Let's Get Reading in 2014: Stories are for everyone! Is linne scéalta!

Clare County Library

October 2014

Children's Book Festival in Clare County Library

That's the message to book lovers across the county from Clare County Library this autumn as it announces its Children's Book Festival programme for 2014.

This year, wherever you are in Ireland, events and activities will be taking place to encourage children to enjoy the experience and the magic of reading. With stories that can be enjoyed by everyone, October will be a jam-packed month of fun-filled opportunities featuring Irish and international authors and illustrators, and catering for the reading preferences of everyone from toddlers to teens and beyond.

Activities will be running in all libraries in Clare with the headline event taking place in Glór Theatre on the 9th of October. Niall de Burca returns due to very popular demand for Children's Book Festival 2014. Nialls performance this year is called Where the Poppies Grow. Meticulously researched he handles this topic with sensitivity whilst providing an unforgettable overview of the Great War and why it happened. Renowned for his shows full of energy, wit and superb timing, his performance is not to be missed! Niall will also host a fun family show at Scariff Public Library on the afternoon of the 9th of October when the Summer Reading Challenge Certificates Presentation takes place.

Authors included in this years line-up include: Nicola Pierce, Debbie Thomas, Alan Early and Paula Leyden. Storytellers Wayne OConnor, Simone Schuemmelfeder and Michael Phelan of Storygate and Pat Ryan will tell their tales to children from west to east Clare while Sadie Cramer and Wayne OConnor will enhance their tales getting loads of help with story construction and illustration from eager young audiences.

Tic Toc Puppets will perform in Culturlann Sweeney, Kilkee. Poet Stephen Murray, whose collections include House of Bees and On Corkscrew Hill and whose workshops are renowned as the best of their kind for children, will visit Ennistymon, Lisdoonvarna, Kilkee and Kilrush libraries. Science shows come to us courtesy of Learn Differently. David Lyons, National Parks and Wildlife Service, will tell of the amazing wildlife to be found on our doorsteps in County Clare and dont forget to book a slot at one of Dogs Trust Irelands presentations by Education Officer Dawn Kavanagh to find out absolutely everything about caring for your dog.

Children's Books Ireland is running an exciting competition to celebrate Chris Haughtons inventive artwork. The lucky overall winner will receive €1,000 worth of books for their school library. The ever popular O'Brien Press Cover Design Competition once again allows fledgling illustrators and designers to see their artwork on the cover of a published book. This year Marian Broderick's The Lost Fairy has been selected for re-design in spring 2015. The lucky winners design will not only be featured on the covers of the re-published book and stocked in libraries and bookshops throughout Ireland but will also be invited as guest of honour along with their entire class to a special awards ceremony where they will receive five complete sets of Marian Brodericks books for their school. Further details on both competitions can be found on the CBI website or at your local library.

With all this and much more in store for October, 2014 is truly the year that stories are for everyone. Let the celebrations begin!

For a full listing of events, times and venues you can visit the library website or ask at your local library.