Gaithersburg Book Festival Children’s Village Brings Together Top Authors and Hands-On Activities to Inspire a Love of the Written Word in Young Readers

With close to two dozen best-selling and award-winning authors, a full slate of hands-on workshops and a wide variety of activities, the Children’s Village at the Gaithersburg Book Festival has something for kids of all ages.

Taking place Saturday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the grounds of City Hall in Olde Towne Gaithersburg, the festival will host top children’s and young adult authors in the Jim Henson and Willa Cather pavilions.

Among those who will be reading from their newest works and signing books are:

Children’s Authors

• Tom Angleberger – bestselling author of 2012 Edgar Finalist for “Horton Halfpott,” and 2010 E.B. White Read Aloud Award winner for “The Strange Case of Origami Yoda” and “Darth Paper Strikes Back”
• Cheryl Somers Aubin – author of “The Survivor Tree”
• Fred Bowen – writer of The Washington Post’s weekly KidsPost sports column and author of 16 books of sports fiction (ages 8+) and a picture book biography of Red Sox legend Ted Williams titled “No Easy Way”
• Michael Buckley – New York Times best-selling author of “The Sisters Grimm” series
• Andrew Clements – best-selling author of “Frindle,” in addition to dozens of other novels and picture books, including “No Talking” and “Extra Credit”
• Michael Crawford – author of drawing books, “The Mystery of Journey Crowne,” “The Island of Zadu,” “Batty Malgoony’s Mystic Carnivale” and “Professor Horton Hogwash’s Museum of Ridiculous”
• Kate Feiffer – author of 11 popular books for children, including “Double Pink,” “My Side of The Car” and her newest, “Signed by Zelda”
• Marty Rhodes Figley – author of 17 historically based books for young readers, including “The Schoolchildren’s Blizzard” and “Washington is Burning”
• Natalie Dias Lorenzi – a school librarian and teacher who just published her first novel, “Flying the Dragon”
• Ann McCallum – award-winning author of several children’s books, including two math fairytales and her newest math cookbook, “Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds”
• Leah Taylor – author of “Horses of the Presidents,” who will be bringing her pony Oreo, which children will have the chance to brush and feed.

Teen and Young Adult Authors

• Pam Bachorz – author of “Candor” and “Drought.”
• Sheela Chari – author of the middle-grade novel, “Vanished,” a 2012 APALA Children’s Literature Honor Book, and Edgar nominee for Best Juvenile Mystery.
• Jill Chasse – an author, health administrator, pregnancy counselor and perinatal psychology consultant, Chasse’s latest book is “The Babysitter’s Survival Guide.”
• Jay Clark – author of “The Edumacation of Jay Baker,” his debut novel for young adults.
• Mary Downing Hahn – perennial favorite with readers, Hahn has been writing children’s books for more than 30 years. Her latest book, “Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls” was released in April.
• Laura McNeal – author of “Dark Water, a 2010 finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the San Diego Book Award in young people’s literature.
• Matthew Quick (aka Q) – author of “The Silver Linings Playbook” and two young adult novels, “Sorta Like a Rock Star” and “Boy21.″
• Michelle Ray – a Montgomery County teacher, Ray’s debut novel is “Falling for Hamlet.”
• John “Corey” Whaley – his debut novel, “Where Things Come Back” was chosen as the 2012 winner of both the Michael L. Printz Award and the William C. Morris Award.

Hands-On Activities

There’s no chance that any child will say “I’m bored,” given the full slate of activities planned throughout the day in the Children’s Village.  Visitors can enjoy story time with local celebrities; visit with The Cat in the Hat; do crafts and art projects with origami artists, American Girl Store, Family Services Inc., Girls on the Run and the Girl Scouts; sign up to Read for the World Record with the Scholastic summer reading program and test their skills on the Brain Quest obstacle course.

New this year is Imagination Station, a children’s performance stage that will include:

• Story Tapestries with Arianna Ross
• “So This is Opera!” presented by Yvette Lewis
• “Kid’s Book Club Book” authors Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, with a yummy cooking demonstration and tastings, and smart tips for organizing terrific kid’s book clubs

Free Children’s Workshops

The GBF also is offering a number of free workshops for children of various ages. Participants must sign up for the workshop the day of the festival, and class sizes are limited.  Free workshops include:

• Accordion Bookmaking (Ages 5-8 and 9-11) – Heidi Bishop, a local artist specializing in print making and children’s book arts, will teach children to make their own Accordion Book. Children will be challenged to think creatively and explore new ways to tell their story through artwork. The 11:30 a.m. workshop is for children ages 5 to 8 and the 2:30 p.m. workshop is for children ages 9 to 11. Maximum class size for each class: 10. Sign up at the Kid’s Workshop Tent.
• Creative Kids (Ages 5-11) – Join Lenore Blank Kelner for a mini-workshop that explores children’s stories through drama. The group will create and act out their own original stories based on specially selected children’s books. Maximum class size: 12. Sign-up at the Creative Kids Tent.
• Adventure Theatre MTC’s “No Strings! A Pinocchio Adaptation!” (Ages 6-14) – Adventure Theater MTC’s Summer Camp staff will teach participants how to perform a musical number in only 40 minutes! The workshop will include a short excerpt reading of Carlo Collodi’s original children’s novel, “The Adventures of Pinocchio,” followed by an open dance call and musical rehearsal. Maximum class size: 30. Sign-up at the Adventure Theatre MTC Tent.
• Group Story: Kids Writing Collaboratively (Ages 8-12) – Join Kathy Crutcher, the D.C. director and an instructor for Writopia Lab, as she takes children through a collaborative writing exercise in which they create a group story full of original characters and dramatic conflict. Maximum class size: 12. Sign up at the Kid’s Workshop Tent.
• Read and Rise – A Scholastic Family Workshop (Kids and Parents) – Parents will learn how to become a reading role model for their child with Scholastic’s national literacy initiative that reinforces the practical things all families can do to ensure their children become strong readers and learners. The workshop concludes with a chance for children to create their own original book page that they can take home or later add to a Klutz Build-a-Book.

For more information on Children’s Village programming, the schedule of the day’s activities and other details about the 2012 Gaithersburg Book Festival, please visit www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org.

About the Gaithersburg Book Festival

The Gaithersburg Book Festival is an annual all-day celebration of books, writers, and literary excellence. Now in its third year, the Festival has become one of the premier literary events in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 19, 2012, on the grounds of Gaithersburg City Hall, with shuttle buses running from Lakeforest Mall.  Activities include author appearances, discussions and book signings; writing workshops; a Children’s Village; a Coffee House with poets and singers/songwriters; onsite book sales, both new and used; exhibitors and, of course, food, drink, ice cream and more. Admission is free. For more information please visit www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org.