Frankfurt Kids: Magical animals, tongue twisters and a flight into space
Trade conference and family festival at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2025
Frankfurt Kids brings together experts and the public. From 15 to 17 October 2025, international publishing professionals, authors, and illustrators will discuss the future of children's and young adult books. On Friday, 17 October, at 10 a.m., the Frankfurt Kids Festival will open its doors to children, young people and families – with readings, workshops and hands-on activities.
Specialist programme: Frankfurt Kids Conference and industry dialogue
The international Frankfurt Kids Conference will be held under the motto ‘Children's Books in a Fragile World.’ On the new Centre Stage (15 October, 4–6.30 p.m.), Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo), Jon Yaged (CEO Macmillan Publishers) and Ukrainian author Kateryna Mikhalitsyna will talk about illiteracy, censorship and the responsibility of the industry. Publisher, editor and translator Lawrence Schimel will moderate. Afterwards, guests are invited to a happy hour in Hall 4.1.
The Guest of Honour, the Philippines, turns the spotlight on Southeast Asia. On the Asia Stage on Thursday, publishing professionals from Bangkok to Manila will meet their German colleagues from the children's and youth sector.
The annual Serafina Award ceremony (15 October, 6 p.m., Gutenberg Stiftung, Hall 3.1 K142) will bring the industry together to honour young illustrators who are shaping the children's and young adult literature of tomorrow with their own styles and visual ideas.
Public programme: Frankfurt Kids Festival
The festival opens on Friday with a launch into space. The DLR (German Aerospace Centre) invites children aged 11-12 to take a virtual flight into space at SpaceBuzz One. Illustrator Daniela Kunkel (‘Das kleine WIR’) will host a workshop to show how her characters are created. At the same time, Frankfurt City Library invites visitors to a reading and participation day with authors Axel Scheffler (‘Willkommen’) and Sibylle Hein (‘Große sind Schisser’), among others.
On Saturday, the focus will be on fantasy and adventure. Bodo Wartke brings tongue-twisting wordplay to the stage with ‘In Barbaras Rhabarberbar wird niemals der Rhabarber rar’ (In Barbara's rhubarb bar, rhubarb is never in short supply). Christoph Karrasch (Galileo TV presenter, ‘Rio's magical journeys’) takes the audience to New York. The Drei ??? Kids present their new mystery.
Sunday brings a reunion with the great voices of children's literature: Margit Auer reads from ‘The School of Magical Animals’. Paul Maar brings back his Sams series. Katja Brandis presents ‘Windwalkers’. They are joined by Bernd das Brot from KIKA TV and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, who will talk about his training to go to the moon.
Frankfurt Kids combines a specialist programme with a literary festival. The fair becomes a place for exchange, inspiration and encounters – for the industry as well as for families.