KBF School Days Program - Kentucky Book Festival

Taking the Book Festival around the state!

As part of the Kentucky Book Festival, the School Days Program brings authors to dozens of schools across Kentucky to meet students in an exciting, interactive learning experience. Each student receives a signed book from the author to add to their reading collections at home. Schools awarded incur no charges for these visits thanks to support from our sponsors.

Featured Authors

Jessica Young

Jessica Young grew up in Ontario, Canada. The same things make her happy now as when she was a kid: dancing, painting, music, digging in the dirt, picnics, reading, and writing. When she was little, she wanted to be a tap-dancing flight attendant/ veterinarian, but she’s changed her mind!

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All Paws on Deck (Haggis & Tank #1)

Children's-Middle Grade

Tank is an outgoing Great Dane. Haggis is a grumpy Scottie dog. In the first book in the series, Haggis and Tank set sail as pirates. At first, Haggis doesn’t see what Tank does–that an adventure awaits them with just a little imagination! But soon, Haggis joins in and the two friends go on a […]

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Will Hillenbrand

WILL HILLENBRAND is a celebrated children’s author and illustrator whose published works include over 70 books. He uses a combination of traditional drawing methods and direct impression media to create his magical illustrations.

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Spring is Here (Bear & Mole Series)

Children's-Middle Grade

Mole can smell that spring is in the air, but Bear is still asleep after his long winter nap! But Bear keeps snoozing. Mole is determined, so he milks and gathers and bakes a special springtime surprise for his friend-- the perfect way to wake up!

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Nancy Kelly Allen

Growing up in Kentucky halfway between Troublesome Creek and Hell-for-Certain and near a town named Hazard, Nancy learned to take the non-risky route of looking before leaping. After a peek at a school’s collection of books, she leaped into a profession she couldn’t resist—librarian. During the day she read to children and at night wrote for them. Working with children in a variety of jobs primed her for her present and future venture, writing.

Her first book was published in 1999 and her latest is book number 52, Dear Vampire, which received a five-star review by the Books Children Read organization.

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Dear Komodo Dragon

Children's-Middle Grade

Lots of children have pen pals but one little girl has a real-life dragon a Komodo dragon for a pen pal! When she and Komodo become pen pals, the wise-cracking dragon adds a generous helping of humor to letters that are chock full of accurate, interesting facts.

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Brittany J. Thurman

Brittany J. Thurman is the author of Fly, from Caitlyn Dlouhy Books. She is the co-author of Fearless: Boulevard of Dreams, by Mandy Gonzalez. Brittany holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. During her graduate years at Carnegie Mellon University, Brittany’s plays were produced in Aspen, Colorado, and on New York’s City’s Theatre Row.

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Fly

Children's-Middle Grade

Pure joy and the power of community radiate from this sweet picture book about a young Black girl's perseverance and confidence in following her double Dutch dreams. Africa's grandmother was a double Dutch legend, and Africa knows she can become the same. Her brother scoffs when she signs up for a double Dutch competition, though […]

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Amanda Driscoll

Amanda Driscoll was born, raised, and still resides in Louisville, Kentucky. She is the author and illustrator of four picture books: Little Grump Truck (2021), Klondike Do Not Eat Those Cupcakes! (2018), Wally Does Not Want a Haircut (2016), and Duncan the Story Dragon (2015), all published by Knopf. For more information about Amanda and her books, visit her website at: www.amandadriscoll.com.

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Duncan the Story Dragon

Children's-Middle Grade

Duncan the Dragon loves to read. When he reads a story, his imagination catches fire! Unfortunately . . . so does his book. Fire breath is great for roasting marshmallows, but it’s not so great for reading. Duncan just wants to get to those two wonderful words, like the last sip of a chocolate milk […]

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Shawn Pryor

Shawn Pryor’s (he/him) work includes the hi/lo reader series THE GAMER (Capstone), the middle-grade graphic novel THE DEADLIEST RACE (Capstone), the middle-grade graphic novel series Cash and Carrie, the 2019 Glyph Nominated sports graphic novel Force, several books for Capstone’s Jake Maddox Sports and Adventure series, and the upcoming graphic novel FAST BREAK with artist Courtney Hahn in 2023 from FSG/Macmillan.

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The Gamer: Currency Control

Children's-Middle Grade

Evil Cynthia Cyber is robbing banks with her latest creation, a villain named Currency.

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Thank you School Days Sponsors

The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels supports 2024 author visits and book giveaways as part of the KBF School Days program. The Kentucky Colonels is an organization of talented and capable men and women appointed by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky because of their service to the state.

The Kentucky Book Festival is proud to be a Library of Congress Center for the Book Affiliate. The Library of Congress Center for the Book, which also administers the Poetry and Literature Center, promotes books and libraries, literacy and reading, and poetry and literature. The affiliated Centers for the Book bring the national Center’s message of the importance of books and reading to audiences nationwide. Learn more here.