Past Events
November 2015
Author Max Brallier
Join Jack, tree-house dweller and Apocalypse survivor, as he builds a team to fight against the Zombies, Winged Wretches, and Vine Thingies for an ultimate showdown with the monster known as Blarg, in The Last Kids on Earth.…
Author Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Cassie Arroyo discovers she is part of a secret ancient bloodline and heads out on a fast-paced adventure to find The Spear of Destiny and wield its power to help save her father — and her bloodline — in Moving Target.…
Author Paul Durham
Rye O’Chanter must lead the charge in defending the Isle of Pest as the Fork-Tongue Charmers, bitterest rivals of The Luck Uglies, bring the battle to the island shore, in The Luck Uglies #2: Fork-Tongue Charmers.…
Creature From My Closet!
The closet has been sealed, but what strange creature snuck past the doorknob? It’s Lord of the Hat—a hybrid creature who’s part Gollum, part Cat in the Hat! Hang on for hilarious disasters, in Obert Skye‘s Lord of the Hat (Creature From My Closet).…
History is Rad!
From punk-rock innovators, the inspirational Helen Keller, and game changer Isadora Duncan, meet incredible history makers, in Brad Meltzer’s I Am Helen Keller, Kate Schatz’s Rad American Women A-Z, and Eric Morse’s What is Punk?…
History is Rad!
Seeing the Magic in the World
Invisible tigers, mysterious trunks, magical closets and immortal jellyfish – magic and adventure can be found wherever you look, but friendship is the truest magic of all, in Nicholas Gannon’s The Doldrums, Cassie Beasley‘s Circus Mirandus, Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish, a Finalist for the 2015 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature, and Corey Ann Haydu‘s Rules for Stealing Stars.…
Rocket the dog is back!
Everyone’s favorite dog, Rocket, is back for another lesson in writing and reading—and he brought all his friends! Practice your ABC’s with Tad Hills’ R is for Rocket: An ABC Book. …
Not Your Average Heroes. . . Or Are they?
Are you completely and utterly normal, average and just plain standard? Perfect! Ordinary kids become covert spies, monster slayers, and Apocalyptic mutant hunting heroes, in Gitty Daneshvari’s The League of Unexceptional Children, Max Brallier’s The Last Kids on Earth, and Michael Tanner & Greg Smith’s Junior Braves of the Apocalypse.…
Riddled with Myth, Driven by Adventure
Adventurers young and brave uncover family secrets and meet their destinies in David Teague’s Connect the Stars and Paul Durham‘s The Luck Uglies: Fork Tongue Charmers.…
We Are Extraordinary, Every One of Us!
Sponsored by the Green Family Foundation. Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco and Caldecott-winning illustrator and author Dav Pilkey come together to highlight the beauty and connection in our diversity in the picture-book version of the poem One Today, which Blanco presented at President Obama’s second inauguration. National Book Award-finalist Edwidge Danticat paints a portrait of the binding power of love, even amidst separation and distance, in Mama’s Nightingale. Parents and children alike will delight in this conversation of the extraordinary ties that bind us.…
Tough Subjects Made Approachable
Some topics are tough to talk about with kids, but Lauren Book’s Lauren’s Kingdom employs elements of fantasy and colorful illustrations to help every parent broach a sensitive subject.…
Anything is Possible with a Little Yoga
Susan Verde shows kids that yoga expands the heart and the mind, opening the doors for creativity and limitless imagination, in I Am Yoga.…
A Lion and a Skeleton Walk in to a Theater…
Zoo animals rehearse Shakespeare and a skeleton leads us in a revue of our biological systems, in the theatrical graphic novels from Ian Lendler, The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Romeo and Juliet, and Maris Wicks‘ The Human Body Theater.…
Search-and-Find Extravaganza!
Turn the page, solve the riddle, lift the flap and discover another adventure with Walter Wick and Hey Seymour!…
Worms Are Squishy!
Explore the hidden world of the hard-working, charming, and squishy earthworm with Kevin McCloskey’s We Dig Worms!…
Ragtag Pirates
Take an adventure on the high seas and encounter oyster pirates, mysterious lands, magical artifacts and legendary treasures, in Ben Towle‘s Oyster Wars and Scott Chantler’s Pirates of the Silver Coast. …
Ragtag Pirates
Look at the Sunny Side
A family secret forces Sunny to spend a summer away from home. While she discovers the imaginative world of comic books, Sunny also has some hard realities to face, in Matt Holm‘s Sunny Side Up.…
Everyone Loves a Magic Show!
