Published April 6, 2022

Cherie Fu (Little Messy Marcy Su), Shannon Hitchcock (She Sang for the Mountains), Juana Medina (Juana & Lucas: Muchos Changes), Sana Rafi (Little Seeds of Promise), and Brittany J. Thurman (Fly) read from their latest books for young readers, in this engaging and interactive virtual storytime. Hosted by Sarah FitzHenry.

Watch the video from this event:

Please note the video has been edited; activities featuring video content not owned by the Festival have been removed.

Thanks to our bookseller for this event, Book No Further.

Fu shares a pitch-perfect rhyming text about messiness that any child and parent can relate to—featuring a unique Chinese-American, intergenerational twist.

Hitchcock’s lyrical picture book biography of songwriter and activist Jean Ritchie-Singer traces her life from the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky to New York City and beyond as her protest songs inspired a nation. 

“Medina’s marvelous, sprawling cartoon illustrations, occupying a full or sometimes double page, bring her characters and Bogota itself to life.”—The Buffalo News

When Maya moves to a different country, she feels lonely and lost. Everything―and everyone―seems so unfamiliar here, and she wonders if she will ever find a way to fit in. Rafi tells her story as she holds tightly to the special seeds her grandmother gave her, afraid to plant them. Can she take the risk that they―and she―might grow and bloom in this new place?

Pure joy and the power of community radiate from Fly, a sweet picture book about a young Black girl’s perseverance and confidence in following her Double Dutch dreams.

Sponsors

Virginia Festival of the Book staff, volunteers, partners, and attendees appreciate all of our sponsors. It is their crucial support, along with individual donors, that allows us to present the 2022 Virginia Festival of the Book almost completely free of charge. We appreciate the generous commitment from our Premier Sponsor, The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, and these major sponsors: Michelle and David Baldacci, Dominion Energy, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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