The 19th Children’s Festival of Reading was held on Saturday, May 17 at World’s Fair Park
Children flooded the Festival lawn to meet One Book Read City author, Elliott Smith, and get their book signed! Other artists who participated included Kevin Lewis, Jennifer Nielsen, Vivian Vande Velde, Aisha Saeed, Sarah Pirkle, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the Hominy Mamas, Jodie Manross, Miss Lynn, Sparky & Rhonda Rucker, the Bearden Middle School Drumline, and more. Additionally, seventy community groups and vendors offered arts- and literacy-related activities to support a summer of reading and learning.
View highlights (photo album)
See it in action! (video)
2025 Festival Impact Report
The Children’s Festival of Reading had two primary goals: to excite children about reading and books and to provide opportunities to engage with high-quality children’s artists who would otherwise be inaccessible. The festival allowed children to meet and interact with nationally-acclaimed children’s authors, illustrators, storytellers, and musicians, making books feel more immediate and accessible. Children attended specifically to meet Elliott Smith, the One Book author for 2025. Smith’s book in the Jake Maddox series, Baseball Blowup, was given to 29,000 in Knox County Schools who read the book together in their classrooms during the month of May.
The Festival impacts kids when it matters most: 93% of children in attendance were 10 and under. The Festival of Reading's target audience is children and their families, including parents, grandparents, and caregivers. The Festival is free, allowing all persons—regardless of race, age, gender, socioeconomic status, or location to attend and participate. With steady attendance throughout the day, approximately 8,000 children/families were in attendance. The Festival of Reading attracts a wide regional audience each year with 16% of families in attendance in 2025 from outside of Knox County, many from rural areas.
Seventy community groups participated in the Festival including Centro Hispano de East Tennessee, The Bottom Bookstore, Knoxville Head Start, Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, Clarence Brown Theatre, and the Children’s Diversity and Justice Library. Many of these groups provided on-site information, activities, and support to traditionally underserved groups including families of color, low-income families, and children with learning challenges.
Another important goal of the Children's Festival of Reading is to motivate children to keep reading throughout the summer months to combat the “summer slide.” The entire Festival was designed to offer educational and creativity-inspiring activities that engage children and encourage them to read. Seventy percent of families surveyed reported that they plan to participate in the summer library challenge! The summer library challenge is a powerful framework used to combat the loss of reading skills over school break.
The Children's Festival of Reading would not be possible without the generous support of community partners, sponsors, and volunteers. Thank you for another successful year spreading a love of literacy and learning.