Sep 22, 2011
The sixth annual Brooklyn Book Festival was held this past Sunday in downtown Brooklyn, and the presence of children’s book authors and illustrators continues to grow along with the festival itself. Attendance was estimated at around 35,000, triple that of the first year of the festival and up from last year's 20,000 (due to rain) and 30,000 in 2009.
More than 45 children’s book creators participated in panels and readings, according to Roaring Brook editor Nancy Mercado, who served on the planning committee along with Stacey Barney, Adriana Dominguez, Jennifer Carlson, Regina Brooks, Meg Lemke, and Elizabeth Koch. Writers and artists appearing at the festival included Mo Willems, Jon Sciezska, Jacqueline Woodson, Gayle Forman, Yuyi Morales, Sharon Flake, Libba Bray, Cory Doctorow, and many more. Read on for a selection of photos direct from Brooklyn.
For those interested in children's books, the festival offered panels aplenty. L. to r., Leonard Marcus, Jules Feiffer, and Norton Juster appeared at St. Francis College to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 'The Phantom Tollbooth.' Photo: Kathryn Kirk.
Libba Bray (standing, l.) and author/moderator Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich read one of the improvised creations from the popular Mad Libs panel, which also featured Paul Acampora, Jon Scieszka, and Tommy Greenwald.
L. to r., Matthew Myers, Bob Shea, and Roxie Munro participated in the well-attended Dinosaur Draw-Off, which was moderated by Brian Floca.
Author Zetta Elliott (l.) moderated the Reimagining History panel, which featured T.R. Simon, Judy Blundell, and Victoria Bond.
L. to r., author/moderator Karsten Knight spoke with authors Kate Brian, Rachel Hawkins, and Christopher Grant on the 'Bring on the Drama' panel.
In the foreground, comics creator Raina Telgemeier in action, along with fellow artists Laura Lee Gulledge and Dave Roman, during the Comics Draw-off, moderated by Publishers Weekly's own Calvin Reid.
The 'In Over Your Head' panel had (l. to r.) moderator Anjali Wason in conversation with Meg Wolitzer, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Sharon Flake.
Nancy Mercado (r.) moderated the Epic Adventures panel, which featured (l. to r.) author Sarah Glidden and 'To Timbuktu' collaborators Casey Scieszka and Steven Weinberg.
L. to r., Caragh O’Brien, Bill Willingham, and Jewell Parker Rhodes at the Another World panel moderated by Susan Chang of Tor.
Mo Willems reads from one of his Elephant & Piggie books to a very attentive audience.
Peter Brown signs a copy of 'You Will Be My Friend!' for a fan.
Leanna Renee Hieber was at the festival promoting her forthcoming novel 'Darker Still,' set in Victorian-era New York City.
Keeping readers busy until next year's festival: books for sale at the Bank Street Bookstore tent.
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"The Booksellers Association, which represents 3,500 independent bookshops across the UK, has written to almost 400 council chiefs urging them to do more to support their local high streets or risk seeing bookshops go out of business."
The ABA has released the list of the more than 200 titles included in this year's ABC Best Books for Children Catalog.
See Philip Pullman's own illustrations for his Northern Lights books.
Quill & Quire previews the fall season for children's and YA books in Canada.
| 1 | Fault in Our Stars John Green / Author |
| 2 | Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Ransom Riggs / Author |
| 3 | The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus #2) Rick Riordan / Author |
| 4 | The Invention of Hugo Cabret Brian Selznick / Author, Brian Selznick / Illustrator |
| 5 | The Lost Hero Rick Riordan / Author |
| 6 | War Horse: (Movie Cover) Michael Morpurgo / Author |
| 1 | Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet Jane O'Connor / Author, Robin Preiss Glasser / Illustrator, Carolyn Bracken / Illustrator |
| 2 | Pinkalicious: Pink of Hearts Victoria Kann / Author, Victoria Kann / Illustrator |
| 3 | Listen to My Trumpet! (an Elephant and Piggie Book) Mo Willems / Author, Mo Willems / Illustrator |
| 4 | Heaven Is for Real for Kids Todd Burpo / Author, Sonja Burpo / Author, Colton Burpo / Author, Wilson Ong / Illustrator |
| 5 | I Want My Hat Back Jon Klassen / Illustrator |
| 6 | The LEGO Ideas Book Daniel Lipkowitz / Author, Sebastiaan Arts / Contribution by, Tim Goddard / Contribution by, Deborah Higdon / Contribution by, Barney Main / Contribution by, Duncan Titmarsh / Contribution by |
| 1 | Hunger Games Suzanne Collins / Author |
| 2 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney / Author |
| 3 | Inheritance Cycle Christopher Paolini / Author |
| 4 | Magic Tree House Osborne, Mary Pope / |
| 5 | Witch & Wizard James Patterson & Ned Rust / |
| 6 | Pretty Little Liars Sara Shepard / Author |
