Though the back-to-school vibe is in the air—and school supplies are already on store shelves—there’s still plenty of summer family fun left for book lovers. And kids and parents who have been missing some of the typical opportunities to engage with books and come face-to-face with authors this past year are in luck. On Saturday, July 31, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET, Scholastic is presenting its first-ever Family Book Fest. The live virtual event is free of charge and features five different programming blocks.
First up at 11 a.m. is the “Because It’s All Good!” sing-along and dance-along with author and musical performer Eric Litwin (Groovy Joe: Ice Cream and Dinosaurs). Following Litwin at 12 p.m. are several authors with books in the Graphix Chapters line designed for kids ages 7 to 10: Jess Keating (Bunbun & Bonbon), James Kochalka (Banana Fox), Pearl Low (The Adventure of the Bailey School Kids), and Kevin Sherry (Squidding Around). During the 1 p.m. hour, Family Book Fest attendees will meet author Tui T. Sutherland (Wings of Fire series) in a session hosted by fellow author Sayantani DasGupta (Force of Fire) that includes learning how to forge a dragon world, and a q&a. The Great Klutz Craft Off kicks off at 2:15 p.m., featuring three Klutz Creators competing with each other in a Great British Bake Off-style event. And in the final session at 2:30 p.m., “Inside Harry Potter: 9 3/4 Questions with MinaLima Design,” designers Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, jointly known as MinaLima, share a sneak peek of their new edition of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Families can sign up at the event’s dedicated page; the first 300 people to register will receive a free Dog Man tote bag and a copy of the MinaLima edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. On the same web page, registrants will find links to all the sessions, which will be broadcast live via Facebook. Attendees have a chance to win book giveaways throughout the afternoon, and families who wish to expand the Book Fest experience at home can download a bingo card containing such spaces as “Someone is wearing a red shirt” and “You see a graphic novel.”
According to Lizette Serrano, Scholastic’s v-p of educational marketing, the spark for creating the Family Book Fest was to help families engage with their favorite books and authors. “With many festivals and conventions moving to this fall or canceling outright, we realized that connections to stories were something that would be missing this year,” she said. “This connection is critically important in encouraging kids to keep reading this summer by getting them excited about their favorite books and helping them to discover new ones.”
