Woohoo, this year’s Telegraph Bath Children’s Literature Festivals has arrived! Things kicked off on Friday night with Judith Kerr

Bath Kids Lit Fest: Judith Kerr and the Opening Night Party

Woohoo, this year’s Bath Kids Lit Festival has arrived! Things kicked off on Friday night with Judith Kerr in conversation with Julia Eccleshare and, wow, what a way to celebrate the beginning of this year’s festival.

Judith Kerr is responsible for millions and millions of children falling in love with reading after discovering her heartwarming, funny, gorgeous books. The Mog series, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit…I could go on and on, but you get the gist. She’s one of the most beloved children’s authors of all time and it was an absolute honour to hear her speak about her life, her creative process and, of course, the various oddball cats she’s owned throughout her life! I might be a dog person but her story about one of her cats who lulled green beans into a false sense of security before pouncing on them and consequently devouring them had me ‘awww-ing’.

We were lucky enough to be shown a few of the beautiful hand drawn images from Judith’s latest book, Mister Cleghorn’s Seal. Anybody who’s fallen in love with Mog or The Tiger Who Came to Tea knows what a talented artist Judith Kerr is and it was interesting to hear her confirm that she does love illustrating just a little bit more than writing. I always think of her as a writer, first and foremost, so it was interesting to hear that it’s art that truly has her heart.

In addition to Judith Kerr absolutely charming everybody in the room, Julia Eccleshare was a fantastic interviewer – generous and passionate, and the back and forth between the two of them really helped make the event something special.

If you want to add another story to your Judith Kerr collection, Mister Cleghorn’s Seal is available now and can be purchased here.

It was the perfect opening event and set the tone for what’s shaping up to be one of the festival’s best years ever. We all bundled out of the Guildhall and headed across to Waterstones (via a quick stop in the pub, of course) to check out the opening night party.

The wine (or water, in my case…say hello to your designated driver!) was flowing, the conversations were loud and excited and Waterstones was crammed full of everybody from authors to illustrators, festival organisers, publishers, publicists, editors, bloggers and passionate readers. It was a melting pot of book lovers from all corners of the world and proved that this festival really is one of the best in the business.

But the festival isn’t over yet! There are still hundreds of wonderful events taking place over the next few days, so you can grab any last minute tickets from the Bath Festivals website.

Blogger: Carly Bennett www.writingfromthetub.co.uk

The Telegraph Bath Children’s Literature Festival continues until Sunday 4 October

Bath Box Office 01225 463 362