Blue Ridge Books will host a full day of activities to celebrate National Children’s Book Week starting at 10 a.m., May 12, with an event entitled Animal Surprises.

Dawn Cusick, owner of Early Light Books and author of a half dozen books about animals, will share her books with children during the event and age appropriate activities for preschool and elementary age children will be provided by staff from KARE.

Children, teens and adults are invited to drop by Blue Ridge Books between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. for an Author Fair co-sponsored by Early Light Books and Grateful Steps. This event will give readers an opportunity to meet authors of children’s and young adult books and to purchase signed copies.

From 2-3:30 p.m., there will be a panel discussion on writing and publishing for children and teens. Publishers and authors will discuss current trends and challenges in writing for young people today.

An event for teens will be held from 4-5 p.m. “What Teens Read” will be a discussion of what current literature is popular among middle and high school students. This is a time for teens to talk about what they like and make suggestions to other teens.

The culminating event is “The KaBoom Poetry Show” with Michael Beadle at 6:30 p.m.  Michael Beadle is a historian, journalist, writer-in-residence, poet and performer. Since 1998, Beadle has been performing and teaching poetry in schools, festivals and conferences throughout North Carolina.

The Best Cupcake Ever by Carrie Blackburn Brown will be a special feature of the day. All of the profits from the sale of this book go to support the Kory Wawanaca Children’s Home in Bolivia. Donations will be taken to help support the children’s home.

828.456.6000 or www.bookweekonline.com.