FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

1:00pm - 2:30pm Lois Lowry (Ages 10-14)
Latchis Theatre*
*Note: Seating for this event is very limited; there will be a number of school classes attending. It is recommended that you contact the festival in advance if you plan to attend.

Lois Lowry is the author of more than 30 books for children and young adults, including The Giver, Number the Stars and Gossamer. She has won two Newbery medals and numerous other awards for her compelling fiction. The Giver, which is set in a world where freedom of choice has been taken away, has the distinction of having been banned in certain school districts. Lois divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts and the coast of Maine.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

11:00am - 12:00pm Matt Tavares (Ages 5- 10)
Hooker-Dunham Theatre

Matt Tavares is an author, illustrator and avid Red Sox fan, and his love of baseball is reflected in three of his picture books for children. Zachary's Ball was first written and illustrated as his senior thesis at Bates College, and after publication by Candlewick, it was named one of Yankee Magazine's 40 Classic New England Children's Books. Oliver's Game followed, and Mudball came in second in the 2007 Red Clover Award voting. Matt and his family live in Ogunquit, ME, and catching a foul ball at a Red Sox game remains his fantasy.

2:00pm - 3:00pm Ibtisam Barakat (Ages 15 & Up)
Centre Congregational Church

Ibtisam Barakat is a Palestinian author, poet, translator and educator and the founder of Write Your Life seminars. Her book Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood captures what it is like to be a child whose world is forever altered by war. It has been described by Booklist as "a spare elegant memoir." Her short stories appear in a variety of anthologies including Jennifer Armstrong's Shattered and Naomi Shahib Nye's The Space Between Our Footsteps. Ibtisam grew up in Ramallah and now makes her home in Columia, MO.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

11:00am - 12:00pm Leda Schubert (Ages 5-10)
Hooker-Dunham Theater

Leda Schubert has lived in northern Vermont for more than 30 years, and her first picture book, Here Comes Darrell, celebrates one of rural Vermont's community heroes. Ballet of the Elephants was a Kirkus Editor's Choice for 2006 and is also on the Horn Book Fanfare list. For seventeen years, Leda was the school library consultant for the Vermont Department of Education. She has also served on several book award committees, including the Caldecott Committee and two of Vermont's three children's choice award committees.

Events for children and young adults are made possible through the generous support of C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., the George W. Mergens Foundation, and the Verizon Foundation.