After navigating the paralyzing traffic of Los Angeles, my family and I made it to USC, the host of the LA Times Book Festival. The festival is a massive gathering of writers, readers, book stores, publishers and creators; all in the name of celebrating our equal love for books. This year the event took place on April 22-23.
Before I get into our experience, here are quick tips when visiting with little ones (learn from my mistakes):
- Bring a wagon!–not only can it carry your toddler, but your new books too
- A hat is a must with this sunshine.
- When attending panels, have coloring pages ready.
- Baby wipes– I had hand sanitizer, but found myself looking for napkins and could barely find any when an emergency called for it.
- Go in without a plan, just have fun!
That was my first mistake, going to the festival with a plan.
On the drive I downloaded the app for the festival curious to see who was going to be there. Initially I had only one author in mind, but that quickly changed. I found myself mentally filling in the first two hours with readings and authors, but when walking at the pace of a toddler I should’ve known better. However, once the initial adrenaline to find everything and see everything wore down I was able to enjoy myself so much more.
There is SO much to see and do!
I’ll include the map below for reference. I don’t think we managed to see more than half of what was offered and that is okay, we had a great time, with a new mindset we headed towards the Kid Zone.
I noticed a tent where children and their guardians were coloring. In the same tent was a station featuring an assortment of small plants. Through Latinx With Plants, we were able to design a little pot and planted a succulent to take home!
After a snack break we made our way to a reading on the children’s stage.
Stacey Abrams read to us her book: Stacey’s Remarkable Books. A book that me and my daughter have both personally enjoyed in the past. When I told her that the author of the book was going to be there she was very excited, though we did have to leave half way when we dropped the succulent! Thankfully we got it replanted quickly with the help of Latinx with Plants.
Next was a panel for mom! Coming into Her Own–Panel 2112–featuring, Annette Chavez Macias the author of Big Chicas Don’t Cry and Too Soon For Adios (click the titles to read my reviews). I have become a huge fan of Annette, she tells stories of Mexican American women while representing the culture and their life in a way that makes me feel so proud of mi cultura and so understood. I appreciate her work to bring these important stories out into the world. She was the reason I came out to the festival and to see her on stage was amazing. After the panel there was a signing, where I bought both of her books and said hello.
I always feel like meeting authors is the equivalent to meeting a favorite movie star or favorite member of a boy band. Any ability I had to hold a conversation went out the door and all I could come up with was that it was great to meet her.
We then opted to walk around checking out the numerous tents until we found ourselves in: LA Times in Español. One of my favorite publishing companies for children’s books, Lil Libros, was there with huge cut outs for picture taking, a booth for book buying, and a plush purple carpet for story time. After walking for so long in the sun, it was the perfect place to relax.
We arrived just in time to hear Juan Moreno read his debut picture book: El Pato y sus Zapatos. It is a sweet bilingual board book that teaches about colors and emotions. Pato has a massive shoe collection.
One for every occasion in a variety of colors. With each pair Pato feels differently and goes somewhere special. I loved how engaging the book was and I noticed how focused M was when it came to the storytime. I also appreciated how kind Moreno was, when he talked to M he really listened and I was surprised when she talked to him! She is very shy and it’s amazing to see her come out of her shell. I can’t wait to read what Moreno writes next!
Nearby was Mija Books who had a wonderful selection of diverse books! I found an early copy of La Guitarrista by Lucky Diaz and A Tiny Taste of Mexico by Sandy Canas! Canas was present and able to sign our copy, she was very sweet and engaged with M in a conversation!
With plenty of books secured for the bookworm princess it was time to take care of the queen!
I decided to wander around on my own while the little one hung out by the fountain with my boyfriend. As I wandered I found Ripped Bodice an independent bookstore in California and fell in love! They are a bookstore dedicated to the romance genre. There I treated myself to a festival exclusive tote as well as some books (duh). By chance I was there at the same time as Alexandria Bellefleur, author of Written in the Stars (I absolutely love these books, an amazing book to read for pure bliss) and The Fiancée Farce:A Novel. I was able to get books signed and take a dorky photo with Bellefleur ha!
All this to say, the LA TIme Book Festival is the place to be for California book lovers. Next year I plan to go in with a sense of spontaneity. I hope to see more of my favorite authors, bookstores, and meet up with friends, until next year!