Community Calendar

The Chicopee Public Library will host acclaimed children’s author and illustrator Sarah Brannen for an event focused on her beautiful new picture book, Monarch and Mourning Cloak: A Butterfly Journal! Following along at a butterfly’s-eye-view, attendees will discover how they live in different habitats, eat different foods, and have different strategies for avoiding enemies and making it through the winter. A nature journaling activity will follow the presentation.

Books will be available for purchase and signing following the program.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Sarah S. Brannen has written and illustrated over two dozen books for children, including Lolly on the Ice, Bear Needs Help, A Perfect Day and Madame Martine. She illustrated the Sibert honor book Summertime Sleepers as well as the award-winning Feathers: Not Just for Flying and Seashells: More Than a Home, all written by Melissa Stewart. Monarch and Mourning Cloak: A Butterfly Journal, created by Sarah and Melissa together, was published in March 2026. As an author, Sarah wrote Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, illustrated by Lucia Soto, and Miles Comes Home, illustrated by Forrest Burdett. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding was at the center of the Supreme Court case Mahmoud v. Taylor, and was named one of the best children’s books in the past 100 years by Booktrust. Sarah’s books have been translated into 12 languages.

Join the Forbes Library for a May 5 “cat pawty” and storytime with Caldecott honoree Brian Lies! The event is focused on Cat Nap, a beautiful and playful picture book that follows a sleepy kitten whose afternoon nap transforms into an epic chase through nine iconic artworks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collections. Cat themed activities and crafts will follow the storytime presentation.

Books will be available for purchase through High Five Books, and an author signing will follow the program.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Children’s book author and illustrator Brian Lies has created over thirty children’s books, including his acclaimed Cat Nap, which garnered seven starred trade reviews and was named a 2025 ALA Notable Book, Boston Globe Best Book, and a SCBWI Golden Kite Award finalist. His 2019 book, The Rough Patch, was a Caldecott Honors title, and his other works include his New York Times-bestselling bat books—Bats at the Beach, Bats at the Library, Bats at the Ballgame, Bats in the Band, and Little Bat / Up All Day—as well as Wombat Said Come In. This September, Lies will publish Diffy, a thoughtful ode to storytelling that chronicles an anglerfish’s encounter with a dictionary.

Brian’s work has been featured on The Martha Stewart Show, named as a top ten book of the year by Time/CNN, and read aloud on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday by Scott Simon and Daniel Pinkwater. Brian spends part of every school year traveling throughout the United States to work with students and encourage them in their goals. He lives with his family in Duxbury, Massachusetts.

As their daughter is taken hostage during the October 7 attacks, an Israeli-American family is thrust into a spiraling crisis that forces private anguish into the public arena.

Springfield Museums will host acclaimed children’s author Phaea Crede for an action-packed event celebrating her new picture book, Princess Battle Royale, an exciting introduction to the world of wrestling. Princesses from around the globe—including Rapunzel, the Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red, and more—compete for the chance to be crowned victor and wear the Enchanted Championship Belt in this funny and heartwarming tale. Following the presentation, attendees will have the chance to create their own wrestling character and throw their hat in the ring!

Books will be available for purchase and signing following the program.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Phaea Crede writes silly stories for silly kids. Serious kids, too! She is the author of seven picture books including Princess Battle Royale (Viking Books), Oh Deer! (Sleeping Bear Press), and Jet the Cat (is Not a Cat) (Barefoot Books). Phaea lives near Boston with her husband, two kiddos, two cats, and two dogs. Her favorite wrestling move is the moonsault.

Storrs Library will host acclaimed children’s author Vicki Johnson for a special Mass Kids Lit Fest event celebrating her brand-new picture book, Mac Wears a Hat!

Mac loves hats—she has one for every occasion. As an only child, she sometimes feels lonely, but her hat collection cheers her up, helps her express herself, and sparks joyful connections with others. This inclusive book celebrates kindness and positivity, and that what makes you different, makes you special! A hatmaking activity will follow the presentation.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Vicki Johnson is children’s author, and a former band nerd, lawyer, White House staffer, and nonprofit director, among other life adventures. Her debut picture book Molly’s Tuxedo, illustrated by Gillian Reid (2023), received an NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children, was included on the American Library Association’s Rainbow Book List, and was selected as a Children’s Book Council “Teacher Favorite.” Her next book, Mac Wears a Hat, is from the same creative team. Johnson is a Southern writer who lives in western MA, where she tends to several rescue animals and one college kid.

