Barcelona Mum

Mon Llibre Literary Festival

The Món Llibre literary festival for children and teenagers, which received more than 20,000 visitors last year, is now in its fourth year. There are more than 150 events and activities for all ages, and a host of books to introduce children to the pleasure of reading. The weekend 19 and 20 April, all can take part, free, in the festival organised by the Institute of Culture and the Barcelona Library Consortium.

Story-telling, workshops and games, theatre, magic, music, puppet shows and films. All this as well as stands to buy and exchange books. And there is Torre de Sant Jordi, a classic for Món Llibre, where children can get up on the stage and read fragments of their favourite story, receiving a book as a prize. This year there is a section exclusively for those over 9, which includes chats with favourite writers and the opportunity to consult literary websites and blogs. The events, this year, are at the Barcelona Centre de Cultura Contemporània (CCCB), Macba and Plaça de Joan Coromines.

Especially interesting are the story-telling sessions of the Pati de les Llengües, in the CCCB Pati de les Dones, which will be in Catalan, Spanish, Urdu, English, German, Punjabi and Tagalog. The central themes in the festival this year are world languages and inter-cultural relations, to coincide with the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue and the International Year of Languages. Those performing at the festival include the Titelles Marduix puppet company, the dance company Nats Nus, and a performance of Teatro de los Sentidos, Lucrecia and music by José Luis Gutiérrez Grupo.