Vivian Vande Velde has lived in Rochester for most of her life and has penned forty books for children including Frogged and Squirrel in the Museum. She became a writer because she loves stories and was raised to believe she could do anything she set her mind to. Vande Velde became a founding member of the Rochester Area Children’s Writers and Illustrators group, which hosts the Rochester Children’s Book Festival every November.
A small group of volunteers noticed that children from some of the nearby schools were not able to attend the festival because they lacked transportation or their parents had to work weekends. These schools were also the least likely to be able to afford author visits. In 2004, the volunteers set out to change that, by bringing the authors and books directly to the students, and “Festival to Go” was born.
Carol Johmann led the group as they formed a partnership with the charitable organization Altrusa, raising enough funds to donate author visits to a local school and new books to the school library. Children would line up to get on a waiting list to borrow the books. Vande Velde knew it would be better to get these books into the hands of children while they were still excited about them. So, when she took over in 2010, she expanded the program making it a school wide event with enough authors and illustrators so that every classroom gets a personal presentation.
In recent years they raised enough donations so that every single child goes home with a new autographed and personalized book.
Melissa Frost, librarian at School No. 15, says that “For the majority of the students, this was the first time they met an author or illustrator. What a wonderful way to promote reading and inspire students to write and draw.”
Reading is essential to performing well in school, and Festival to Go is an attempt Photos provided to bring the love of reading to as many children as possible.
Kathleen Blasi, author of Hosea Plays On, loves this special legacy of literacy. “Recognizing the value of students connecting with those who create books, Vande Velde maximized the number of students who could be touched by the program.”
Some volunteers hold workshops on writing and drawing while others have students act out a story, create bookrelated crafts, or talk about their process and how to create, write, revise, and illustrate. Above all, students are taught that each one of their voices is important, and they are encouraged to tell their own stories.
Kevin Kurtz, author of A Day in the Deep, looks forward to the Festival to Go every year. “It’s fun meeting kids face-to-face at our regular festival, but I find kids become more engaged when the author comes to them in their classroom, and they have more time to ask questions,” he says.
School No. 50 librarian Janet Bird says, “Festival to Go has been an amazing resource for me, my library, and especially my students. Viviane genuinely cares about giving our students access to authors, illustrators, and books.”
One of Vande Velde's favorite memories is when she was attending another author’s session. The author told the class that everyone would receive a book. One of the children turned to her and asked, “Do we each get a book? To keep?” When Vande Valde assured him it was true, he proudly told her, “Now I’ll have two books!”
To afford the number of books needed for one book per child, Van Velde has sought funding through grants and individual donations, including from RACWI members, through the Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library benefactor Karen Sue Brown, and from the Ruby M. Jefferson Memorial Book Fund.
Vande Velde knows that giving books to children who don’t have much isn’t going to solve all the problems of the world, but it does make the world a little better for that child. This year’s program will be hosted by Anna Murray-Douglass Academy and supported by the Frederick Douglass Memorial Library which is fitting as Frederick Douglass said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”