This October, the Frankfurt Kids Conference 2025 at the Frankfurt International Book Fair brought together publishers, authors, illustrators, and educators from around the world under a deeply resonant theme: “Children’s Books in a Fragile World.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an era marked by wars, migration, censorship, and climate issues, this focus could not have been more timely; or more necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Held on October 15, 2025, the conference gathered a remarkable lineup of speakers: Axel Scheffler, illustrator; Lawrence Schimel, author and translator; Jon Yaged, CEO of Macmillan Publishers; Sherif Bakr, General Manager of Dar Al Arabi Publishing and Distribution; Kateryna Mikhalitsyna, Ukrainian children’s book author; Tereza Horv\u00e1thov\u00e1, Czech publisher; and Constanza Mekis, Chilean reading promotion specialist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Together, they explored how children’s books can offer light, safety, and connection… even when the world around us seems uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discussions revealed an uncomfortable truth: the spaces where children learn to imagine and empathize are increasingly under pressure; from shrinking library budgets and politically motivated book bans to the traumas of displacement and the digital overwhelm of modern childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Agafay Books, we share the conviction expressed in Frankfurt Book Fair: that children’s literature is not a luxury; it is a form of resilience. Every story that reaches a child is a quiet act of hope, a statement that imagination still matters, and that words and images can heal and empower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this world is fragile. It depends on translators who bring voices across borders; on editors who protect nuance and diversity; on parents and teachers who read aloud even when time is short; on public institutions that continue to invest in books as public goods rather than commercial products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When any of these links weakens, when a book disappears from a shelf, or when a young reader is told that their story doesn’t belong… the world of children’s books becomes a little more fragile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The message that resonated most deeply from Frankfurt is that fragility is not weakness; it is a call to care. As Axel Scheffler reminded attendees: “If we want children to imagine a better world, we must first protect the imaginative spaces we give them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Agafay Books, we believe that publishing for young readers is an act of stewardship. It requires sensitivity to the times we live in, and a refusal to compromise on quality, authenticity, and diversity. Our mission is to help build bridges through stories; to nurture empathy in a generation that will inherit not only the beauty of this world but also its fractures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Frankfurt Kids Conference 2025 has set an important tone for the global children’s publishing community: awareness, solidarity, and courage. In this fragile world, children’s books must remind us that understanding and kindness are still possible, more than just entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For us at Agafay Books, this is not just an aspiration. It is the quiet promise behind every page we publish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reflections from Frankfurt 2025 This October, the Frankfurt Kids Conference 2025 at the Frankfurt International Book Fair brought together publishers, authors, illustrators, and educators from around the world under a deeply resonant theme: “Children’s Books in a Fragile World.” In an era marked by wars, migration, censorship, and climate issues, this focus could not have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3035"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3036,"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3035\/revisions\/3036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agafaybooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}