Children’s Book and Learning Festival
Saturday, September 19th, 10am-3pm
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, outside on Woodrow Wilson Plaza
- Austin K. Graff
- Desaray Mnyandu
- Pamela Ehrenberg
- Joanne Kieffer
- Karen Leggett Abouraya
- Ginger Park
- Naaz Khan
- Trap Bob
Austin K. Graff is a writer, content creator, and social media strategist. After leading social media and influencer marketing teams at International Justice Mission, Coca-Cola Company, and The Washington Post, Austin created the first-ever guide to all 131 DC neighborhoods, telling stories of hope throughout the community online.
Austin has organized a scavenger hunt around the plaza!
Learn more at austinkgraff.com
Desaray Mnyandu was born into a military family. Her travels around the globe as a child led to a passion for world cultures. Her goal is to write books that introduce children to the world and help them gain cultural competence at an early age. She hopes her writing will help children discover common affirmations that exist among all people in order to grow their own confidence as global citizens. She works as an art teacher as well as the president of the Children’s Book Guild of Washington D.C. She is married to her college sweetheart and they live outside Washington DC, where she homeschools their four children.
Long ago when all the animals in the African savannah had no tails, little Imbila wanted one so badly! Visitors to author Desaray Mnyandu’s table will use crafty materials (pom-poms, pipe cleaners, beads, and markers) to make a tail for Imbila, the adorable but lazy main character of the children’s picture book Imbila’s Tale.
Lear more at desaraywrites.com
Pamela Ehrenberg is a DC resident and the author of seven books for young readers, including The See-You-Soon Spice Box and Detour Ahead (co-authored with Tracy López), which was a National Jewish Book Award finalist. Pamela works at the National Association for the Education of Young Children and lives near the National Zoo with her teenager and pet rabbit (and when, lucky, her visiting college student!).
In celebration of her newly re-released Planting Parsley, Pamela’s festival booth will offer an opportunity for young readers and gardeners to plant parsley seeds in compostable pots.
Learn more at pamelaehrenberg.com
Joanne Kieffer, a native Washingtonian, lives with her husband Arnold and their naughty but nice Olde English Bulldogge Percy. In the early 80’s, her love for children’s books motivated her to open the first new and used children’s bookstore, Classic Tales, an Antique Row in Kensington, Maryland. Having lived with many dogs from Poodles to Bullmastiffs, Percy has been the most remarkable by far. Their special bond inspired her to fulfill a lifelong dream of writing a children’s book.
P for Percy is an alphabet story in rhyme with whimsical illustrations featuring the Olde English Bulldogge, Percy! Join author Joanne Kieffer in a crown decorating craft inspired by the story.
Karen Leggett Abouraya is a journalist and the author of Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt’s Treasured Books and Zamzam, the story of a boy whose grandparents live in America and Egypt. Karen has worked extensively to promote cultural exchange between Americans and Muslims/Arab/Egyptians and she also advocates in Montgomery County, Maryland, for people with disabilities.
At Karen’s table children will decorate camels and make collage paper dolls, like Susan L Roth’s collage illustrations in the book.
Learn more at karenleggettabouraya.com
Ginger Park is an award-winning author of children’s books that celebrate Korean heritage, family, and belonging. Her honors include the International Reading Association Children’s Book Award, the IRA–CBC Teachers’ Choice Award, the Notable Books for a Global Society Award, and the Bank Street College Book Award, among others. Her forthcoming picture book, MoonCat, celebrates family bonds and Chuseok, the Korean harvest festival.
Ginger will be featuring her books, My Sister’s Doljabi and Grandpa’s Scroll – both books celebrate family traditions and yearning for bonds. Stop by Ginger’s both to check out her books and learn the Korean alphabet through scroll painting!
Naaz Khan is an educator, writer, and life long learner with a background in refugee education, curriculum development, and interfaith dialogue. Her debut picture book, Room for Everyone came out November 9, 2021! She is represented by Lilly Ghahremani of Full Circle Literary.
