The beloved The Little Festival, celebrated for making books fun for children, is back by popular demand. It will take place alongside Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest at the NCPA on 7 and 8 November from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm.
Hosted in collaboration with the H T Parekh Foundation, The Little Festival offers a diverse range of events and activities for children aged 8 to 13. These include storytelling, conversations, poetry, art, dance, music, word treasure hunts, workshops, book swaps, and philately. Sessions will also be led by teenage writers and moderators. Children from various schools and NGOs will be invited. The festival will also feature the announcement of the Binod Kanoria Awards for Children’s Literature.
A star-studded lineup of award-winning authors, illustrators, animators, and librarians will participate, including Abhijeet Kini, Bijal Vachcharajani, Bittu Sehgal, Cyrus Broacha, Kavita Singh Kale, Mukta Patil, Nita Luthria, Shalini Pradhan, and Suresh Eriyat. Special sessions will be conducted by Ustad Fazal Qureshi on tabla playing, Katie Bagli from the Jane Goodall Foundation leading a nature trail, and Kasim Ansari guiding tree walks. Performative artist Prachi Saathi will tell stories through Bharat Natyam dance. Fourteen-year-old Anya Hannan, the festival’s youngest writer, will speak about her book on ocean conservation. Additionally, Gillo Repertory Theatre, directed by Shaili Sathyu, will perform the play The Ghost of the Mountains.
The festival offers a wide variety of themes for children to explore, such as nature, pets, food, philately, science fiction, music, mystery, ghost stories, and the environment. Interactive sessions and book swaps will take place in the Doorbeen Tent on the NCPA grounds, a highlight that delighted children at last year’s event.
Reena Agrawal, Associate Festival Director and curator of The Little Festival, remarked, “In an age dominated by screens, we are thrilled to provide children with interactive, in-person experiences that connect them with authors, books, arts, culture, and live performances. We aim to demonstrate that physical books and expressive art forms like acting, dance, and music are just as captivating and enchanting as digital media.” She expressed gratitude to the H T Parekh Foundation for their unwavering support.
The H T Parekh Foundation emphasized its commitment to fostering joyful reading among children. “Partnering with The Little Festival for the second consecutive year aligns with our mission through Doorbeen to build school and community libraries, support library professionals, and promote quality children’s literature in regional languages. We share the festival’s vision of creating engaging, interactive experiences that inspire a lifelong love of reading.”
The Little Festival promises two inspiring days filled with creativity, learning, and fun, making it a must-attend event for young book lovers this November.
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