One Book Two Book is back

Children's literature lovers - young and old - will find themselves right at home in downtown Iowa City next Saturday for the annual One Book Two Book Festival hosted by the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature. The festival actually kicks off with a special dinner on Friday evening, but follows with a full day of free family programming on Saturday, everything from story time and book related activities to writing workshops for teens and readings by kidlit authors.

'This is our sixth festival and we think we have hit on a winning formula,” said John Kenyon, director of the City of Literature. 'We have things for older kids to sign up for such as our Junior High Writing Jam, the writing workshop and Comic Book Confidential and then we have things that will appeal to younger kids like story time and the activities and character visits. It's similar to what we have done in the past but it's that way because it works.”

Kenyon noted that a huge highlight of each year's festival is the celebration of writing by kids. On Sunday, dozens of students from around the Corridor in first through eighth grade will be recognized for their outstanding writing achievements.

'We had 800 kids from up and down the Corridor submit their work to be evaluated,” noted Kenyon. 'These are kids who on their own are writing original work and looking for feedback and recognition. As a City of Literature, I think it's important for us to nurture that next generation of writers. I can see someone who was recognized as a second-grader is now being recognized as a seventh-grader and see that they are learning from what they have done in the past and learning from the authors we have brought in and that's rewarding to have played a small role in that.”

Of course a big draw for each year's One Book Two Book Festival is the keynote speaker and this year is no exception. Gene Luen Yang, a cartoonist and author, will be joining the festival to excite and inspire young readers and writers, especially those who love the ever expanding graphic novel genre. It's particularly exciting, Kenyon noted, as Yang is currently serving as the National Ambassador for Children's Literature through the Library of Congress and Children's Book Council.

'I'm really excited to be a part of the event and meet people who love books and stories,” said Yang. 'When I am there I'm going to talk a lot about the process through which I make books. I'll also be talking about how I got started as a cartoonist and I'll also talk about my current projects.”

One such project is a series of graphic novels called 'Secret Coders” that seek to not only entertain kids but also give them a foundational understanding of the fundamentals of computer science. Yang is also working on a monthly series for DC Comics about a Chinese superman, which Yang said is particularly exciting as he has long been a fan of comics.

Attendees at One Book Two Book also will learn about Yang's initiative as National Ambassador for Children's Literature, which seeks to get more kids reading and kids reading more.

'We are doing a big push in April for a reading program we are calling Reading Without Walls,” Yang said. 'I want kids to go outside their comfort zone when they read. One, I want them to choose books that are about people who look or live differently than them. Two, I want them to choose books about topics they think are intimidating. And three, I want them to choose books in a variety formats. If a kid normally reads graphic novels for fun I want them to choose a prose book or if they normally read chapter books I want them to try a book in verse or graphic novel or audiobook. I am just hoping to inspire kids to explore the world through books.”

Yang said it's an especially exciting time to be a graphic novelist, something that he didn't really see as a possibility growing up. 'I grew up in the

'80s and comics were largely excluded from education,” he said. 'Most teachers and parents would frown on graphic novel reading. They wouldn't consider it ‘real reading'. So to go from that kind of a world to today where we have graphic novels getting major book awards in America, it's stunning. It's not something I could have imagined as a 12-year-old kid reading Superman comics.”

Kenyon noted that Yang is a perfect fit for the One Book Two Book festival. 'We love writers who are also illustrators because when we are trying to grab the attention of younger kids the visual aspect of their work always tends to help people to connect. The things Gene is writing about are wonderful. Not only does he do superhero things but he does things for coders which is huge with kids. And writing about his own background as a Chinese American … with everything going on in the world preaching a little tolerance and seeing things from a different perspective are great. If we were going to tailor-make a keynote speakers for this festival I don't know how we would change what we already have in Gene and we are really excited about that.”

And Yang said he couldn't be more excited to join in the fun of One Book Two Book, although the California native admitted to being a bit nervous about visiting Iowa during the cold of winter. 'We sometimes think of reading as a very introverted thing, something you do as an individual,” he said. 'But I also think that reading needs to happen within a community. Taking in stories can be a way to connect with each other and book festivals are almost like a physical manifestation of that. You can see that stories are connecting all these kinds of people together.”