Thursday, October 12
The VCBF bookshop is located in Dorrill Lee Grand. Lunch, book signings, and outdoor activities are from 11:30-1:15.
The Rice in the Pot: A Family Story: Wendy Wan-Long Shang
What meals bring your family together? In this beautiful singalong picture book by Wendy Shang, it's noodles, rice, and tofu! Join Wendy for this sweet, fun, and musical session. You'll even learn how to write some Chinese!
Grade Level: Elementary
Session Time and Location: 9:45am- Greenwood Atrium*This session is full. Registration is closed. & 10:45am-Blackwell Ballroom C
New Adventures: Tim Ering
Join VCBF favorite Tim Ering as he takes you on adventures over the high seas, through mazes, even through a tantrum! There's nothing like a session with Tim, so don't miss it!
Grade Level: Elementary
Session Time and Location: 10:45am-Jarman Auditorium
Hip Hop Intensive: Sonia Patel & Malik 16
Join Sonia and Malik 16 in this three-day program which will have you writing your own hip hop pieces based on Sonia's YA novel, Rani Patel in Full Effect. Over the course of three days, you will write & perform a hip hop song and film a music video with a production team from Los Angeles.
Grade Level: Young Adult (may register for one day or all three days: registration is VERY limited)
Session Time and location: 9:45am-2:00pm Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday-Moton Museum
Veo! I see you!: Lulu Delacre
While running errands during the Covid-19 pandemic, Marisol and Pepito play a game of Veo, Veo that helps them see how the workers in their neighborhood are essential. Who is essential in your life that you may not see? Let’s find out!
Grade Level: Elementary (with English and Spanish)
Session Time and location: 10:45am-Maugans Prince Edward Room
Illustrator Menagerie: Barbara McClintock, Tim Ering, Sophie Blackall
Did you know that one of our illustrators' favorite things is to draw with each other? Join three of the greatest illustrators in the world as they work together to create one-of-a-kind masterpieces inspired by YOU!
Grade Level: Elementary/Upper Elementary
Session Time and location: 9:45am- Upchurch Soza Ballroom* this session is full. Registration is closed.
Dory Fantasmagory and the Imaginary Friends: Abby Hanlon
Dory is hilarious, energetic, and more than anything, full of imagination. Join Abby Hanlon for this romp through Dory's world, both real and imaginary!
Grade Level: Elementary/Upper Elementary
Session Time and location: 9:45am- Blackwell Ballroom A * this session is full. Registration is closed.; 10:45am-Martinelli Board Room
Looking on the bright side: Chad Otis
When you live in an old school bus instead of a house; when you have mostly bread and ketchup to eat; and especially when you have to go to a new school where the other kids have friends, how would you look on the bright side?
Grade Level: Elementary
Session Time and location: 9:45am-Dorrill Nance Room * This session is full. Registration is closed.
The Blood Years: Elana K. Arnold
National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold tells the true experiences of her grandmother’s childhood in Holocaust-era Romania: an unforgettable tale of love and loss in the darkest days of the twentieth century—and the will to survive them.
Grade Level: Middle/Young Adult
Session Time and location: 9:45am -Blackwell Ballroom C* This session is full. Registration is closed.
The Wild Robot is back!: Peter Brown
The New York Times bestselling The Wild Robot series returns! Life for Roz and the animals on their island is perfect. But when mysterious, dangerous waters surround the island, the animals are forced inland to fight over dwindling resources.
Grade Level: Upper Elementary/Middle (there will be real robots in this session)
Session Time and location: 10:45am-Dorrill Nance Room & 1:00pm* This session is full. Registration is closed.
Horses, horses, horses!: Sophie Blackall & Barbara McClintock
Did you know Sophie and Barbara BOTH love to draw horses? Would YOU like to draw horses too? While meeting REAL HORSES? Join superstar illustrators Sophie Blackall and Barbara McClintock in this very special session, complete with real horses!
