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Thalia Kids Book Club Camp

Campers are sitting in a theater while smiling and clapping their hands - this links to a video.

“LOVED this camp.” -previous happy camper

Are your favorite authors more interesting than YouTube stars? Do you read even when you can hardly keep your eyes open? Do you dream about being a famous writer?

Come to the Thalia Kids Book Club Camp and spend a week with all things books and writing! We cover it all - fantasy, adventure, realistic fiction, sci fi, nonfiction, graphic novels and more.

The Thalia Kids Book Club Camp is for kids (9–14) who love to read!

We look forward to welcoming Thalia Book Club Campers to Symphony Space this summer! We have an incredible line-up of diverse books and a slate of compelling guest authors who are eager to connect with our extraordinary campers. Campers will get to meet and engage with these authors in the company of new friends who also can’t get enough of a good read.

Summer 2024 camp dates

Week 1: July 8–12 for ages 9–11 - Limited slots available!
Week 2: July 15–19 for ages 12–14

Registration is open!

Here's what you can expect from the Thalia Kids Book Club Camp 2024:
  • There will be 5 featured books each week.
  • There will be an interactive visit from the author of each of those books, including discussions and hands-on activities.
  • Book-related games, activities, and field trips.
  • Reading, drawing, writing, and visiting time with other book-loving campers.
  • Guest authors will sign each camper's book.
  • The hours will be 9 AM – 4:00 PM EST. Campers will be admitted as early as 8:30 AM.
  • Once we receive your registration and payment, we will send a confirmation. In Spring 2024, you receive an email with the book list for the week(s) you registered for.
  • Camp families are responsible for purchasing the books required for the week(s) of camp.
Catch up on Camp Activities on the TKBCC Blog!
Questions about Camp?
Schedule

Camp 2024 Schedule

In-person camp meets Monday–Friday, 9AM–4PM. Campers will be admitted starting at 8:30AM.

  • Week 1: July 8–12 for ages 9–11
  • Week 2: July 15–19 for ages 12–14
Camp Fees

The Thalia Kids Book Club Camp fee is $700 per week, per camper.

Please note that $100/fee is non-refundable in case of cancellation.

Register before March 1, 2024 for our early bird rate: 10% off your registration!

Cancellation Policy
  • Cancellations before April 1, 2024 will be refunded, minus a $100 cancellation fee.
  • Cancellations after April 1, 2024 will not be refunded.
Guest Authors

Author guests have included a diverse line-up of established writers and illustrators alongside emerging talents, each with a unique perspective on books and writing.

Some of the highlights have included a rare visit with Norton Juster to discuss his classic The Phantom Tollbooth, intimate conversations with Award-winning authors Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux), Rebecca Stead (When You Reach Me), R.J. Palacio (Wonder), Linda Sue Park (Wing & Claw series), Peter Brown (The Wild Robot), Jason Reynolds (The Boy in the Black Suit), and Lauren Oliver (Liesl and Po); bestselling authors Adam Gidwitz (A Tale Dark and Grimm), Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted), Pseudonymous Bosch (The Secret series), Maile Meloy (The Apothecary), Wendy Mass (Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life), Chris Grabenstein (Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library), and Nova Ren Suma (The Walls Around Us); as well as introductions to writers such as Claire Legrand (Some Kind of Happiness), Leila Sales (Once Was a Time), Neela Vaswani (Same Sun Here), Daniel José Older (Shadowshaper), and Renée Watson (This Side of Home).

Campers have also met with illustrators including Lincoln Peirce (Big Nate), Chris Raschka (Seriously, Norman!), Sophie Blackall (Missed Connections), George O'Connor (Olympians), graphic designer Chip Kidd, and Percy Jackson cover artist John Rocco, who led a workshop on cover design.

Other book related activities included a book-making workshop with the Center for Book Arts, cartooning with graphic novelist Matt Phelan (The Storm in the Barn), and an exploration into comic books with Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy) and Raina Telgemeier (Ghosts).

Field Trips

Each week, Thalia Kids Book Club campers go on a couple of adventures around the city with our author guests. In the past we got the chance to go on a top-secret field trip with Brian Selznick (author/illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret) to the Queens Museum of Art and the old World’s Fairgrounds to hear about Wonderstruck a year before the book was published, we spent an afternoon at the Bronx Museum of Art with the National Book Award nominee Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer), and made a trip to The Colbert Report to meet with a team of comedy writers.

In addition, campers visited with editors, designers, and publicists at Penguin Random House Children's Books, where they received a surprise visit from Christopher Paolini (Eragon). Other trips have taken us to the Park Avenue Armory, the South Street Seaport, Trinity Cemetery, the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, The Joffrey Ballet School, The Cooper Hewitt Museum, The Museum of the Moving Image, The Tenement Museum, and the New York Hall of Science, among many others.

A Typical Week At Camp

Wondering what a typical week at camp looks like? Click here to see a week from 2023, or check out the Book Club Camp Blog!

Questions?

If you have any questions at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us:

[email protected]