Now there are a lot of reasons why those of you within driving distance of NYC should attend Bookfest this year.  I’ll cut to the chase, however.

For more details you can go here.  Otherwise, here is the press release:

Book Fest 2008

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Presented by

School Library Journal

and

The New York Public Library

Celeste Bartos Forum
Humanities and Social Sciences Library
42nd Street and Fifth Avenue |
Enter through 42nd Street Door

Registration fee of $65 includes morning coffee, lunch and sherry.

BOOK FEST 2008

This year Book Fest at NYPL joins with School Library Journal to bring people together to share the fun of reading and talking about books for children and teens.

School Library Journal and the new Offices of Children’s Programs, Young Adult Programs and Education Outreach in the Department of Education, Programs and Exhibitions of The New York Public Library are pleased to continue this special event. To kick the morning off, Brian Jacques, master storyteller and jack-of-all-trades and author of the bestselling Redwall series, will be our keynote speaker. Brian Jacques is the author of more than 25 books for children and teens which have sold over 20 million copies worldwide. His most recent title is Doomwyte: A Tale from Redwall.

Next it will be time for you to discuss books in our small book discussion groups. Choose one of the eleven groups listed by age to the right. Each is led by a well-known children’s or young adult literature specialist in the New York City area. Make a selection and read all the books listed so you can share in the discussion.

Our afternoon panel will feature a thought provoking discussion of War and Peace in books for young people.

Walter Dean Myers has published over seventy books for children and teens. He has received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He has been awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he has received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists. His latest title is Sunrise Over Fallujah.

Growing up with war and occupation is the focus of Ibitsam Barakat’s memoir, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood. In 2007, Booklist named it one of the top ten biographies for youth, and it was listed as an American Library Association Notable. In 2008 the memoir won the International Reading Association’s Best Non-Fiction Book Award for Children and Young Adults.

Jeanette Winter has written and illustrated many books for children based on true-life stories, including the highly acclaimed MAMA, The Librarian of Basra, and My Name is Georgia. The Librarian of Basra received a starred review by School Library Journal, was an ALA Notable Children’s Book, a CCBC Choice and was the winner of the Bank Street College of Education Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for Nonfiction. Her most recent title is Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa.

To keep your energy flowing, there will be morning coffee, a gourmet lunch, and a sherry hour at the day’s conclusion. Book sales and autographing by our featured presenters will add to the day’s enjoyment.

WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL JOIN US IN THE BEAUTIFUL CELESTE BARTOS FORUM ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, FOR A STIMULATING BOOK FEST 2008.

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