Grade Level: Upper Elementary/Middle (there will be real horses in this session)
Session Time and location: 10:45am -Maugans Virginia Room
Last Comics on Earth: Max Brallier & Jay Cooper
Jack, Quint, June, and Dirk face a challenge unlike any they’ve faced before . . . they’ve read every last issue of their favorite comic, Z-Man, and no new issues are coming...ever! (Thanks a lot, apocalypse.)
Grade Level: Upper Elementary/Middle
Session Time and location: 9:45am -Jarman Auditorium
Besties Forever?: Vera Brosgol & LeUyen Pham
Do you have a bestie? What if you don’t? Sometimes real friendships can be hard to find and to keep, (even Taylor Swift’s besties change). Join these VCBF favorites for a session about besties, friendships, and how and if they can last forever.
Grade Level: Upper Elementary/Middle
Session Time and location: 9:45am - Martinellli Board Room
Deadly Wave, Lucky Star: Johnny Marciano
Do you know anyone orphaned by a tsunami? Well, in 1908 Johnny Marciano's grandfather experienced one of the worst earthquakes and tsunamis ever to hit Italy, and he's writing a book about it! Join John as he works on his new book with YOU!
Grade Level: Middle
Session Time and location: 10:45am-Greenwood Atrium & 1:00pm-Maugans Prince Edward Room
A Boy Called Bat: Elana K. Arnold
For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life is full of surprises—and todayis a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a vet, has brought home a baby skunk. Bat’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.
Grade Level: Elementary/Upper Elementary
Session Time and location: 10:45am-Blackwood Ballroom A
Super Sharpie Smackdown: Jay Cooper, X Fang, Leuyen Pham, Vera Brosgol
Did you know Sharpies are our illustrators' number one tool? We never let them go anywhere without them. Well, get ready for a SUPER Sharpie Smackdown as YOU tell our illustrators what to draw in competition!
Grade Level: Elementary/Upper Elementary
Session Time and location: 10:45am-Upchurch Soza Ballroom
Merci Suarez: Meg Medina, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
For Merci Suárez, eighth grade means a new haircut, night football games, and an overnight field trip. At home, it means more chores and keeping an eye on Lolo. When the soccer captain starts talking to Merci more, how will Merci play it cool?
Grade Level: Upper Elementary/Middle (with English and Spanish)
Session Time and location: 9:45am & 10:45am -Blackwell Ballroom B (both)
Love Double Dutch: Doreen Spicer-Donnelly
MaKayla can only think about one thing--taking her double Dutch team all the way to the National Jump, but she has to spend the summer in North Carolina while her parents work out their problems. Wear your sneakers!
Grade Level: Upper Elementary/Middle (there will be actual double dutch!)
Session Time and location: 9:45am & 10:45am- Lankford Ballroom
Zombie Prep Academy: Max Brallier & Jay Cooper
The zombies have arrived, and what are you going to do about it? Join Max and Jay for this in-depth workshop to learn how to harness your post-apocalyptic survival and action skills and defend the world from zombies, monsters, and more.
Grade Level: Upper Elementary/Middle
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Pierson Hall Multi-Activity Court
Books and Basketball: Pablo Cartaya
Sometimes the best ideas and the best talk come when we are playing a game. Sports are more than just a way to break the ice. They are a way to interact, to spur being social, to solve problems, to connect. So come play basketball!
Grade Level: Young Adult
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Pierson Hall Basketball Courts This session is full. Registration is closed.
Let’s cook!: X. Fang
Join X. Fang for this Food Network-inspired dumpling workshop. Get your hands in that dough, and get to cooking, learning all about dumplings, family, and fun along the way. No budding chef will want to miss this!
Grade Level: Elementary/Upper Elementary
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Lankford Ballroom
Solve a mystery: Martha Brockenbrough and Elana K. Arnold
Martha Brockenbrough and Elana K. Arnold are masters of mystery! Are you? Join Martha and Elana as they create a mystery for YOU to solve in this fun-filled, who-done-it adventure session!
