My first children’s festival

At the beginning of this month I attended my first children’s festival as one of the participating authors! Milestone moment! Little Shop of Stories did an incredible job planning their festival in Atlanta, Georgia. It was smooth, fun, and well-organized. Plus I got to eat delicious cookie monster ice cream.

Here are a few things I learned from the trip.

Chocolate makes a home away from home.

I stayed with my bestie Angela Pham Krans who is the author of three incredible picture books called FINDING PAPA, WORDS BETWEEN US, and ANOTHER WORD FOR NEIGHBOR. Definitely buy them all :)

She is one of those people who is so thoughtful about the little things like chocolate surprises and fresh flowers to brighten a room. We had a blast chatting (our favorite thing to do), going on walks with her dog Archer, eating delicious food, and meeting new book friends.

Let’s just say I returned home very spoiled and poor Aaron had to deal with my new chocolate demands. (Who are we kidding…my chocolate demands are not new.)

Laughter is a gift you can offer others (and receive).

I was lucky enough to be paired on the children’s stage with Drew Daywalt, the author of THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT. His latest picture book is called LITTLE FREDDIE TWO PANTS, and oh my gosh, it’s hilarious (buy it!). Every page turn invites kids to engage and laugh. The illustrations by Lucy Ruth Cummins are adorable and smart and silly in all the best ways.

During our event, we each read our books and then Little Shop had prepared a game of “pin the pants on the donkey.” There were two sets of pants, one big and one small, to velcro to a donkey (so good, right?). I was first, and this was when I learned a valuable lesson from Drew. He secretly suggested to me that we do the opposite of what we were “supposed” to do which would make it an even funnier experience for the kids. I was so in! And all the kids were like, “Look! Look! You put the pants on wrong!” They loved it.

I learned a lot from him about how to create a great experience for the audience, and also how to be generous to the person you are on stage with. I could see how he still embraced the spirit of “yes and” from his background in improv comedy, and I felt very comfortable joking and talking on stage even though it was my first festival. A huge part of that was Drew’s generosity. Thanks Drew!

Take time to see and hear others.

I also wanted to highlight one more experience that meant a lot to me. During an incredible event with authors Allie Millington, Gayle Forman, and Lauren Wolk (seriously, what a rockstar group!), a man came up during their Q&A. He asked for the microphone and began to express how important mental health is and how it is so hard to hold onto sometimes. It was heartbreaking to hear this man struggle to speak, and you could tell his battle with his own mental health was a challenge.

Lauren Wolk gently took the microphone while saying, “Can I answer your wonderful question?” She then expressed how she was so glad he was bringing up this very important topic, because it is a struggle that many have. A few of her loved ones had struggled their whole lives with it, and it has impacted her whole family. Then she looked him in the eye and said thank you.

I couldn’t help but cry. I don’t talk about it very often, but I have family members and friends who’ve had lifelong struggles with mental health issues. While at the festival, I found out that one of my own loved ones was really struggling, and it helped me so much to know there are people in the world like Lauren who will speak with kindness to someone going through a hard time.

The festival did end up having to invite him away from the microphone (boundaries are important in these moments too), but I’m so glad he had a moment to speak and feel heard.

Thank you so much to Little Shop and all the booksellers, speakers, volunteers, and attendees I met during the festival. I feel so grateful for this experience.