The winter holidays are just around the corner - time to plan some big trips! And, as we all know, the best journeys take place in the imagination.
On Wednesday 19 February, Chemnitz City Library will be transformed into a large travel agency of the imagination for one day. Four authors and/or illustrators will present their books about travelling in readings: It's off on a wild bike ride with a dinosaur and on a fire brigade adventure, into the spooky Bammelwald forest and back in time.
Each reading is followed by a workshop that invites the children to think up their own travel story and put it down on paper with words and/or pictures.
The following journeys can be undertaken:
"Fanni, fox and fire brigade" - with illustrator Miriam Zedelius
Time: 9 am, duration: 60 minutes
Location: Chemnitz City Library, Central Library in Tietz, Children's Library.
(Closed event.)
Miriam Zedelius brings "Fanni, fox and fire brigade" to the library! Together with her little listeners, she's going on a big journey. Tatü-Tata the fire brigade is here! The children rescue animals and playfully experience how you can travel in your imagination.
"Ring-ring!" - with illustrator Halina Kirschner
Time: 10 am, duration: approx. 90 minutes.
Location: Chemnitz City Library, event room in Tietz, access via 3rd floor
Registration possible until 17 February at www.stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de/buchen
"Ring-ring!" - Illustrator Halina Kirschner gives a reading of the book "Wilde Radtour mit Velociraptorin" (the text is by Nils Mohl.) A feathered prehistoric reptile wants to learn how to ride a bike and embarks on a fast-paced adventure through the ABCs of cycling from A for "inflate" to Z for "destination". In the subsequent workshop with the illustrator, the children go on their own drawn bike tour with very unusual means of transport and riders. For all bike and dinosaur fans aged 8 and over.
"Zorro, the pug" - with author Katharina Bendixen
Time: 10 am, duration: approx. 90 minutes
Location: Chemnitz City Library, Central Library, Learning Room in the Science & Technology section
(Closed event.)
In "Zorro, the Pug" by Katharina Bendixen, a little pug has a great adventure: Zorro meets a terrible monster in the scary Bammelwald forest - can he defeat it? A giant catapult plays an important role in Zorro's adventure, and in the subsequent workshop the children sit in a magic catapult themselves - where do they land, what is their favourite place? Using colourful cardboard and the right folding technique, a small book is created in no time at all.
"Like a bird" - with author and illustrator Gerda Raidts
Time: 4 pm, duration: approx. 90 minutes
Location: Chemnitz City Library, event room in Tietz, access via 3rd floor.
Registration possible until 17 February at www.stadtbibliothek-chemnitz.de/buchen
Gerda Raidt's autobiographical book "Like a Bird" is a journey back in time in words and pictures to a childhood in the GDR, when only birds could fly across the border just like that.
Interested children aged 8 to 12, with or without company, are invited to travel back in time to the author's childhood in East Berlin.
After the reading, there will be a short workshop with tips and suggestions for writing your own stories. When the author then sets off on her return journey, she will be left with a collection of ideas. Perhaps the beginning of a story. And a few more days of holiday.
The story festival is a collaboration between Chemnitz City Library and KJL Leipzig - The Leipzig Network of Children's and Young Adult Book Authors and Illustrators. www.kjl-leipzig.de
"Gemeinsam unterwegs - Ein Geschichtenfest für Kinder" is a project for Chemnitz 2025, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Free State of Saxony and the City of Chemnitz.
About the authors and illustrators:
Katharina Bendixen, born in Leipzig in 1981, lives with her family in Leipzig and writes books for children, young people and adults. Her texts have been awarded numerous prizes and scholarships, including a working scholarship from the German Literature Fund (2020/21) and the children's and young adult book residency "Struwwelpippi" in Echternach/Luxembourg (2023). Most recently, she published the young adult novel "Taras Augen" (Mixtvision, 2022), which will be compulsory reading in Saxony from the coming school year.
www.katharinabendixen.de
Halina Kirschner, born in Leipzig in 1982, studied illustration and graphic design in Leipzig. She designs books for children and adults, including for Büchergilde Gutenberg, Mairisch Verlag and E. A. Seemann. She also runs numerous children's art courses in and around Leipzig. Her books have been honoured as "Most Beautiful German Books", among others.
www.halinakirschner.de
Gerda Raidt, born in Berlin in 1975, studied graphic design and illustration in Halle and Leipzig and has lived in Leipzig with her family ever since. She worked as an illustrator for many years until she began to create her own books. Her books have been translated and reviewed many times. The book "Müll" was awarded the "Smartest Book of the Year" prize. Her most recent children's book "Wie ein Vogel" was published by Klett. She enjoys telling stories with words and pictures and gives readings, workshops and writing workshops for children.
www.gerda-raidt.de
Miriam Zedelius, born in Heidelberg in 1977, studied graphic design and book art in Leipzig, Halle and Granada (Spain). She has been working as a freelance designer for many years, illustrating books, designing posters and printing pictures by hand using screen printing. At the moment she mainly illustrates picture books and children's books and is also increasingly writing her own stories. Miriam Zedelius has three children and lives in Leipzig.
www.peretti-agency.com/illustratorinnen/miriam-zedelius/