Grade Level: Upper Elementary/Middle
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Blackwell Ballroom C
Stop that monster!: LeUyen Pham
Stopping monsters is no job for dainty Princess Magnolia, but she has a secret: She's also the Princess in Black, and stopping monsters is the perfect job for her! Join Princess in Black illustrator LeUyen Pham as she creates monsters for you to stop!
Grade Level: Elementary/Upper Elementary
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Jarman Auditorium
Don’t go!: Meg Medina
What if your BEST FRIEND moved away? Don't miss National Ambassador for Children's Literature and Newbery Award-winner Meg Medina's bittersweet story of two girls who will always be each other’s número uno, even though one is moving away.
Grade Level: Elementary/Upper Elementary
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Blackwell Ballroom B
Dory Fantasmagory puppet play: Abby Hanlon
Do you have as much imagination as Dory? What adventures would you like to see her take next? Make your own Dory puppet with Abby Hanlon and enjoy creating your own new Dory stories!
Grade Level: Elementary/Upper Elementary
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Upchurch Soza Ballroom
Design your own school bus house: Chad Otis
What if you had to live on a school bus? How would you design it? What would you absolutely need in it? Get creative and build your dream school bus house to take you wherever you need to go.
Grade Level: Elementary/Upper Elementary
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Blackwell Ballroom A
Boba Tea extravaganza: Wendy Shang
How many problems can a delicious cup of bubble tea cause? Plenty, if you’re Chloe Wong. Bubble tea wreaks havoc when Chloe finds herself banned from Tea Palace (for dumping boba on someone who really deserved it!. What to do?
Grade Level: Middle/ Young Adult (we will be making boba tea in this session)
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Greenwood Library Atrium This session is full. Registration is closed.
Open Illustration Workshop and Mural Painting: Tim Ering, Sophie Blackall, Lulu Delacre, Barbara McClintock, Vera Brosgol
Don’t miss your chance to draw with the greatest illustrators in the business and work on our LIVEmural with Monty Montgomery. This session is always loads of fun!
Grade Level: Elementary-Middle
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Longwood Center for the Visual Arts
Are you prepared?: Johnny Marciano
In 1908 John's grandfather survived and earthquake and tsunami. How would we do the same? Join John and Longwood's director of emergency preparedness, Tracie Giles, for this hands-on preparedness workshop!
Grade Level: Elementary-Middle
Session Time and location: 1:00pm-Maugans Prince Edward Room
STATIC: even superheroes have their weaknesses: Lamar Giles
Join DC comic writer Lamar Giles as he takes through the making of a superhero story and how sometimes its their weaknesses that make them stronger. If you love comics, you won’t want to miss this!
Grade Level: Middle-Young Adult
Session Time and location: 9:45am-Maugans Prince Edward Room *This session is full. Registration is closed.
Artificial Intelligence v. Real: Martha Brockenbrough
Are you interested in A.I.? Scared of it? Intrigued? A.I. is here to stay, and do you have the skills to recognize it? Master it? Join Martha Brockenbrough as she takes you through the world of A.I., and the world it is creating.
Grade Level: Middle/Young Adult
Session Time and location: 9:45am* This session is full. Registration is closed. & 10:45am-Upchurch Wilson Chamber
Six ideas, one story: Pablo Cartaya
What will you do with an idea? How many ways can you turn it into a story? Join master storyteller Pablo Cartaya to take one kernel of an idea and turn that idea into a graphic novel, or a poem, or realistic fiction, or even a picture book.
Grade Level: Middle/Young Adult
Session Time and location: 9:45am-Maugans Virginia Room
Duty Station: Death Star: Lamar Giles
Join Lamar Giles, the latest author to contribute to the Star Wars canon, as he takes you into the inner life of Imperial Gunner Corr Lerrann, a career soldier with deep distrust for the Empire.
Grade Level: Middle/Young Adult
Session Time and location: 10:45am-Greenwood 209; 1:00pm-Maugans Virginia Room 1:00pm session is full. Registration is closed.
