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Superstar Authors Hit the Stages at the Book Fair
By Lisa Palley, Palley Promotes
“For this year’s children and young adult program, Generation Genius, we’ve focused on bringing more of the best children’s and YA lit, emphasizing reading and discovering new authors,” said Nicole Swift, program manager for children/YA for 2016 Miami Book Fair. “When a child or teen sees an author present their books, it empowers them to write more, engages them in reading for pleasure and helps make a connection between themselves and the author, allowing them to imagine themselves capable of becoming a writer, or anything else for that matter.”
Don’t leave your kids behind when you go to the 33rd edition of the Miami Book Fair, Nov. 18-20. There is a lot of stuff for them to do there too.
Wembly Wordsmith returns to his Author Tent with his tall tale-spinning authors for the elementary/middle grade set, including Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World (James Sturm), I Will Not Eat You (Adam Lehrhaupt), Lucy & Andy Neanderthal (Jeffrey Brown), Return to the Isle of the Lost (Melissa de la Cruz), Wolf Hollow (Lauren Wolk), The Nameless City (Faith Erin Hicks), and The Creepy Casefiles of Margo Maloo (Drew Weing), among many others.
Tweens and teens will find a lineup of bestselling authors in fantasy, action, thrillers, and graphic novels in the MDC Live Arts Lab (formerly Prometeo Theater), including Victoria Aveyard, Ridley Pearson, Leigh Bardugo, Ryan Graudin, William Ritter, Nicola Yoon, George O’Connor, Renee Ahdieh and Margaret Stohl, among many more.
“The lineup for the YA authors is absolutely amazing. Each and every single author is different and unique and their books can be read by anyone and everyone,” said 15-year-old blogger for Reading in the Rain and avid reader Gabi Mohrer. “I am most excited for Leigh Bardugo and Alexandra Bracken, both of their books are on my top 10 favorite book list, so you bet I am going to be first in line to see them. So excited for the Miami Book Fair. It is gonna be the best year yet!”
A back-to-back schedule of music, dance, and draw-offs, with author readings and storytellers is also mixed in, and perfect for toddlers to 12 year olds.
Make paper dolls. Meet Piggie and Pigeon and be part of a play. Go on a bear hunt. Take a storytime break. Stomp your feet, clap your hands and keep the beat to a sing-along and more at the Tot Time Play-and-Learn tent sponsored by the Miami Children’s Museum.
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Clifford the Big Red Dog makes an appearance at last year’s Street Fair opening day. Photo courtesy of Miami Book Fair
Learn all about sharks. Plant a take-home plant from native seeds. Dive into a squid dissection. Soar through space and construct a comet, and more at The Science Fair tent sponsored by Miami-Dade College’s School of Science.
Shimy and shake with salsa lessons. Design your own drum and be part of a drum circle. Create rain sounds. Sing along to Pete the Cat. Learn a dance and have a dance party at The Rhythm Factory tent.
Think big and make art your own way. Create a picture using all the crayons in your box. Create a masterpiece with lots of extra yarn. Get your artwork framed to take home at The Paintbox tent, sponsored by Miami-Dade College’s Museum of Art and Design
Create a traditional Japanese windsock. Make your won paper plate peacock or coqui. Put together a Seminole patchwork square. Create your own Mexican sugar skull masks and more at the One World Many Stories tent, sponsored by History Miami.
Concludes Nicole Swift, “The Miami Book Fair children’s and YA program does bring some of the best in young people’s literature. Our panel presentation format allows readers to hear from authors they know and love, but also discover new voices they have yet to read. And that’s the end goal, really – creating an accessible space that exposes kids and teens to writers both familiar and new and providing accessibility to authors and books, fostering community and a love of reading for the next generation: Generation Genius.”
Miami Book Fair, Nov. 16-20, 2016, Miami-Dade College, Wolfson Campus, downtown Miami. Tickets: $8/adults; $5/seniors & teens 13 and older, and free for kids 12 and younger.
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