Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival kicks off this weekend in Portland

WMTW

PORTLAND, Maine —The last weekend of September kicks off the Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival. The Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine will debut a children's play with a deeper meaning behind it as a part of the festival.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival, which will have events statewide, from Rockland and Hallowell to Portland and Lewiston.

The festival was created to honor the work of Ashley Bryan, an award-winning author who wrote Beautiful Blackbird. The children’s book, now adapted as a play, focuses on inclusion and putting value on self-worth.

“The message of the book, I think, is so powerful and so important for kids to learn and hear about it,” Actress Veeva Banga said. “I think race and differences aren't talked about enough to little kids, and I think it's so important to have that conversation versus just like not having the conversation at all with little kids.”

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