On November 7 we finally did something we’d been talking about for nineteen years, and visited the Rochester Children’s Book Festival. It was great!

 

Never having been, we weren’t sure just what to expect, except for one expectation that proved true – happy crowds! The first person we met was one of my former students from Genesee Community College, volunteering at the entrance table, so that was fun. The crowd as a whole was a mix of professionals (librarians, teachers, and such), parents, and children. Some of the kids were obviously old hands. Some kids just devour books, and many of them would get quite a charge out of the Festival.

 

Monroe Community College hosted the event, a salient feature of which was “the Mall” – a large space with dozens of authors, all surrounded by piles of their books, ready to talk books, sign books, and visit with adults and kids alike. Authors are here by invitation only, so it’s not your local-person-with-self-published-book crowd, but some of the country’s biggest names in children’s books.

 

We spent a few minutes visiting with James Howe, author of “Bunnicula” and other series, gentle light-hearted horror spoofs that often have kids, even little kids, quaking with laughter. Our younger son Erik certainly did, nearly thirty years ago. We loved telling Mr. Howe about it, and he loved hearing it.

 

I stood in line fifteen minutes to get a book signed by Jane Yolen. She’s one of the best-selling writers in the country, but that fact gets missed because her output is “only” children’s books. She and her daughter Heidi Stemple (also an author) signed books nonstop for over four hours. Ms. Yolen’s best-known work is probably “Owl Moon,” a hauntingly beautiful picture book. (Heidi is the little girl in the story.) But I bought, and Ms. Yolen kindly signed, “Foiled,” one of my favorite graphic novels – a new departure for her. We discussed the prospects for a third volume. Joyce and I were also delighted to visit a little with Nikki Grimes, creator of superb picture books – fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

 

Two people in the Mall wanted to talk about my Hammondsport Storytelling Festival sweat shirt. One was a producer for the PBS Story Corps, and the other was an author who wanted to ask some of my thoughts on storytelling. She confessed that she’s fine reading books aloud, but just can’t seem to make storytelling work.

 

There are also three tracks of workshops or readings by the authors, adding up to something like thirty choices for the day. Joyce and I each wandered off to what interested us, but we did take in a couple of them together. One was Kevin Kurtz reading his non-fiction picture book about deep sea life. (Joyce had him speak at Bath’s Dormann Library once.) The other was the Yolens, talking about the use of birds in their books, from “Owl Moon” right up to today.

 

Kids were stocking up on books, and taking in the workshops, along with all the grownups. It’s not for everyone, but many kids who voraciously books would get quite a charge out of it.

 

Heidi Stemple told me that they’ve been to this festival often, and they really love it, because it’s so well organized. I agree. There’s one set of registers as you leave the Mall, so you can buy all of your books at once. It takes place right next to the campus cafeteria, so you can get some lunch or snacks, as long as you’re not too persnickity about choices.

 

So now, on to the Rochester TEEN Book Festival in May!