Those who attend the inaugural Decatur Children’s Book Festival, presented by Little Shop of Stories, expecting the traditional line-up of author readings and discussions during which audience members are invited to participate only at the end during a question-and-answer session are in for a surprise, according to Diane Capriola, co-owner of Little Shop Stories and one of the festival organizers.

“The festival is designed to engage young people and their families and will include many interactive sessions. The idea is for everyone to have fun and to reinforce the idea that reading is fun,” Capriola said of the festival, which will take place May 3 through 5 in downtown Decatur, concurrent with the Decatur Arts Festival.

Capriola offered as an example the session Story Time with Shelly Anand and Karen Good Marable: My Family is Special!. During the session, authors Anand and Marable will “share stories that encourage us all to consider what makes our own families special” then invite young attendees to join in a family tree activity in which they ask parents about traditions that make their family unique.

In another session, she said, Angela DiTerlizzi, author of The Curious Why, will challenge youngsters to create their own bucket list for all the things they want to do, see, and be.

Young graphic novel fans in another session will be invited to challenge authors Max Brallier and Pablo Cartaya in a game of “Truth or Draw,” according to Capriola.
The festival kicks off May 3 at First Baptist Church of Decatur with keynote presentations by authors Kate Dicamillo, LaDarrion Williams, and Rebecca Ross.

Dicamillo is the author of more than 25 novels. Her books have sold a combined total of more than 37 million copies; four have been adapted into film, and two have been made into musicals.

Williams is a self-taught playwright, filmmaker, author, screenwriter, whose goal, according to a Playwrights Center profile, is “to cultivate a new era of Black fantasy.” He won first place at the Alabama State Thespian Conference, the first of his many prestigious awards.

Ross is best known for her young adult novels, particularly her New York Times bestselling Letters of Enchantment duology.

“We are thrilled to host a festival that will encourage young readers to continue exploring the world of literature,” Capriola said. “We feel fortunate to have such great voices joining us and hope this will foster a lifelong love of reading.”

Capriola said the festival was able to secure top-tier writers because of existing relationships with New York publishers. “They know Decatur as a city of book lovers. When we approached them for help securing our festival line-up, it was a relatively easy ask.”

She recalled that Decatur hosted the highly successful Decatur Book festival every year since 2005, before taking a pause in 2023. “The festival included extremely popular children’s events and we considered that a separate children’s book festival at a different time of year, [The Decatur Book Festival was traditionally held over Labor Day weekend] might generate some excitement. Since this is our first, it’s hard to make predictions, but we’re hoping this can become an annual event,” Capriola said.

Other venues for Decatur Children’s Book Festival events include the Decatur Recreation Center and the Decatur Library. More than 25 businesses and organizations have signed on as exhibitors. There will be two festival stages with ongoing activities—one for children 12 and younger and another for teens through adults.

Events other than the keynote presentation will be free. Tickets to the Decatur Children’s Book Festival keynote event on May 3 can be found on Eventbrite. For additional information about the Decatur Children’s Book Festival, visit DecaturChildrensBookFest.org.