Can Mike help his magician’s assistant Nora overcome her stage fright in time for the big school talent show? Find out in Mike Lane’s The Disappearing Magician. You might even get a magic show!…
Author Dorothée De Monfreid
When Popov the dog starts snoring, everyone in the house wakes up! Now, sleeping is the last thing on everyone’s mind. Bed time takes a hilarious turn in Dorothée De Monfreid‘s Shhh! I’m Sleeping.…
November 2016
Sarah Mlynowski
In Sticks & Stones, book 2 of the Upside Down Magic series, the Upside Down Magic students are getting blamed for some strange magic. They need to find out who the real culprit is before things get out of hand! RSVPs are required. Entry to this session will not be allowed without an RSVP and a confirmation email. RSVP HERE!…
Robert Beatty
When Serafina encounters the true evil that’s infecting Biltmore, she must search deep inside herself to save everyone and discover her destiny. RSVPs are required. Entry to this session will not be allowed without an RSVP and a confirmation email. RSVP HERE!…
James Riley
When Owen learned Bethany could take him inside any book in the library, they set off on adventures. In The Stolen Chapters, Owen wakes up in a mystery and learns that Bethany is in danger. Can he save her before it’s too late? RSVPs are required. Entry to this session will not be allowed without an RSVP and a confirmation email. RSVP HERE!…
James Riley
Fearsome Creatures or Fabulous New Friend?
Armadillos plot world domination, a hungry creature with an empty belly may eat you, and a family of Neanderthals encounters strange creatures called humans, in James Sturm‘s Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World, Adam Lehrhaupt‘s I Will Not Eat You, and Jeffrey Brown‘s Lucy & Andy Neanderthal.…
Adventure is Around the Corner
From Monster Mediators, to Intergalactic Adventurers and beyond, these stories are dripping with mystery, fantasy and non-stop action. Confront adventure head-on with Mike Maihack’s Secret of the Time Tables (Cleopatra in Space #3), Faith Erin Hicks‘ The Nameless City, Eddie Pittman’s Red’s Planet: Book 1 and Drew Weing’s The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo. Moderated by author Trina Robbins.…
Unlocking Secret Histories
These adventure stories are steeped in history and a touch of mystery. No matter what the trial, friendship and unity proves to be the key, in Faith Erin Hicks’ The Nameless City, Eugene Yelchin’s The Haunting of Falcon House, and James Riley’s The Stolen Chapters (The Story Thieves).…
Dragon Quests and Fairytale Adventures!
Between the dragons and the ravenous witches, fairytale life is no fairytale! Test your strength and join the quest with Cressida Cowell’s epic finale for How to Train Your Dragon: How to Fight A Dragon’s Fury, and Sarah Mlynowski’s Whatever After series.…
With Super Powers Comes Super Responsibility
A secret superhero battles a robot army, a group of kids discovers why they were saved from the end of the world, and a bunch of misfits develop super powers after a strange accident, in Robert Venditti’ Rise of the Robot Army, Kirsten Hubbard’s Race the Night, and Amy Ignatow’s The Mighty Odds.…
Where Magic Meets Destiny
A street thief meets her destiny to become the greatest witch in history, a young girl is accidentally imbued with moonlight and her magic changes the fate of all around her, and a girl who lives between two worlds comes face-to-face with a terrible evil and must search deep within to do what she was destined to in Claire LeGrand’s Foxheart, Kelly Barnhill’s The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Robert Beatty’s Serafina and the Twisted Staff.…
Culture, Class, and Identity
A young girl finds an unexpected friend, a girl stands up for a social outcast, and a young Mexican girl struggles to assimilate, in Augusta Scattergood‘s Making Friends with Billy Wong, Lauren Wolk‘s Wolf Hollow, and Reyna Grande‘s The Distance Between Us.…
Good vs. Evil/Evil vs. Good
Mal and the rest of her recently reformed villains struggle with their wickedness, in Melissa de la Cruz‘s Return to the Isle of the Lost; the wicked stepmother gets even more wicked, in Matt Phelan‘s Snow White and villains return with a vengeance, prompting Good to make a final stand in Soman Chainani’s The School for Good and Evil: The Ever Never Handbook.…
Growing Up is No Fun
A family living in a car must take care of themselves in Esta Spalding‘s Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts; a young boy learns how complicated things can get, in Frank Viva‘s Sea Change; a down-on-his-luck boy finds the strength to cope, in Cammie McGovern‘s Just My Luck; and a young boy must figure out how to manage the trials of growing up, in A-dziko Simba Gegele‘s All Over Again.…
November 2017
Michael Fry
When you come from a family of supervillains, expectation are high. But what happens if you don’t have a single bad-guy bone in your body? Find out in How to be a Supervillain. RSVP Here!…
Michael Fry
Rita Ruesga
Recreación con “sabor mexicano” de una canción infantil del folclor estadounidense, utilizando como personajes a los diez integrantes de una banda de mariachis. Con el apoyo de Fundación Cuatrogatos y el Departamento de Educación Bilingüe y Lenguas Extranjeras de las Escuelas Públicas del Condado Miami-Dade…
Rita Ruesga
Jennifer George and Ed Steckley
There’s no such thing as “simple” when Rube Goldberg is around. In Rube Goldberg’s Simple Humdrum School Day, the simplest path to getting a task done is always a humorously complicated one! RSVP Here!…
