Family Fun Day Spring Celebration

Dublin Book Festival in partnership with Hibernia is delighted to present a fun-filled day of family events! Join storytime with master storyteller Niall de Búrca, and get creative at with authors and illustrators Alan Nolan and Tarsila Krüse at our readalong, drawalong, craft time and seasonal quiz. For all you book lovers visit our Children's Books Ireland Book Doctors and leave with your very own prescription, then visit our book swap stand before trying your hand at some musical instruments with our Music Generation tutors. Come with your dancing shoes on because we’ll have music and more!

Please note 1 ticket must be booked per person attending.

Doodle Station 12pm- 3.15pm

Bring your imagination for inspiration and get drawing at our doodle hang-out!

Book Swap 12pm- 3.15pm

Bring an old book to swap for one from our book swap stand (book swap is for children's books!)

CBI Book Clinic 12pm - 3pm

In partnership with Children’s Books Ireland

Age guideline: 5 - 11 year olds

Are you a young reader? Looking for a new series to delve into? Feeling uninspired by your bookshelves at home? Then pop along to Emily and Laura at the Children’s Books Ireland Book Clinic! Chat to the Book Doctor, consult on your favourite reads and leave with a prescription for your next book which you can take to your local bookshop or library!

Children’s Books Ireland Book Doctors give guidance about books to children and their families. Based on an informal chat, the white coat-clad Children’s Books Ireland Book Doctors recommend excellent books for any age of young reader, supported by Children’s Books Ireland’s many reading resources.

All families are welcome to the Book Clinic, regardless of ability, need or barriers to reading. Every child leaves the Book Clinic with their own individual Book Prescription and a copy of Children’s Books Ireland’s Reading Guide. The Book Clinic operates on a drop-in basis. Each Book Doctor consultation will be 15 minutes in duration. The Book Doctor will have time to meet a maximum of 16 children over the course of the clinic so places are strictly limited and will be offered on a first-come, first served basis.

Drawing session with Tarsila Krüse 12pm - 12.30pm

Age guideline: All the family

Join award-winning illustrator and author Tarsila Krüse for an all-family drawing session! Tarsila believes that life can feel so much better when we do things together, and inspired by her upcoming book Little Love Lessons, she wants to invite you to collaborate and mish-mash your ideas to create unique and unexpected characters. Come along and Make Time to Play, Express Yourself and certainly Find Joy in Simple Things!

Niall De Búrca Storytelling 12.45pm - 1.30pm

Age: All the family

Grab your seats and hang on tight, top gun storyteller Niall de Búrca is about! Niall is a traditional storyteller from the West of Ireland, who has shared his storytelling across six continents, bewitching audiences everywhere he goes. So sit back and let yourself be captivated by what promises to be an unforgettable performance.

Irish Spooks and Monsters workshop with Alan Nolan 2pm - 2.45pm

Age guideline: 6 - 9 year olds

If you’re feeling brave enough, why not join author and illustrator Alan Nolan for an Irish Spooks and Monsters workshop, where he will talk about 100% Irish spooks and monsters like the Banshee, the shape-shifting Pooka and the Ollipheist lake monster, followed by a tricky Leprechaun quiz, and a chance to design a zombie-leprechaun St Patrick's Day greeting card, just in nice time for posting to unsuspecting relatives abroad!

Music Generation 3.15pm - 4pm

Age guideline: All the family

Let the music begin! Join us to try a range of instruments alongside tutors from Music Generation. This workshop will allow children to move around and explore different instruments with the guidance of professionals. Followed by a musical performance for all the family to throw some shapes.

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Please note we will be capturing candid imagery at this event for use on our social media.

Children’s Books Ireland is the national books organisation of Ireland. Through their many activities and events they aim to engage young people with books, foster a greater understanding of the importance of books for young people and act as a core resource for those with an interest in books for children in Ireland. One of their missions is to champion every child’s right to excellent books and live literature events and support the artists who make that goal possible across the island of Ireland.

Tarsila Krüse is an award-winning children’s book illustrator born in Brazil and Irish at heart. She loves languages, books, and drawing animals in dapper outfits. Tarsila is known for illustrating several books as Gaeilge and in English in her heartwarming, friendly style, creating a lovely fuzzy feeling in our hearts. She has written and illustrated for the RTÉ Christmas Guide (twice!), and she co-authored My Little Album of Dublin and My Little Album of Ireland with Juliette Saumande. Her latest book, Little Love Lessons, is a joyous and inspiring new book to help parents and children find little moments of connection. Tarsila also visits schools and libraries across Ireland, facilitating book-making and illustration workshops.

Niall de Búrca has performed on six continents including the European Parliament in Brussels and beneath the Lagan Weir in Belfast! At present living in Dublin, he has shared his unique style of storytelling in theatre, festivals and on television in many countries.

Alan Nolan is the author and illustrator of Fintan’s Fifteen, Conor’s Caveman and the Sam Hannigan series, and is the illustrator of the popular Gordon’s Game books written by Gordon D’Arcy and Paul Howard. Alan’s latest books include Sam Hannigan and the Last Dodo, Animal Crackers (with Sarah Webb) and his historical novel, The Sackville Street Spooks .

Music Generation Dublin City provides a variety of music programmes for children and young people around the Dublin City area. Professional musicians facilitate learning on a wide range of instruments, voice and music technology across all styles of music. Through partnerships across the city we aim to offer rich and diverse musical opportunities to young people. Music Generation Dublin City is managed by the Dublin City Music Education Partnership, led by the City of Dublin Education and Training Board in partnership with Dublin City Council.