Charlotte Huck Festival
Each year, the festival brings together educators, librarians, parents, students, authors, illustrators, editors, and those interested in children’s literature for a unique combination of full conference and small group sessions. Next year our faculty is once again chosen from the "best of the best".
28th Annual Children's Literature Festival
March 7 & 8, 2025
Join over 200 educators & librarians for an unforgettable Professional development opportunity!
Award winning 2025 Festival Speakers includes:
Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Candace Fleming, Mitali Perkins, Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey, and Dianne White.
Examples of Past Breakout Sessions:
- Give a Poem, Get a Poem: A Writing Workshop
- The Best Multicultural Books for 2024—a Book Talk
- Graphic Picture Books Keep Young Readers Turning the Page
- Let’s Get Lit!
- The Power of the Picture Book (no matter the grade)
- Crank Up the Curiosity: Strategies to Ignite a Love of Nonfiction in Young Readers
- Because Books Matter: Teaching a Love of Literature Through Literacy Groups
- Permission to Feel: How Stories Fuel SEL & Teach Empathy
Why do people come—and keep coming back?
In the words of past participants, it is:
“A small, intimate conference where you can spend time with the authors and illustrators.” “A unique opportunity to spend time with others who share a passion about children’s books.” “Practical ideas for my classroom” and library.
Registration Information
Registration options:
- Meals included in all options
Registration is online, please click on the button on the right (or below if on mobile).
- Full Festival | $249
- Friday, March 1 | $189
- Saturday, March 2 | $145
Special Rates
- Full Festival | $100 | Breakout Session Presenters
- Full Festival | $100 | Student Price |Requires Student I.D, space is limited
REGISTRATION CLOSES AT 5:00 PM FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025
Purchase orders only:
Please submit a purchase order referencing this conference and attach a registration form for each attendee. Download the purchase order form below. We will issue an invoice once received and processed.
Hotel:
We partner with the Ayres Hotel in Redlands on a discounted room block for the festival. To book in our block, please use code: 1706
Meet the Speakers
Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Vanessa Brantley-Newton was born during the Civil Rights movement, and attended school in Newark, NJ. Being part of a diverse, tight-knit community during such turbulent times, Vanessa learned the importance of acceptance and empowerment in shaping a young person’s life. Vanessa celebrates self-love and acceptance of all cultures through her work, and hopes to inspire young readers to find their own voices. Her books include Nesting Dolls, Grandma’s Purse, Just Like Me, and The Youngest Marcher. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for sponsoring Vanessa as a speaker in 2025!
Candace Fleming
Candace Fleming is the award winning author of more than twenty books for children and young adults both fiction and non-fiction including Mine and Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, both illlustrated by her husband Eric Rohmann, and The Enigma Girls. Candace has always been a storyteller. She says even before she could write her name, she could tell a good tale—and she told them all the time. For more about Candace and her books, visit her website here. 
Mitali Perkins
Mitali Perkins has written many books for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for a National Book Award) and Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film by Sleeperwave Productions). Her books explore crossing different kinds of borders and she aims to make readers laugh or cry, preferably both, as long as their hearts are widening. She lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Other Mitali Perkins books include Holy Night and Little Star, Home Is In Between, Between My Hands, and Between Us and Abuela.
Diannne White
When Diannne White, picture book author, poetry lover, teacher, was growing up, she never thought she would become a writer. As Dianne says, sometimes the things we come to enjoy best sneak up on us. Years later, we are able to recognize who or what was responsible for initiating the tiny sparks of interest that grew into something bigger. As a classroom teacher, she rediscovered the joy of children’s poetry and books. Dianne’s books include Finding Grateful, Sometimes a Wall…, It’s Your Time to Shine, Goodbye Brings Hello, and Who Eats Orange?
Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey
Jarrett is an award-winning author and illustrator. He spends his time making books in his home near Austin, TX, where he lives with his wife, their two boys, and two dogs. When he’s not making books, you might find him fishing on a river somewhere or tinkering under the hood of his new old F100. Since 2016, Jerome has been a graphic designer at The Walt Disney Company where he uses design and illustration to visually tell stories in print, digital, and immersive experiences. He works primarily from his home office in Georgetown, TX, where he lives with his wife and their three kids. Brothers Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey have been making stuff together since 1981. Their books include There Was a Party for Langston, Somewhere in the Bayou, The Old Truck, The Old Boat, and the new Link and Hud middle grade series.
Festival Resources
Learn more about Dr. Charlotte S. Huck, how to submit a proposal, and festival vendors below.
Dr. Charlotte S. Huck (1922-2005)
Charlotte Huck, an internationally renowned children's literature expert who is the inspiration for the Charlotte S. Huck Children's Literature Festival, the National Council of Teachers of English's Charlotte Huck Award, and the Charlotte S. Huck Professorship in Children's Literature.
Call for Sponsorship
We hope you will help us to continue the rich history of the Charlotte S. Huck Children’s Literature Festival by becoming a sponsor this year. Please click the link to read a letter with a detailed outline of sponsorship options.
The Book Market
Open from 8:00 a.m. on Friday through the close of the Festival on Saturday. All exhibitors in The Book Market are independent Southern California vendors and donate a percentage of their sales at the Festival to support its continuation. We encourage you to support them year round! More information coming.
Charlotte Huck, an internationally renowned children's literature expert who is the inspiration for the Charlotte S. Huck Children's Literature Festival, the National Council of Teachers of English's Charlotte Huck Award, and the Charlotte S. Huck Professorship in Children's Literature.
Charlotte grew up in suburban Chicago, attended Wellesley College and earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University. She began her teaching career in Midwestern elementary schools. Her master's and doctorate degrees were also from Northwestern University.
Charlotte joined the education faculty of Ohio State University in 1955 where she organized the first course in children's literature at Ohio State, founded the Ohio State Children's Literature Conference, and built a nationally respected program that offers both a master's and doctorate in children's literature.
Her classic textbook, Children's Literature in the Elementary School, now in its tenth edition and authored by Barbara Kiefer, has been renamed Charlotte Huck's Children's Literature. During her career, Charlotte served on the Newbery Award Committee, chaired the Caldecott Award Committee, was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame, was an Arbuthnot Lecturer, received several distinguished teaching awards, and was elected president of the National Council of Teachers of English. Upon her retirement from Ohio State, the Charlotte S. Huck professorship was established, the first endowed professorship in children's literature in the nation.
In "retirement", Charlotte moved to Redlands to live near her nieces Charlotte Burgess and Jean Gaylord. Retirement for Charlotte meant continuing to bring books and children together. She wrote five children's books, was the force behind the evening read aloud program at Smiley Library, the Children's Literature Festival, the annual Family Day at Smiley Library, and a children's literature book discussion group that continues to meet. She also served on the board of the YWCA and Redlands Day Nursery and was named by Town and Gown as a "Woman of Distinction." Charlotte continued to be a teacher, mentor, and an active participant in the festival planning until her death at her home on April 7, 2005.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Charlotte S. Huck Children's Literature Festival Endowment by leaving a check made out to the University of Redlands at the registration desk or by mailing a check to the Charlotte S. Huck Children's Literature Festival Endowment, University of Redlands, PO Box 3080, Redlands, CA 92373-0999.
"Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both." - from "Charlotte's Web" © 1952 E. B. White
Brown Bag Books
We began as a ‘mobile bookstore’, and our ever-growing book collection now holds thousands of titles, all available either in person, or from our online selection. The Classics, old and new, are our first love, but current non-fiction that leans towards social justice, historical facts, and world cultures remain a staple in our collection. We have traveled the world, particularly London, Paris, and Berlin to bring back World Classics and fascinating finds from other lands. Our book collection is special because it is hand picked with our unique customers in mind.