On the eve of the German invasion in 1940 Belgium, a tender attachment forms between a gifted young radio apprentice and a rising actress, their hopes colliding with a world edging toward war.

Join the Jones Library and Mead Art Museum for a special program with award-winning children’s author Rachel C. Katz. Her inspiring new book, Rise Up!: Powerful Protests in American History, introduces young readers to 25 pivotal protests that shaped the United States—from the Boston Tea Party to modern activist movements—showing how ordinary people have stood up to demand justice and change. After Rachel’s presentation, attendees can celebrate the issues that they believe in with a hands-on protest sign-making workshop.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Rachel C. Katz taught middle school humanities for many years and introduced hundreds of students to her passions: writing, literature, American history, and civics. Rachel is a curriculum consultant and a writer who loves making American history accessible to young readers. Her debut picture book, Rise Up!: Powerful Protests in American History, was named a 2026 Notable Social Studies Book by the Children’s Book Council and NCSS. In addition to writing both serious and silly picture books, Rachel also writes graphic novels and nonfiction for older readers. Rachel loves making art, doing crossword puzzles, and spending time with her family. Rachel lives in Massachusetts.

Join the Zoo in Forest Park for a special storytime with award-winning children’s author Heather Lang, co-creator of the “Animal Heroes” series! Her new book, Supersquads! shows young naturalists how animals band together to stay safe and thrive, from orcas to ostriches, spiny lobsters to snow monkeys, leaf cutter ants to zebras, and more. Attendees will learn about the incredible and ingenious ways that animal squads work together, and have the chance to meet some of the real-life creatures featured in Heather’s books.

Books will be available for purchase and signing following the program.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Heather Lang writes picture books that celebrate our natural world and biographies about women who overcame extraordinary obstacles to follow their dreams. Her award-winning books include Supermoms!: Animal Heroes; Swimming with Sharks: The Daring Discoveries of Eugenie Clark; and The Leaf Detective: How Margaret Lowman Uncovered Secrets in the Rainforest, an NSTA/CBC Best STEM Book and Green Earth Book Award winner. To research her books, Heather has observed animals in the Serengeti, climbed to the treetops of the Amazon, and gone scuba diving with sharks. You can read more about Heather’s books and find lots of activities and resources for them at heatherlangbooks.com.

Join the Easthampton Public Library and the Somehow School for a fun, hands-on writing workshop with acclaimed author Taylor Tyng! Taylor will introduce his new middle-grade novel, Sprout—the imaginative story of a girl who lives in a secluded mill town while hiding an extraordinary secret: tree-like antlers (or "plantlers") that bloom from her head. After diving into the world of Sprout, young writers will learn how to create unforgettable characters of their own, and build stories that are both meaningful and magical.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Taylor Tyng is an author of fantastical fiction for young readers. His first novel, Clara Poole and the Long Way Round, was called "an engrossing and inventive flight through the skies" by Kirkus Reviews. Its follow-up, Clara Poole and the Wrong Way Up was published in July 2024.

Taylor Tyng got to writing late. After spending his early years performing in LA rock clubs, Taylor founded a design agency and a software company, immersing himself in the art of storytelling. He's created designs that have traveled to space, written songs for film, played bit roles in bad movies, and occasionally does dumb things like rocket down Olympic bobsled tracks or go snorkeling in Iceland during winter. As a lifelong dyslexic, Taylor never imagined becoming an author was on the list, which only proves how random and remarkable life's journey can be. When Taylor isn't writing, he is busy renovating a 1700s farmhouse that just might fall down. He lives outside Boston with his wife, two daughters, and a very busy miniature Australian Shepherd.

On Saturday May 9th, DOWNTOWN MARKET Vintage & Vinyl is back for its third annual event at 33Hawley, The Northampton Center for the Arts in downtown Northampton, MA. Our first spring edition will feature two rooms with thousands of records and tons of vintage for sale from over 30 local and regional dealers, plus a variety of live vinyl DJs spinning throughout the entire day.

Come out to score some new styles and sounds, connect with folks in the vintage & vinyl community and shop sustainably!

$5 Early Admission from 9:30am-12pm includes a raffle ticket. Raffle drawing at 12pm Noon..
Free Admission from 12pm-4pm. Free Parking is available in the 33Hawley Lot.

Vendors Include: Spin That! Records, Sunday Vintage, The Weirdo Wardrobe, Studebaker Hawk, Seasonal Work, Valley Finds 413, Gee’s Records, Gladsome Records, Ancestors Vintage & many more.