Clare opens up to Children’s Book Fest

THIS year’s Children’s Book Festival is running throughout October and Clare County Library isoffering a tasty menu of Irish and international authors and illustrators.
There will be activities in all branches, with activities such as readings by popular authors, illustration and live history workshops, storytelling and competitions.
This year will see the return of the O’Brien Press Cover Design Competition, which gives budding designers the opportunity to have their artwork featured on the cover of a professionally published book.
To celebrate the fourth year of the competition, Laureate na nÓg Siobhán Parkinson’s book Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows and a Witch (Maybe), first published in 1997, has been chosen for re-jacketing.
The winner will see their design gracing the shelves in their local library or bookshop and have their entire class invited to a glitzy awards ceremony and will win five sets of all Siobhán Parkinson’s O’Brien Press titles for their school.
This year’s festival image comes from acclaimed illustrator, Niamh Sharkey who visited Clare’s libraries in 2007 for the festival. Her image features a hungry monster, who loves to munch on books. A competition is running and the challenge is to name the beast in the poster. In so doing, entrants will be in with a chance to win prizes for their school or library.
Authors, Oisín McGann, Nicola Pierce, Judi Curtin, Bob Burke and Dolores Keaveney will all be at libraries while there will be a treat for Gaelscoileanna when Bridget Breathnach will bring her new book Lúlú agus an Oíche Ghlórach to the attention of first and second classes in Ennis, Kilrush and Shannon.
Storytelling sessions come courtesy of the multi-talented Billy Teare and Kathleen O’Sullivan and poetry will be presented in a novel and interactive way by Tony Maude through his sessions featuring a unique blend of songs, riddles, cats and Shakespeare.
Dr Fred Freeman will bring his show Burns for Bairns to children of senior classes, while he will present a lecture to adults at Scariff Library on the evening of Friday, October 21.
Michael Moylan’s Irish history live show will bring audiences a museum full of artefacts. He will offer a hands on show guaranteed to fascinate children in senior classes at Ennis, Tulla, Ennistymon and Miltown Malbay libraries.
Music workshops facilitated by John Lillis will focus on educating, entertaining and inspiring fifth and sixth class children in a musical environment.
Adrienne Geoghegan’s illustration workshops will inspire participants to use everyday objects symbolically, suggestively and decoratively to produce amazing illustrations. She is an award-winning illustrator.
As usual there will be children’s puppet theatre, with Miriam Lambert Puppet Theatre performing The Gingerbread Man.
More information on the events is available on www.clarelibrary.ie.