Picture Book Authors: Juan Gil and Luis Berros
Start your morning with a sing-along as Billy the Otter discovers he’s just a little guy in a big, big ocean. But that doesn’t mean he can’t explore the possibilities waiting for him beyond the sea! …
Between Two Worlds: Adventure Stories
What do you get when you cross a magical pashmina, a book of fanciful stories about real treasures, fairy-tale case files, supernatural abilities, and real-life problems? Find out in these stories of magic, adventure, and super-ness with Nidhi Chanani’s Pashmina, Peter Lerangis’ Max Tilt: Fire the Depths, Michael Buckley’s The Sisters Grimm series, and Faith Erin Hicks’ The Adventures of Superhero Girl.…
Super Awesomeness and Super Villainy
Jump into a world where hamsters are secretly superheroes and supervillains just want to finish their peas like a –gasp!– good guy! In George O’Connor’s Super Turbo Protects the World, Turbo the hamster tries to foil the evil Whiskerface and Victor Spoil doesn’t quite fit in with his super villainous family in Michael Fry’s How to Be A Supervillain. …
Picture Book Author: Liniers
Renowned Argentinian cartoonist Liniers is back with a tale that will have you wishing for bedtime. Goodnight, Planet will take you on a wondrous journey to discover the secret lives of your favorite toys after “lights out.”…
Sun, Fun and a little Mystery: Summer Adventure Stories
Summer can be the most magical time of year—literally. Summer will never be the same in Matt Holm’s Swing It, Sunny; Mariko Tamaki’s Lumberjanes: Unicorn Power!; and Kim Dwinell’s Surfside Girls.…
Picture Book Authors: Jennifer George and Ed Steckley
Rube Goldberg was a famous inventor known for making the most complicated machines to complete the simplest tasks. Join Rube’s granddaughter Jennifer George and illustrator Ed Steckley for a picture book that’s anything but “normal” with Rube Goldberg’s Simple Humdrum School Day.…
Life in Full Color: The Art of Hope
These intersectional stories portray the lives of young kids who struggle to find their identity, their voice, and hope. Take a beautiful journey with David Barclay Moore’s The Stars Beneath Our Feet, Ruth Behar’s Lucky Broken Girl and Pablo Cartaya’s The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora. …
DC and Marvel: New Superhero Stories
Your super heroes have new obstacles to face and new foes to battle in the stories of Barry Lyga’s The Flash: Hocus Pocus, Mariko Tamaki’s She-Hulk Vol.1 and Jo Whittemore’s Supergirl: Age of Atlantis.…
Rescue Missions and Other Worlds
Step into worlds of adventure through ominous doors leading to even more ominous places, in Shannon Messenger’s Nightfall, Nathan Hale’s One Trick Pony and Danielle McClean’s The Protector’s Pledge.…
Picture Book Authors: Eric Morse with Nelson George
“In the beginning, there was a beat…” Using rhyming verses and clay illustrations, Eric Morse and Nelson George teach kids the history of hip-hop, from block parties in the Bronx to today’s mega concerts, in What Is Hip-Hop.…
Beloved author of Frindle, Andrew Clements!
Celebrate the joy of reading with Andrew Clements’ new book, The Loser’s Club! Sixth-grader Alec can’t seem to get his nose out of books, so when he’s told that he better pay attention, or else, he comes up with a brilliant idea and starts a club so he can read by himself- The Losers Club. Nobody would want to join that, right? As more members join, Alec quickly learns the best stories are the ones that happen off the page. …
Picture Book Author: Lauren Wohl
When Nicholas’s family has too many blueberries, he devises a plan to sell them to help the community center. But how will he pick them all and make sure the bear doesn’t eat them before he can? Find out in Blueberry Bonanza!…
Picture Book Author: The Okee Dokee Brothers
The Grammy Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers bring a folktale to life in their latest picture book, Thousand Star Hotel. Join them for a reading of a fanciful story about the thing we wish for and the things we really need, inspired by the folktale “The Fisherman’s Wife.”…
Inventions and Inspirations: Kid-trepreneurs
Miami is a melting pot of cultures, fashion, art, and ideas. It’s also home to some of the most inventive and passionate young minds – kid-trepreneurs. Close out the fair with a conversation sure to get your inspiration flowing as young entrepreneurs talk about the non-profits and activism work they are doing to help build a better future. With Zoe Terry of Zoe’s Dolls (10 yrs. old), Sebastian and Brandon Martinez of Are You Kidding Socks (8 and 10 yrs.…
November 2018
Picture Book Author: Alex Beard
Upper plaza of Children’s Alley Can warthogs fly? Do tigers eat broccoli? The Lying King is a contemporary parable in which whimsical animals come to life to illuminate real world truths for children of all ages.…
The Plot Thickens: Secret Adventure Stories
Upper plaza of Children’s Alley In this rollicking adventure by comics sensation Molly Brooks, Sanity & Tallulah must save their space station from a science experiment gone wrong before it’s too late. Ally Condie & Brendan Reichs will have your pulse racing with The Darkdeep, home to something ancient that can detect your brightest wishes and your darkest secrets.…
Picture Book Author: Marianne Celano
Sometimes it’s hard to know how to talk to your kids about difficult topics and traumatic events, such as social justice. Psychologist Marianne Celano helps to start the conversation with Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice.…