Pinkalicious, Bad Kitty authors to appear at Columbus Children’s Book Festival

Some of the top children’s authors and illustrators in the country will be at the Columbus Children’s Book Festival on Saturday.

Visitors to the free event at the Columbus Public Library on Macon Road will be able to connect with Yuyi Morales, Nick Bruel, Victoria Kann and Lincoln Peirce. Autographs will be available.

They will also be entertained by several fun acts including Adam the Juggler, storyteller Mama KoKu, and Dr. Tom’s Semi-Silent Theater. There will also be Animal Adventures and Twist Your World Balloon Art.

The musical act Pears for Bears will perform in the afternoon.

Books will be for sale as will plenty of concessions at the festival that runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event is rain or shine.

“We have got some great people coming,” said Henry McCoy, programming and media content coordinator for Chattahoochee Valley Libraries.

McCoy said this is the fifth year for the book festival.

“We have thousands attend,” he said. “It is just a great family event.”

A special feature of the festival will be the Pinkalicious Fashion Show. Children ages 13 and younger are invited to show off their costume creations inspired by the best-selling book series. All participants get to walk the runway, be photographed by the paparazzi and receive a special gift. Participants should report to the fashion tent at 10:45 a.m., with the show beginning at 11 a.m.

Kann is writer and illustrator of the popular Pinkalicious books and wrote the play “Pinkalicious The Musical.”

The Pinkalicious character was inspired by her daughters who love cupcakes and the color pink. On Saturday, Kann will talk about how the popular series came to be.

A native of Mexico, Yuyi Morales is an award-winning illustrator for children’s books such as “Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez” and “Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book.”

Nick Bruel is the author and illustrator of The New York Times Bestseller “Boing!” and the Bad Kitty books.

Lincoln Peirce is known for his character Big Nate, who appears in a comic strip carried by about 200 newspapers and books.

Galactic Quest Comics will have its own tent to meet fans. Herocats creators Kyle Puttkammer and Marcus Williams will be on hand.

Morales will speak at 10:30 a.m., Bruel at 11:30 a.m., Kann at 12:30 p.m., and Peirce at 1:30 p.m.

There will be crafts at Craft-O-Mania for children to work with and the Simple Steps Garden will be an area of play, reading and crafts for toddlers and pre-schoolers.

Complete event information, including author and performer schedules can be found on the Chattahoochee Valley Libraries’ website at www.cvlga.org. Interested parties may also contact the library at 706-243-2669.

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Pinkalicious, Bad Kitty authors to appear at Columbus Children’s Book Festival."