Festival last year, but it is worth repeating.
Check it out:
This year:
- Scholastic will be there again, sharing how a number of authors and illustrators have shown what Read Every Day means to them. Check out information on Scholastic’s eBook platform, Storia, and Build A Book yourself!
- PBS Kids will be there again, sharing news on the new series, Peg + Cat, and tons of favorite PBS Kids characters will be there for pictures, like Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street, Arthur, The Cat in the Hat, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Curious George, Daniel Tiger from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Martha from Martha Speaks, the cast of SUPER WHY!, WordGirl and Peg and Cat from the new PBS series. Educator resources will also be shared. Love it!
- The Digital Bookmobile will also be there again, along with a number of other cool tents, sponsors, and resources and activities for kids and families.
Will we see you there?
If so, and you have a Girl Scout in your family, she can earn a National Book Festival badge just by going!
Need more information?
Have you been there before? What suggestions, advice, or experiences do you have to share?
Talk about some serious learning in the every day when and if you can make it down!
fyi: This is an unsponsored post, written only to share news of an awesome event I’d love to see more families in the DC metro area take advantage of.
Affiliate links are used in this post; when you click on a link, we get a teeny, tiny little percentage of the sale. Thank you!
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