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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 NOVEMBER 2022 7 BOOKS Colour today with a book at the Malta Book Festival 2022 The Malta Book Festival 2022 is a unique experience for children and their families where literature, and the visual and the performing arts meet THE Malta Book Festival (MBF) is the place where children and young adults can experience lit- erature in all its forms - includ- ing their adaptations to theatre and the performing arts. As one of Festival's primary objec- tives, promoting a love of books among children and teenagers through fun, age-appropriate, learning activities will take on new forms during this edition. ZiguZajg International Festival for Arts Festival for Children & Young People at the Malta Book Festival ŻiguŻajg International Festi- val for Arts Festival for Children & Young People and the Malta Book Festival are joining forces, and the National Book Coun- cil (NBC) has teamed up with ŻiguŻajg to bring to children and families visiting the Festi- val at the MFCC entertaining and educational shows, as well as special performances adapt- ed from the 2022 Terramaxka Prize winning books, and spe- cially dedicated to students from schools in Malta and Gozo. Żigużajg will be curating the special programme for regis- tered schoolchildren and educa- tors during weekday mornings, and a 'meet the author' show where they will have the chance to meet MBF22 international guest and author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas John Boyne. The MBF 22 Theatre will also host Żigużajg's very own dance performance, Coco the Sing- er, the Chocolate Finger, in- spired from the tale of Andrew Rausi's book The Rise of the Baker's Dozen, choreographed and produced by Pamela Kerr - straight from Żigużajg's in- ternational arts festival to the MFCC. You can purchase your ticket on https://www.ziguzajg. org/coco-the-singer-the-choco- late-finger. The first show during weekday mornings will be suitable for children of up to 8 years of age and based on Ride the Feeling (Merlin Publishers), written by Auntie Sab, with illustrations by Emma Galea Naudi and winner of the category 'Original Works for Children 0-7'. The second show, suitable for children of of 8 years of age and up is based on Vjaġġ bil-Ballun (Horizons), the winning book in the cate- gory 'Original Works for chil- dren 8–12 years of age'. Both shows are directed and adapted by Prickly Pear Productions. On Friday 25 November an- other very special show awaits schoolchildren: registered stu- dents will be treated to a special appearance on stage by John Boyne, who will be reading an extract from The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and answer questions from the audience, while illustrator Gattaldo will illustrate live for the audience. This show is directed by Rebec- ca Camilleri. More than 10,000 students have booked for the Malta Book Festival, making this attendance the biggest ever in the history of the books event. Schoolchildren will have time to see the per- formance and browse through books. Each student visiting the Festival and registered as part of a participating school will be receiving a €5 voucher redeem- able from the during the Festival. Other collaborations All performances are senso- ry-friendly, designed to create an inclusive and welcoming arts experience for everyone. The Festival will also offer a senso- ry-friendly room in collabora- tion with Inspire Foundation, which is autism-friendly and al- lows children on the spectrum to have access to storytelling activities in a safe and inclusive environment. Inspire will also organise events for children on the spectrum, among them sto- rytelling sessions through move- ment and dance across the five days of the Festival for children from 3-6 and 6-12 years of age respectively. Access is allowed to children accompanied by their parents/educators. A first for our collaborations, the Water and Energy Agency (EWA) has a packed programme of events for children and fam- ilies along the five days of the Festival, with reading and story- telling sessions aimed at impart- ing knowledge about biodiversi- ty and energy saving. The events will be in Maltese and English. EWA will have events revolving around their theme 'WATER - Be the Change' ('L-ILMA - Ibda Minnek'), an educational and awareness-raising campaign on the optimised and efficient use of water resources. Other events for children and their families and the Malta Book Festival include author ses- sions with children and parents organised by Merlin Library, the Pandora event with author Luc- ienne Cassar, the launch of the first book by nine-year-old Carl Thomas Tonna, the launch of Tita Tmiss l-Art by Glen Calle- ja and Clare Azzopardi, and a book signing session with Gat- taldo, author and illustrator of Il-Ġurnalista - l-Istorja ta' Daph- ne Caruana Galizia (Klabb Kotba Maltin). And, since you're there, why not book your spot for the puppet show organised by Mer- lin Library? Books and illustrations Gattaldo will give a one-off one-hour illustration workshop session for children aged 7 to 12. Since the number of participants is limited to twenty, register for a spot here. All materials will be provided. The exhibition From Illustra- tion to Book, a collaboration between the National Book Council and Arts Council Malta (ACM) will provide a showcase for illustrators and graphic de- signers working in and around the publishing industry, where visual arts and literature work hand in hand. Among a show- case of contemporary book il- lustrations and designs, and the evolution of illustration in Malta from the interwar period to the present, families and children will be able to meet illustrations of characters that marked the childhood of most Maltese chil- dren, namely Kunċett u Marin- ton, Fra Mudest, Il-Qtates ta' max-xatt and Ir-Ronnie. The Malta Book Festival is the largest and most extensive cel- ebration of the book culture in Malta. It runs between 23-27 November at the following open- ing hours: on Wednesday and Thursday from 9am-1pm and 5:30pm-9pm; on Friday from 9am-1pm and 5:30pm-10pm; on Saturday from 9:30am-10pm, and on Sunday from 9:30am- 8pm. Visiting with the family has also been made easier - hassle free parking will be provided at the North entrance of the Mal- ta Fairs & Conventions Centre (MFCC) in Ta' Qali. Eve-ryone can reach the Festival by public transport thanks to enhanced bus routes offered by Malta Public Transport. A shuttle service from Valletta will be available, while the cur-rent routes leading to Ta' Qali will be increased in fre- quency from Wednesday to Sun- day route 202 (Rabat-Sliema) – route186 (Rabat- Buġibba); route 56 (Valletta - Ta' Qali); route TQ1 (Valletta - Ta'Qali) ŻiguŻajg International Arts Festival for Children & Young People is the only festival in Mal- ta specifically aimed at children & young people, presenting an enticing programme of interna- tional productions and new com- missioned work, annually. Since its inception in 2010, the festi- val programme of ŻiguŻajg has grown from strength to strength, becom-ing a cornerstone of the cultural calendar both in Malta and overseas. The full programme of events for the 2022 Malta Book Festival is available online here. For the latest updates, please follow the NBC website, and the NBC Face- book page and Malta Book Fes- tival 2022 Facebook event page.