Watch: Hey fam, I’m on the Bay Area Book Festival podcast “Short Cuts” w/ Dora La Flora talking about this year’s festival happening in late May, tune in to learn more. And come to the Bay Area Book Festival happening May30-31st in Berkeley California. You can find out more about the Youth Lit Specific day here and get the broader schedule here.
Why go?
If you’re a book lover or someone who wants to get your kids reading or get something new to read, there is such a wide array of books there from kid lit to romance, poetry, non fiction, etc. Its there.
If you’re someone who works in this field or you’d like to work in it, this is s great opportunity to meet folks ion your field at your level and folks who’ve been doing this for a long time.
Lastly, support community led events as opposed to corporations.
Dig this? Check out the Bay Area Book Festival’s YouTube page
San Jose Day was really fresh, like 510 day in Oakland or 415 Day in SF it celebrates and champions local artists, musicians, culture, and more. I went there to check it out last year and you should too.
This is from a recent visit to a school in Fremont California called “Lila Bringhurst Elementary”. Its a chinese immersion school in the South Bay and I had a blast reading to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders while I was there.
I caught BART from “Fruitvale” station out to “Warm Springs” in the morning and walked to the school where a parent and PTA member Ina was waiting for me.
I got set up in their huge auditorium and then the students started to file in! The school is big so I did my presentation twice with the students split up into two groups. I read Fresh Juice!
As always I shared a story and a bit of the art that goes into making it. Here’s a video reel I made of the visit. BIG thanks to Ina who took a bunch of photos for me while I was presenting.
Dig this? Check out some photos from other school or library visits
This past June I read at a great cafe called Kinfolx in Oakland for a team of story lovers called “Storyland”started by Indya McGuffin and Bean Tupou. They are a new organization trying to bring stories to families.
It was a great event and my brother Eli Jacobs Fantauzzi(Fist Up Films) came through and blessed us with some photos from the event!! This one above is me sitting behind Indya and Bean.
During and after the readings they had coloring supplies and pasta shells there for making necklaces or bracelettes! Activities are always a hit with kids; especially those who have wiggles and want to move their hands, arms, etc.
Here’s a photo of the amazing set up Marcus Books had at the event! In case you didn’t know, Marcus is the oldest Black owned bookstore in the Bay!
Chapter 510 was also there with books created by young people and information about the incredible work they do as a literary organization that gives kids instruction and space on creative writing.
Here are some fotos from my portion of the reading. Eli really captured the work Bean and Indya put into the event because it was packed with families!
This was super fun and a great way to spend Juneteenth reading stories featuring Black families:) The babies had lots of questions and very cute comments to share as always!
That’s it fam. I’ve linked all the folks involved so please scroll back up to learn more about them.
Dig this? Check out these fotos from my visit to Alvarado elementary in Union City.
Hey fam, this is my video explainer/pitch about the Social Justice Children’s Book Fair, what it does, and why its existence is so important right now. We’re in a $5k fundraising drive to match a $5k grant that was given to us. Since 2017 we’ve brought the funk here in the Bay Area re: Bipoc, Queer, Immigrant, and Social Justice minded kid lit creators. We have been volunteer based until last year and we’re trying to make our work more sustainable.
I’m one of several founders, and organizers of an annual book festival called the “Social Justice Children’s Book Fair”that takes place annually in the Bay Area since 2017. We highlight Bipoc, Queer, Immigrant, and Social Justice minded kid lit creators and we invite in literacy organizations.
Beyond the shit show of a presidency, there’s an intensifying attack on books from book banning, firing librarians or educators, burning books, death threats, to defunding entire libraries. Why? The bans are not new, but it’s gotten worse over the last 5 years. The types of books they go after are the kinds of folks me, librarians, parents, teachers, and my fellow organizers champion.
And that shit makes my blood boil. It’s not just a passion for me, this shit is personal. I hated reading growing up. There were few to zero mirrors in books back then for me. I know too well what happens when Bipoc/Queer stories are erased from shelves. It sends a message that says “You, your culture, your story, your life is unimportant. And I’m not having that shit.
As we approach our 9th year, we as an organization have big plans to expand our work. Already this year we were selected to partner with the Bay Area Book Festival to build out theirFamily Dayprogramming (come join us in Berkeley on May 31).
That’s just the beginning. We hope to launch an Award highlighting the best of indy social justice children’s books. We want to mentor aspiring creators, and so much more. The challenges are massive and to face them, we’re going to need back up.
With Over eight years of volunteering we’ve have laid a solid foundation. Now it is time for growth.
Peep. A dope creator offered to give us a $5k grant and we’re trying to match it in 30 days. If you’re on Facebook or Instagram, help us amplify the word. If you know folks who love kid lit, books, social justice, or children’s books that feature voices who’ve been ignored for too long. Share this with them and
This is pretty damn cool, I get to be an instructor alongside Michaela Ellis w/ young storytellers at thee FAIRYLAND! Isnt that cool, no? I have been going to Fairyland since the 80s yall. First as a child, then as a young parent in the mid 2000’s, and now as a writer/illustrator for the past 4-5 years and as a parent to mydaughter. This workshop is a way to get young storytellers some practice and community. We’ll be working on writing AND drawing our stories in this series so tell a friend. More info: https://fairyland.org/youthwriters
Dig this? Check out that time I was invited to lead a picture book workshop for MFA Comics students at CCA.
Hey fam, hope you are well despite the many struggles that come w/ surviving in capitalism. I made this graphic because while I have been visiting schools, libraries, and organizations for over 13 years there still a lot of Northern California cities where I’m from that I have not visited. Some of these I’ve never visited as an author/illustrator and some of them not nearly enough. I get lots of visits from my hometown of Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, etc. but I would like to venture beyond my area more in 2025 and the coming years.
Note: When I speak to children I am respectful and kind, but I am very honest about things like systems of oppression, war, genocide, sexism, racism, etc. I do however try to tailor my words to be appropriate to the age I’m speaking to.
Would you like to invite me to talk to your students or families? Do you know a teacher, librarian, or organizer in one of these cities who would invite me to speak to their students? What can I offer?
TK-3rd grade– Picture book readings
3rd-8th grade– Art book + literacy (Illustration, gaming, fashion, animation, makers)
High School/College– A career in the arts presentation (murals, illustration, kids books)
How do you get in contact with me? Use the contact form on my website, dm me, or email me at info@robdontstop.com
Dig this?Here are some past school visits to check out:
“Moose” amazed everyone who met him; in the alter world and in ours. We thought he’d want to be a god on earth, stop wars, reduce the Richie riches to humble, or throw a rock the size of a house at the sun. But his life force was drained and he got weaker with each passing sunrise. So, we did what any good friends would do, we packed up his things and floated him right out of the Bay. This way, we could find the portal, send him back. He’d be back to tagging his name soon enough, we hoped”.
What is this? Short stories are a way for me to sharpen my skills, to play, to practice, and to stretch out by trying new ideas for stories. In 2010 they started off as a way to practice the format of picture books but I’m interested in middle grade and comics now too. My name is Robert Liu-Trujillo and my most recent book is Fresh Juice published by Lee & Low Books.
