The city of Barcelona hosted this Saturday the second day of the Món Llibre festival, an event dedicated to children's and youth literature. The Centre de Cultura Contemporània (CCCB) and the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), along with the exteriors of Joan Coromines square, were the epicenters of a program designed to inspire the creativity of the younger generation and reflect on the transformative power of books.
Throughout the day, the festival offered a wide variety of activities for all ages, including creative workshops, illustration sessions, educational activities, storytelling, and performances. The event also featured the presence of authors such as Joan Negrescolor, Pere Ginard, Nono Granero, Roger Omar, and Sherezade Bardají, who participated in book signing sessions.
At the CCCB, activities commenced with offerings for the youngest attendees, such as a music session for babies titled ‘Un tomb amb el Harold’ led by Cristina Tarifa, and a literary creation workshop for early childhood, ‘Canterelles i cançons’, conducted by Eugènia Tort. For older children, literary and plastic creation workshops were organized, including ‘Oficina postal Món Llibre’ by Les Cartonniers and ‘Capses de salvament’ with Manuel Moranta.
Performing arts played a significant role with shows like ‘Un tros de pa’ by Cia. Les Pinyes and ‘Nautilus’ by Cia. La Negra. Construction activities were also held, such as ‘Un poblat de cartró’ with Davinia Pujol Alcocer (MAKEDO), and oral storytelling like ‘El viatge de les paraules’ with Adina Abad Roca.
The program combines workshops on illustration, printing, literary creation, read-aloud sessions, visual thinking, collage, and construction games, among other participatory formats. One attendee, Sara, described the construction workshop as very fun, while the organizer, Davínia Pujol Alcocer, highlighted the use of safe tools for children to foster imagination.
Families like Ana's positively assessed the quality of the materials and the festival's offerings, emphasizing the importance of connecting children with reading in a world dominated by screens. Other regular attendees, such as Tamara and Xavi, praised the quality of the activities, although they noted that the overlap with other events might have affected attendance.
The professional day on Saturday was also described as a "success," featuring round tables and talks on space in children's literature, with the participation of renowned figures from the book world such as Olivier Douzou and Bernardo P. Carvalho.
The festival's graphic image was created by the studio Fabulatorio, which also designed an immersive exhibition inspired by classics of children's literature.
