Brooklyn Book Festival 2009

Nobody could be more surprised than I am that I’m writing this article about the Brooklyn Book Festival as a kids destination … I am so surprised, in fact, that I went to the festival without my kids!  I wanted to go to the festival as an avid book reader and aspiring author and my husband was happy to watch the kids for the day, so I thought I had devised the perfect plan.  Then I arrived at the festival only to find that in addition to all of the wonderful stands and presentations for adults, a large portion of the festival was devoted to kids!

There was a section of the signing tables and stands dedicated to children’s authors and another dedicated to youth authors.  Part of the children’s area held craft tables for young children to occupy themselves decorating bookbags.  The other part of the children’s area had a seating area filled with cushions where kids (and their adults) could read their new purchases or watch book readings and other entertainment.

Panel discussions and readings were held at several outdoor stages.  All of these events were free, but in order to get a seat, a reserved ticket was required.  Most of the venues, however, were set up so that patrons could easily stand behind the seating area and still hear the discussion, which is perfect for parents with strollers.  I sat in on one panel discussion at an indoor venue and sat next to a couple with a two-year old in a stroller who was very well behaved during (most of) the discussion.

Beyond the wonderful array of children’s books that were available, I came across two wonderful nonprofit projects that I’d like to share with you:

• “Books For Kids” is a project sponsored by the Legal Aid Society Juvenile Rights Practice.  The mission of the project is to “promote literacy for children involved in Family Court cases in New York City.  The Books For Kids project accepts donations of virtually any type of book – particularly those for teenage clients.  There are drop-off locations in all five borroughs at the Juvenille Rights offices.  Contact information can be found in their directory.

• “Girls Write Now” is a mentoring program where high school girls with an interest in professional writing are partnered with women writers.  The pairs work together throughout the school year.  Each year, an anthology is produced and the girls participate in readings.

So, I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this experience.  Before deciding to leave the kiddos at home when attending an event like this, I need to do a bit of research to see if any kids activities will be available.  I could’ve easily alternated kid time with adult time if I had been on my own with the kids, or my husband and I could’ve taken turns with the kids if we had all been together.  You can bet that our book-loving family will all be there next year!

Photo credit: Sanja Gjenero on Stock.exchng

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