Bobby Norfolk entertains festival-goers at a previous year’s Children’s Festival of Reading. This year’s event is 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.

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Llamas and drama. Magic and reading. A hayride and science experiments.

That recipe for literary fun helps create the Fifth Annual Children’s Festival of Reading 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 30.

The free festival at World’s Fair Park in downtown Knoxville has got a bit of a llama theme going. The event’s featured picture book author is Anna Dewdney, who wrote “Llama Llama Red Pajama” and other books in the “Llama Llama” series. In her most recent, Mama Llama sends her baby off to school in “Llama Llama Misses Mama.”

Dewdney will led a special parade while at the festival. The 11:30 a.m. “Red Pajama Llama Parade” will march through World’s Fair Park. Those who wish to attend the parade are encouraged to wear their own pajamas.

More llama-themed fun is at 10 a.m. Saturday when Dollywood’s Imagination Playhouse presents a musical adaptation of “Llama Llama Red Pajama.”

The musical by Dollywood’s Penguin Players focuses on the book’s story of a baby llama who goes to bed but worries that his mama won’t return for him. (The musical also will be at Dollywood for an eight-week run starting June 12.)

“Llama Llama Red Pajama” is one of the books in the Imagination Library program begun by Sevier County native Dolly Parton. The program mails one free book each month to children from birth to age 5. In Knox County, more than 600,000 books have been sent to more than 20,000 children since the program started in 2005.

The festival also includes giant llama puppets and some real, live llamas in the petting zoo at the festival.

The Children’s Festival of Reading is held by the Knox County Public Library to kick off its summer reading programs.

The Saturday festival also includes storytellers, music, author presentations, roaming magician Michael Messing, and a “mad science experiments” stage. A hayride, inflatables and arts and crafts also are part of the family-oriented event.

Also attending the festival is screenwriter, songwriter and author Dean Pitchford, who wrote the screenplay for the Kevin Bacon film “Footlose” and won an Academy Award for his lyrics for theme song of the film “Fame.” His children’s books including “The Big One-Oh” about turning 10 years old, and “Captain Nobody.”

Other authors at the festival include Kristin Tubb, who will discuss her book “Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different,” which is about the development of the Great Smoky Mountains National park and the displacement of Cades Cove families when the park arrived. Emmy Award winning storyteller Bobby Norfolk also will be at the festival.

A schedule of authors, events and presentations for the Children’s’ Festival of Reading is at www.knoxlib.org

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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