Lake Placid book festival fun for whole family

Aug. 19—LAKE PLACID — Dr. José Barreiro — novelist, journalist and activist — is among the 15 children's and young adult (YA) authors and illustrators featured at the Adirondack Family Book Festival from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, at the Lake Placid Middle High School.

ANOTHER SIDE

With New York Times best-selling author Kate Messner, Barreiro co-wrote "History Smashers: Christopher Columbus and the Taíno People" illustrated by Falynn Koch and published by Random House Books for Young Readers.

The book dropped on Aug. 8, and it's for ages 8-12 years.

"There's a series called History Smashers that Kate Messner is the editor and main writer of," the Smithsonian Scholar emeritus said.

"They take pieces of history that are controversial and have another side to them and write a book about it. She was getting to Columbus and the Taíno. She asked me to co-wrote with her.

"This is more for a young audience, just putting some of the aspects of the story into a narrative about who were the Taíno that met Columbus, what did Columbus say about them, and what the reality was and so forth."

Two years ago, Barreiro's grandson, Karakwatiron Hatuey Barreiro, 13, helped him to write the book.

"He collaborated with me and put in a younger person's voice," he said.

"So, it's a bit of collaboration with my grandson."

IN PRINT

Barreiro's books include: the award-winning novel "The Indian Chronicles" (1993, republished as "Taíno," in 2012), "View from the Shore: American Indian Perspectives on the Columbus Quincentenary" (1990), "Indian Roots of American Democracy" (1992) "Panchito: Cacique de Montaña" (2001); "America Is Indian Country" (2005), co-edited with Tim Johnson; "Thinking in Indian: A John Mohawk Reader" (2010) and "Taíno: the Indian Chronicles, A Novel" (2012); "The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire" 2015, and; "Dreaming Mother Earth: The Life and Wisdom of Native Cuban Cacique, Francisco 'Panchito' Ramirez," 2018. "Taíno: A Novel" was re-published by Fulcrum Books.

Barreiro hails from Camagüey, Cuba and has been an activist for nearly four decades on American Indigenous hemispheric themes. He is a member of the Taíno Nation of the Antilles.

His first circle of readers are the young people of Taíno ancestry.

"Who are waking up to that ancestry, and it was important to provide some of that in the form that we have," he said.

"The history is written for young people, but to have where we come from, to know where we come from, what that history has been. Indigeneity is at the forefront of the young people looking at the world problems of today, the different mentalities that have gotten us here. There's an indigenous knowledge that needs to come into play. Indigenous is not just the Americas. It's the traditional bases of Africa, Asia, even Europe has packs of indigenous people here and there and a lot of traditions."

FESTIVAL FUN

Today at 10 a.m., Barreiro and John Brown Lives! Executive Director Martha Swan will formally open the festival with a Welcome and Land Acknowledgment.

From 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., authors and illustrators will participate in panel discussions and workshops.

Authors include: Sarah Albee, Kalynn Bayron, Lesa-Cline Ransome, Loree Griffin Burns, Maxwell Eaton III, Debbi Michiko Florence, Amy Guglielmo, Angela Kunkel, Grace Lin, Emma Otheguy, Francesca Padilla, James Ransome, and Phil Stamper.

Arts activities will be ongoing throughout the day, and young local writers who contributed to the Adirondack Center for Writing "Wild Words Teen Writing Anthology" will be staffing a table to talk about their writing, sign and sell copies of their anthology, and inspire other young readers.

Communication Boards with core words pertaining to the festival will be available for individuals with communication differences. These boards will provide communication access to picture symbols for minimally verbal people and promote awareness of communication differences and allow for accessibility inclusion for everyone.

The Festival is open to everyone, and all children who attend will be gifted a blank-page souvenir journal.

The free, daylong, community event is presented by John Brown Lives!, Lake Placid Public Library, The Bookstore Plus, and numerous other partners.

AFBF is now in its second year and is made possible with the support of generous sponsors and countless volunteer hours from community members.

"The Adirondack Family Book Festival is a wonderful event that draws in crowds from across the entire North County," State Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay) said in a press release.

"It is a pleasure to support the festival that brings readers of all ages together to interact with award-winning authors and illustrators while promoting literacy and creativity."

Email: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com

Twitter@RobinCaudell