If you see miniature Alice in Wonderlands or Tinkerbells darting in and out of your local bookshop or library, you're not hallucinating. They're just smart children taking part in the myriad events of the Children's Book Festival 2000, which continues countrywide until Tuesday next, Hallowe'en. Picking highlights from the packed brochure is hard, but Tuesday sounds like a good day to visit the Dooradoyle Library at Crescent Shopping Centre in Limerick. Siobhan Parkinson, whose new book is reviewed on the Children's Book Pages this week, will be there at 11 a.m., followed by a write-a-song session at 3.30 p.m. with local musician Austin Durack. On the same day there will be readings from scary books at Nenagh Library in Co Tipperary. Phone 067 34404 for details.
Also on Tuesday there'll be a dress-up-as-your-favourite-book-character competition at the Central Library in Lady Lane, Waterford. Phone 051 309975. Though all of these are free, booking is essential in some cases, so phone in advance.
In Stillorgan Library, Co Dublin, next Tuesday there will be a drama workshop with actress Helen Norton for 8- 12-yearolds. Bookings at 01-2889655. Meanwhile, also in Dublin, Dundrum Library is running a short story competition for 8-12 and 13-17-year-olds. The story should spring from the lines "Afterwards there was nothing but silence. . . " The judge is Martina Murphy and the closing date is Nov 4th, so it could be the perfect way to spend the mid-term break. For people who are better at visuals than words, there is the library's Designa-fifth-Harry-Potter-book-cover-and-entitle-it competition. This is for 6-10 and 11-16 year olds, and again the closing date is Nov 4th.
If the overall organisers of the festival, Children's Books Ireland, had just one wish, it would, says its president Rosemary Hetherington, be that every child would take part in some book-related event before it all ends on Tuesday, thereby "discovering the wonderful world of books. . . " Hear, hear, says Sadbh. And if it's hard to get the children out of the house, there's an e-mail slot whereby they can ask Marita Conlon-McKenna, Gerard Whelan, Siobhan Parkinson and Don Conroy questions at cbf2000@ireland.com.
`The Ostrich Solution - the Media's response to Children's Books" is the provocative title of a debate taking place in Tallaght Library on Saturday, 18th November. Organised by the Alternative Entertainments Arts Group in association with Children's Books Ireland and the library, speakers will include Sinead MacAodha of the Arts Council and Robert Dunbar. Is there a difference between children's book-reviewing and adult book-reviewing, who are children's book reviews for and how much parental guidance should there be are questions likely to be tossed around by an invited audience of librarians, booksellers, teachers, parents et al. The Irish Times will be represented too. Though we may not get it right all the time; books pages that ignore this lively sector of the publishing market do so at their peril - you only have to think of J.K Rowling to estimate how huge, but also how important, it is, not to mention how enthralling. Admission free. Contact 01-4621029
AS always at this time of year, there's endless children's book news. Here, briefly, is some of it. J.K. Rowling, Nina Bawden and Geraldine McCaughrean are among those shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards. The results of the BBC-initiated competition will be announced on November 26th. The judges, some as young as six, are already reading their way through the competing titles.
Marilyn Taylor, Bisto Book of the Year Award winner for Faraway Home, but also author of the Jackie and Kevin series which began with Could This Be Love I Wondered, will read and talk about her work at the United Arts Club, 3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2 on November 9th at 8 p.m. at an event organised by Irish Pen. Contact 01-2828053 for details
With the Booker Prize winner being announced on November 7th, , a debate designed to give the reading public an informal say takes place in London next Wednesday night in the auditorium of the British Library at 7 pm. Maestro of proceedings will be Simon Jenkins, chairman of this year's judging panel, while on hand to discuss the merits of each of the shortlisted books will be a team of writers, literary critics and editors composed of Victoria Glendinning, Lisa Jardine, Peter Kemp, Robert McCrum, Boyd Tonkin and Erica Wagner. Following the discussion, the audience will vote for who they'd like to win. Two Irish authors are shortlisted this year, Michael Collins and Brian O' Doherty, whose The Deposition of Father McGreevy has stirred the blood of the Healy-Rae clan, who feel it conveys the impression that they're all having, not just sex, but relationships with sheep down on the plains of Kerry. Whether the lively radio debate about this on RTE last week was heard by Booker judges Roy Foster et al we do not know. As a precursor to the event, it will be interesting to see who the public likes best next Wednesday night. Tickets are £5/£3 sterling; to book call 004420 7412 7332.