The eighth annual Gaithersburg Book Festival brought together 130 award-winning and bestselling authors and more than 22,000 attendees in Olde Towne Gaithersburg, Md., on May 20. The festival, which took place on the grounds of City Hall, featured interactive writing workshops for adults and children, a Children’s Village, book sales, author signings, performances by singer-songwriters, and more. Here are some highlights from this year’s event.
Salina Yoon (My Kite Is Stuck! And Other Stories) greets fans in the signing line.
Tom Lichtenheld (Mighty, Mighty Construction Site), l., and Brian Biggs (Noisy Night) share their insights on illustrating picture book humor.
Chris Van Dusen (l.) and Brian Floca have fun with a model from the audience during their “Friends Misbehaving” presentation.
Young readers and their families explore the Children’s Village, featuring games, art activities, story time tents, and more.
Illustrator Juana Medina (l.) and author Doreen Cronin talk about their collaboration on Smick.
Dave Roman (l.) and Alexis Frederick-Frost take part in “Comics Character Team Up,” an interactive workshop about developing unique characters and collaborating with fellow artists to create unexpected comic stories.
Christine Kendall (l.) and Meg Medina discuss writing for teens.
Authors Erin Teagan (l.), Booki Vivat, and Carol Weston participate in a panel discussion on the ups and downs of middle school.
Kitty Felde (l.), host of the Book Club for Kids podcast, brings together fifth graders from Barnsley and Rosemont Elementary Schools for a discussion with Kimberly Willis Holt (center), author of Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel.
Guests read stories to children in Spanish, Portuguese, Farsi, Amharic, French, and American Sign Language in the Multilingual Storytime Tent.
