One of my favorite lines in Kate DiCamillo’s Newbery Winning children’s story, The Tale of Despereaux, is “Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell a story. Make some light.” Today, Pat Burns, the Executive Director and Co-founder of the Orange County Children’s Book Festival, one the largest in North America, joins the Lit Matters podcast to shine a bright light on the importance of reading, story-telling, and the power of the written word for children. Pat discusses not only her own journey to becoming a reader, but also the impressive guests who have graced the festival’s main stage: Kobe Bryant, Jamie Lee Curtis, Buzz Aldrin, Kristen Bell and so many more.
Many of the highlights of last year’s Virtual Festival can be viewed at https://www.kidsbookfestival.com/ along with the interview I did with the Library of Congress’ Ambassador for Young Peoples’ Literature, Jason Reynolds, the two time Newbery medalist and best-selling author, Kwame Alexander, and U.S. Congresswoman Katie Porter. The link for this interview is found on the Festival Webpage or at https://youtu.be/CejQEtO2zG8
A list of some of the books discussed this episode:
Rain of Gold with Dr. Angelica Loera Suarez
Season 2 Preview!
Invisible Man with Phil Simpkin
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with Derrick Fernando
The Poems of Robinson Jeffers with George Hart
The Iliad with Amber Reed
Thank You For Being Late with Dr. Jeremy Shermak
Hamlet with Ken Parker
The Parable of the Sower with Dr. Flavia Ruzi
Love and Meditations with Laurie and Matt Jones
Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand with Paco Brito Nunez
Moby with Dr. Dean Franco
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