Contact: Mia Wenjen, Read Your World
pragmaticmomblog@gmail.com
April 19, 2026
For Immediate Release
(Newton, MA) – More than 100 children’s book authors and illustrators will gather in Newton this November for a free afternoon of connections, signings, and a celebration of the power of reading.
Read Your World and the Newton Children’s Book Festival organizing team are thrilled to announce that the 3rd Annual Newton Children’s Book Festival has moved to the American Legion Nonantum Post 440 at 295 California Street, in Newton, MA. This free event will be held on Sunday, November 15th, 2026, from 11 am to 3 pm.
The Newton Children’s Book Festival will showcase a diverse array of titles by children’s book authors and illustrators, who will meet with kids and families and sign books available for purchase through our Organizing Partner, The Toadstool Bookshops, an independent New England-based bookstore. There will also be a free craft table for kids!
“Book festivals give young readers a chance to connect with the authors and illustrators behind their favorite stories and experience books in a whole new way,” says David A. Kelly, author of the popular Ball Park Mystery series and organizer of the book festival. “They can help spark creativity and a lifelong love of reading.”
“Children’s attention is constantly competed for. A book festival gives kids something rare: the chance to slow down, follow their own curiosity, and meet the human beings behind the stories they love. That authentic connection is one of the most powerful tools we have for fostering a genuine, lasting love of reading,” says Jean Stehle, Newton Public School librarian, and third volunteer organizer of this event.
“Read Your World is thrilled to receive a grant from Newton Culture Council for our 3rd Annual Newton Children’s Book Festival,” says Mia Wenjen, President of the Newton-based non-profit, Read Your World, whose mission is to promote literacy through diverse books. “This year, Sweet Tomatoes Pizza will be on-site in the parking lot. They will be selling pizza by the slice, cash or Venmo only.”
Newton Children’s Book Festival sponsors include Double Platinum Level The Drucker Group; Gold Level The Village Bank.
Friends of the Newton Free Library, Catching Joy, and the New Art Center are some of our Community Partners.
Read Your World is a non-profit whose mission is to ensure that every child has access to diverse and inclusive children’s literature. By providing a wide range of books that reflect various cultures, identities, and experiences, Read Your World fosters literacy, empathy, and inclusivity in young readers. They believe that every child deserves to see themselves in the stories they read and to understand the world through the perspective of others.
For more information, including a complete list of authors and illustrators, go to the Newton Children’s Book Festival website, newtonchildrensbookfest.com.