She has lived in a number of places including Jubail, Cairo, Nairobi, Bangalore, Berkeley, San Diego, New York, and currently lives in the city of Washington DC.
Naaz works as an education coordinator at An Open Book Foundation, a literacy organization that connects young people in the DC area with authors, illustrators and books.
Other awesome places she has worked include Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe. Church World Service – Resettlement Support Center Africa, The Center for Applied Linguistics, University of Maryland – College Park, Montgomery Community College Refugee Training Center, Lutheran Social Services/Refugee and Immigrant Services and the International Rescue Committee. She has also served on the board of The Interfaith Conference of Washington, DC.
When she’s not reading or writing, Naaz loves exploring new places, going for walks in the woods, and tinkering around on her ukelele.
Naaz Khan will be featuring her book, Room For Everyone. Visit her table to participate in a decorate your own bus craft!
Tenbeete Solomon, better known as Trap Bob, is a multidisciplinary artist based in Washington, DC. She is known for her use of bold colors and gestures to convey both the humor and struggles of everyday life. Her work is socially conscious and frequently inspired by activism and community issues, with an aim to bridge the gap between her audience and her message. Her work is rooted in the belief that “Art Will Save the World”.
Inspired by her coloring book, Super Drawn, stop by to Draw your Dreams with Trap Bob. Grab some color and express your dreams, hopes and ideas on a paper cloud!
Meet our community partners and enjoy engaging activities at each booth!
- Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC: The Children’s Book Guild a not-for-profit, volunteer-run organization of DC-Metro area professionals working in the field of children’s literature. Members include authors, illustrators, librarians, literacy and literature specialists, publishers, editors, booksellers, scholars, non-profit organizations, and others. We are very excited to welcome 6 members from the Guild to join this special day.
- National Children’s Museum: The National Children’s Museum invites visitors to walk through The Story Walk, featuring the children’s book Mel Fell. Families will be able to read along the giant pages as they weave and walk through the plaza
- National Building Museum: The National Building Museum will provide a free build activity with prompts! Based off the book Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty, kids are encouraged to creatively build structures out of foam parts and Magna-tiles.
- Urban Adventure Squad: Who are the species in your neighborhood? Urban Adventure Squad will offer outdoor learning activities for kids of all ages, including birding, tree and species identification, and a chance to create and take home your favorite local critter.
- The Giving Square: The Giving Square is a nonprofit empowering kids to become active members in their communities. Stop by their table to participate in a TGS book review. The Giving Square introduces children to a broader and deeper interpretation of what philanthropy can be and validates the many ways that ALL of us can and do contribute to the world around us.
- The DC Public Library: The DCPL will have fun craft kits to encourage family crafting together, in addition to on-the-spot library card sign-up and new books for families to explore
- Step Afrika: Step Afrika! promotes stepping as an educational tool for young people, focusing on teamwork, academic achievement, and cross-cultural understanding. The Company reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year through a 50-city tour of colleges and theaters and performs globally as Washington, DC’s one and only Cultural Ambassador.
- Readability: Readability is a national nonprofit organization led by high school students that creates multisensory books and provides storytelling sessions for children with ASD & intellectual disabilities through libraries, schools, theaters, and museums.
- Shout Mouse Press: Connect with youth authors from our Beyond Borders bilingual children’s book series, and participate in a quick prompt write/draw exercise relevant to their books. Shout Mouse Press is dedicated to centering and amplifying the voices of marginalized youth (ages 12+) via writing workshops, book publication, and public speaking opportunities.
Turning the Page: Visit our Turning the Page booth to learn about how we engage parents and caregivers to develop strategies that help children achieve academic success and a lifelong love of learning. At our booth, kids can craft book wands to mark where you left off in your next read!
Shop for gently used books at the Carpe Librum pop-up, a used book store supporting Turning the Page’s educational programming in DC.
Thank you to our partners:
