5 Questions for Stacey Rattner

You organized the June ¡Celebración! Book Festival in your district highlighting the works of Latinx authors and illustrators. How did you come up with the idea for a Latinx-themed book festival?

My friend, author Pablo Cartaya, and I had wanted to do a festival focused on Latinx authors and illustrators for a long time. I met Pablo six or seven years ago as part of an annual Newbery Project I do with my students. They select a Newbery award contender, and make a case for why it should win. When Pablo’s book, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora, was nominated, my kids wrote him fan mail, and I scheduled a Skype meeting with him for the class. I later met him in person and we connected and stayed in touch.

How did you get authors and illustrators to participate? And how many attended?

We started brainstorming for the event in September with a goal of having six authors and illustrators — we met our goal. I sent out an email to people whose books we knew and loved, who were friends of Pablo, or who I had previously connected with. The response was great; lots of excitement and many of the authors told us they’d never done something like this before in a school. They’d been part of panels but having a whole celebration centered on their work as Latinx creators, and highlighting their culture was new.

How was the festival?

It was amazing! The authors spent the school day with students and later attended an evening reception setting up tables to sign books and meet with the kids. Each student got a coupon for a free book, and we gave away around 150 of them. We used a grant to pre-purchase the books and get other event supplies, including snacks and a photo booth. That evening, pairs of students, one older and one younger, interviewed each author on stage in the school auditorium about their work. We had representation from every grade level.

What inspired you to organize this event?

I wanted to open minds and expose our students to a different culture. My district is very small and homogenous, which isn’t the real world. Our job as educators is to expose students to other worlds and people. We can do that by reading and by introducing them to wonderful humans who come from other cultures and backgrounds. Learning to appreciate people from other cultures makes our kids better humans. My students loved it. They were excited, brought the books to school the next day, thanked and hugged me and said they were grateful they got to meet the authors.

Any plans for a future ¡Celebración! Book Festival?

I want to do it again, but I’m not sure I have the bandwidth to do it annually. I want to keep the momentum going by having my kids read the books featured at the event this year, and I’m planning for a second celebration in 2026. I would love to collaborate with other area districts.

Visit nysut.cc/bookfest24 to view photos and learn more about the Schodack Central School District book festival.