The Sullivan County Youth Book Festival returns this spring with a full day of books, author signings, music, activities and family fun.
The festival will take place Saturday, May 30, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library in Monticello.
Held every two years, the festival celebrates youth literacy and gives families a chance to meet authors and illustrators, explore books for children and teens, and take part in a community-wide celebration of reading.
Callison Stratton, youth programs coordinator at the Western Sullivan Public Library and entertainment coordinator for the festival, said the event is organized by the Sullivan Public Library Alliance, which includes public libraries across Sullivan County.
“It is a chance to promote literacy,” Stratton said. “It’s a chance to get kids excited about books and to meet face to face with the authors of the books that they love.”
Stratton said the festival is held every other year so organizers can feature new books, authors and illustrators. The timing is also intentional: the event comes near the end of the school year, just before summer reading programs begin at local libraries.
“We like to have it right there at the end of the school year, right before summer,” Stratton said, noting that summer can be a time when reading momentum slows for students. “We try to use it as an opportunity to kick off our summer reading programs at all of our libraries.”
This year’s festival will include book characters, including Llama Llama Red Pajama and the dragon from Dragons Love Tacos. Families can also expect face painting from Foxglove Face Painting and Nova Creations, activities with The Chi Hive, and a performance from children’s rock band Roly Poly Guacamole beginning at 1 p.m.
Stratton said the festival is designed to make reading feel personal and exciting for young people.
“You get to really have a personal connection,” she said. “You get to ask them questions about what inspired their writing, what inspires them to keep writing.”
The event will also include food trucks, author and illustrator signings, books for children and teens, family activities and meet-and-greets.
Stratton said libraries continue to play an important role in helping families encourage reading, especially in a time when children are surrounded by screens and digital distractions.
“There’s so many distractions out there,” she said. “Technology can be a great gift, but it also is something that we try to limit when it comes to the really incredibly valuable skills of literacy, of reading, of writing.”
She said reading together remains one of the best ways to get children excited about books.
“Reading together is the best way to get a kid excited about reading,” Stratton said.
For more information about the Sullivan County Youth Book Festival, visit scybookfest.org