These are some of the events happening at the Tucson Festival of Books for kids, teens and their parents.
Fabien Cousteau is an aquanaut, ocean conservationist and documentary filmmaker, who is the grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau. He will do a featured presentation on his work with great white sharks.
Kwame Alexander is a Newbery-award winning author and New York Times bestselling author who will do a featured literary concert of jazz and verse based on his most recent novel, “Swing.” He will be joined by musician/songwriter Randy Preston who has written songs based on the novel.
James Dean will do a featured presentation for children and their parents who are fans of the popular “Pete the Cat” books.
There will be two “speed-dating” sessions with eight to 10 authors. In these sessions, participants will be seated in small groups at tables with an author at each table. Every eight minutes, authors will move to a new table so participants will get to personally interact with different authors. On the afternoon of March 2, there’s a great group of middle-grade authors doing a carousel of authors who write magic and adventure books. On the morning of March 3, there’s a carousel of authors who write for teens and young adults (YA), including Kass Morgan and Karen McManus.
Morgan, whose book series, The 100, is a popular CW show, has published the first book in a new series. McManus hit it big with her thriller, “One of Us is Lying,” hitting the New York Times bestselling list even though it was her debut YA novel. Her second book is “Two Can Keep a Secret.”
On March 3, see a Star Wars featured panel with three authors who have books connecting to different characters of Star Wars fame.
Heart-Stopping Thrillers is a March 3 featured panel with YA authors who write thrillers in which characters fight for survival. If you love books that take you to the edge of your seat, attend this session.
The day ends on March 3 with the popular On Your Mark, Get Set, Draw: Illustrator Draw-off, moderated by Adam Rex in which five illustrators will compete against each other to create a drawing based on audience suggestions.
James Howe of Bunnicula fame will be doing several panels at the festival. Bunnicula is popular with several generations of readers.
There is a full schedule of writing and drawing workshops for children in Education Room 349 throughout the festival. Illustrators will demonstrate their techniques for those interested at Illustrator Studio.
In Education Room 333, there will be a series of panels throughout the festival for those interested in the business of writing and publishing children’s and young adult books. A range of sessions are planned around different aspects of writing and publishing different types of books.
There are also strong panels of authors and illustrators in Education rooms 353 and 351 including Inspiration and Imagination: The Work of an Illustrator with three award-winning illustrators. The High Cost of Freedom with four authors who write in different genres all talking about how the characters in their books fight for freedom. There is a panel of middle-grade adventure novels, including J.C. Cervantes, who has the most recent book in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. Her book is the first one based in the Southwest and featuring Mayan mythology.
Finally, there are sessions for parents and educators giving suggestions for encouraging kids as readers as well as providing lists of recommended books. Penny Kittle who founded the Book Love movement is the featured speaker in this strand.
The American Library Association Youth Media Awards were announced Jan. 28, and the following Tucson Festival of Books presenters in categories for children, teens and young adults received awards:
- Juana Martinez-Neal, “Alma and How She Got Her Name” (Caldecott Honor)
- Kekla Magoon, “The Season of Styx Malone” (Coretta Scott King Author Honor)
- R. Gregory Christie, “Memphis, Martin, and the Mountain Top” (Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor)
- Scott Magoon (illustrator), “Rescue and Jessica” (Schneider Award)
- David Bowles, “They Call Me Guero” (Pura Belpre Author Honor)
