As one of the largest and most engaging annual book festivals in the northeast, The Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival shares a mission that is near-and-dear to our heart; a mission to put a book in the hands of every child.

{Art by Roxie Munro}

The 7th annual #ChappBook festival will take place this year on October 5th, at Bell Middle School, in Chappaqua, NY, just across the street from the Chappaqua train station. This popular event will be jam-packed with 140+ creatively renowned authors and illustrators, kid-friendly crafts, food, activities, and fun that will make a lasting connection with the love of reading.

The History of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival

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The event began on the heels of the long-standing festival on the Hudson River canceled abruptly. Knowing that there was a deep need for a book-inspired festival that created a deeper connection with authors, illustrators, readers, and educators, Dawn Greenberg set to work to create exactly that. With local children’s book author Barbara Dee, assistant director Madeline Finesmith, and two other founding Board Members by her side, this ambitious mom dove into making her vision come to fruition.

In only six short months, the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival (CCBF) was made a reality thanks to Dawn’s hardworking team and 200 volunteers that helped on festival day. Currently, the CCBF board has eight members including teachers and children’s book author Sally Cook.

Now in its seventh year, this free and open to the public event is expected to draw over 8,000 book-loving participants during its October 5th event.

Boy reading Rodent Rascals by Roxie Munro

Photo credit: Bo Zaunders

What You Can Expect at the 2019 Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival

This literacy-filled book festival is for readers 0-18 and will be on Saturday, October 5th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The location of the celebration is Bell Middle School, in Chappaqua, NY, just across the street from the Chappaqua train station. There are detailed directions on the CCBF website here.

Teachers will have the opportunity to purchase books, meet the authors, learn about illustration and writing while visiting CCBF’s Educator’s Hospitality Tent.

All visitors are welcome to enjoy our Author Meet-n-Greets, our illustrator’s area, the Food for Thought food truck round-up, the Great Chappaqua Bake Sale, all of the literacy-inspired activities along with their many fun and inviting sponsor booths with games, giveaways, and crafts.

Photo credit: Bo Zaunders

Photo credit: Bo Zaunders

Among CCBF’s 140+ authors who will be on hand to talk books and even be on discussion panels, many diverse books and authors will be represented.

Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival Author Talks

{Art by Roxie Munro}

Visitors can meet and talk to well-known and multicultural authors including Eric Velasquez, Bryan Collier, Jerry and Gloria Pinkney, John Parra, Tracey Baptiste, Veera Hiranandani. Nikki Grimes, Padma Venkatraman, Veera Hiranandani, CeCe Bell (El Deafo), Alyson Gerber (Braced, Focused), and authors who have written books with LGBTQ themes, Barbara Dee and Kyle Lukoff.

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Authors Joyce Wan, John Parra, Florence Minor, and Bryan Collier

“We truly believe that just one book can change a child’s life and an encounter with the author of their favorite book can be life-changing as well,” Dawn confirmed. “During CCBF, all of the authors who participate are so incredibly gracious and generous with their time. Over the years, watching kids, parents, and educators be positively impacted by our event has never gotten old for me.”

Dawn went on to share that teachers from the region have fully embraced CCBF as it’s grown and evolved over the years and their support is a huge part of the event’s continued success. “Personally, I think teachers rule the world and to have them come in force to this event to meet the authors of the books they love to share with students, and how much that means to them to make that connect, means the world to me.”

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In Praise of #ChapBooks

I’m happy to say that since its inception, I have NEVER missed a single Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival. It has been, and continues to be one of my favorite literary events. The warm interactions between the artists and writers, not only with each other, but also with the hundreds of families, teachers, and librarians, make it seem more like a family reunion than a book festival. But the icing on the cake is always the excited kid readers who come not only to search for their current favorite children’s book creators, but also to meet their new favorites. Plus it’s a great to see so many teachers unleash their inner child so that they can continue to be excited and share that enthusiasm with their students. If you’re a fan of children’s lit, it’s not to be missed.-Jerry Craft | Author / Illustrator “New Kid” – My Middle Grade Graphic Novel (HarperCollins Feb 2019)

Connect with Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival on their website, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Hope to see you there!