International Children’s Book Festival 2023
2. International Children’s Book Festival
My Book is My Castle – Home in Stories, Home in Books
October 12th – October 22nd 2023
Children love stories. This is what the International Children’s Book Festival wants to celebrate and promote! The goal is to bring children of different nationalities together and to make them experience that books and stories can help us to create home wherever we are. They can be a tent we pitch wherever we go!
The International Children’s Book Festival pitches many tents – for children from Heidelberg and the region, for children from Ukraine and from all over the world. A big celebration of language magic, lots of book people, and a variety of event formats.
For children of different ages, there will be readings in several languages, book parties, writing workshops, crafts and much more – welcome to the realm of words!
Here you can find a program overview:
- Day 1 – Thursday, October 12th
- Day 2 – Friday, October 13th
- Day 3 – Saturday, October 14th
- Day 4 – Sunday, October 15th
- Day 5 – Monday, October 16th
- Day 6 – Tuesday, October 17th
- Day 7 – Wednesday, October 18th
- Day 8 – Thursday, October 19th
- Day 9 – Friday, October 20th
- Day 10 – Saturday, October 21st
- Day 11 – Sunday, October 22nd
Day 1 – Thursday, October 12th
From 3:00 pm – Harry Potter Book Day
This year’s International Children’s Book Festival at the DAI Heidelberg kicks off with Harry Potter Book Day, when fans around the world celebrate their heroines and heroes of Hogwarts.
Family program
Language: German/English
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Age recommendation: 5 – 11 years
Day 2 – Friday, October 13th
3:00 pm – Little Alexander von Humboldt: Everything is connected to everything else
Discover the world with the great naturalist! Interactive book presentation with musical accompaniment.
Reading & Music
Language: German
Duration: approx. 2 hours
Age recommendation: from 4 years
Day 3 – Saturday, October 14th
From 3:00 pm – Checker day with Julian: ghosts and spirits
Checker Julian from KIKA goes on a search for mysterious spooky creatures with experts.
Family program
Language: German
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Age recommendation: from 8 years
Day 4 – Sunday, October 15th
From 2:00 pm – Miriam Tag: LandArt Workshop. Children as artists in nature
LandArt is art in nature and with nature – in this workshop we create large and small works of art from wood, leaves, stones, water, air and earth.
Workshop
Language: German
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Age recommendation: 6 – 10 years
3:00 pm – Eric Carle Collage Workshop
Discovering contrasts, spaces, colors, exploring nature, exploring different materials, telling stories – all this is the focus of this collage workshop.
Workshop
Language: German/English
Duration: approx. 2 hours
Age recommendation: from 6 years
Day 5 – Monday, October 16th
From 1:00 pm – Hang Out in the Library-Day
We have open house – come by and get to know the DAI library and its diverse program over coffee and tea!
Open Day at the DAI Library
Language: German/English
Opening hours: 1 to 6 p.m.
Age recommendation: children & adults of all ages
Day 6 – Tuesday, October 17th
Offer for school classes: from 10 am – Laurie Halse Anderson: Speak!
10th grade (Language: English)
Registration for school classes and more information at ies@dai-heidelberg.de.
From 3:00 pm – Italian Book Party: Eataly!
Today it’s all about Italy: stories, crafts, food, drinks and music from the band Amici!
Story Time Country Special
Language: German/English/Italian
Duration: approx. 2 hours
Age recommendation: from 3 years
Day 7 – Wednesday, October 18th
From 3:00 pm – Agata Loth-Ignaciuk & Bartłomiej Ignaciuk: Into the Eternal Ice. North Pole and South Pole in one year
This book tells a gripping and amazing story about the Arctic and Antarctic – the expressive illustrations let us literally hear the crashing of the shattering ice floes!
Reading & Talk
Language: German/English/Polish
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Age recommendation: from 10 years
8:00 pm – Barbara Yelin: But I’m Alive. Four children survive the Holocaust
Well-known illustrators tell the stories of Holocaust survivors in graphic novels that unforgettably demonstrate what the Holocaust meant – even to children.
Graphic Novel & Talk
Language: German
Duration: approx. 2 hours
Age recommendation: Adolescents 15+ and adults
Note: This program can also be booked as a group course for school classes.
Day 8 – Thursday, October 19th
From 3:00 pm – Torben Kuhlmann: Lindbergh, Armstrong, Edison, Einstein & Co. Diving into physics with mice
Travel to the moon with Armstrong, solve the riddle of a lost sea treasure with Edison and go through space and time with Einstein – in the picture book cinema we learn a lot about technology and history along the way.
Reading, talk & picture book cinema
Language: German
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Age recommendation: 6 – 12 years
Day 9 – Friday, October 20th
From 3:00 pm – Kathrin Schärer: Brave, brave! Pictures become stories
How does the drawing pencil become a tool for thoughts and can produce so many surprises and amazing things? We learn how stories are created from pictures.
Reading & Talk
Language: German
Duration: approx. 2 hours
Age recommendation: 4 – 7 years
Day 10 – Saturday, October 21st
From 3:00 pm – Book Picnic
We go for a long walk and take not only our picnic basket, but also a bag full of books.
Hike & Picnic
Language: English
Duration: approx. 2 hours
Age recommendation: children from 8 years & adults
From 3:00 pm – Manga and Cosplay Day
There will be lots of anime and manga to watch, plus manga workshops and costumes to sew – feel free to come dressed up!
Convention
Language: German/English
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Age recommendation: 12 – 18 years
Day 11 – Sunday, October 22nd
2:30 pm – Margit Auer: School of Magical Animals
The popular School of Magical Animals series has a new volume: Margit Auer herself introduces the book Ach du Schreck – followed by a Q&A session!
Reading & Talk
Language: German
Age recommendation: 6 – 14 years