Edinburgh Book Festival 2026 Children’s Programme
Yesterday, the Edinburgh International Book Festival launched their 2026 programme. I couldn’t wait to have a browse and see what they have in store for us this year. I was of course particularly interested in the Children’s Programme, which as always has a fabulous line up. Tickets for most paid family events are £6 for kids, £8 for adults, but there there is also a host of free events to choose from, making the Book Festival accessible to all. You can view the full line-up of events on the Book Festival website, but I wanted to just highlight the free events here.
Each morning, there’s an ‘Are You Sitting Comfortably’ story time session from 10am – 10:30am, featuring a different author, illustrator or performer each day. These sessions are free, but ticketed and required pre-booking as space is limited. Other ticketed free events include stories & crafts, rhymetime, Bookbug sessions, and more. Bookings open on 25 June, and from experience these sessions always book up very quickly so I won’t list them all as this post would very quickly become out of date.
However, there’s also plenty of free drop-in events, including a daily trail featuring Pip & Posy. You can collect your free trail sheet from the Box Office or Families Hangout. There will also be an interactive sensory installation in Venue C between Mon 24 and Friday 28 August (accessible in between Venue C events). I’ve summarised the other non-ticketed drop-in events below, full details can be found in the Book Festival programme.
Saturday 15 August
The More You Know (age 6 to 8)
10am – 12pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the team from National Museums Scotland and get hands-on to find out how we’re always learning new things about the past.
Meet the Gruffalo (age 0 to 5)
1:30pm – 2pm, 2:30pm – 3pm, 3:30pm – 4pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Come along and give the Gruffalo a cuddle or a high five, and snap a selfie.
Sunday 16 August
The More You Know (all ages)
10am – 12pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the team from National Museums Scotland and get hands-on to find out how we’re always learning new things about the past.
Meet Pip and Posy (age 0 to 5)
1:30pm – 2pm, 2:30pm – 3pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Come and hang out with the kindest characters in town – pose for a photo, cosy in for a cuddle or give them a high five.
Monday 17 August
Pop in and Play (all ages)
10am – 10:30am, 12pm – 12:30pm, 2pm – 2:30pm, 4pm – 4:30pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Come and play – 30 minute guided sessions of fun and games, ideal to keep your wee ones busy.
Tuesday 18 August
Sensory Stories (all ages)
11am – 11:20am, 1pm – 1:20pm, 3pm – 3:20pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join storyteller Ailie Finlay for 20 minutes of inclusive sensory storytelling fun.
Wednesday 19 August
Pop in and Play (all ages)
10am – 11:30am
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join Dads Rock for a fun-filled session of stories and play.
Music Day (all ages)
1pm – 1:30pm, 3pm – 3:30pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Use rhythm and simple instruments to make brilliant new poems.
Thursday 20 August
Pop in and Play (age 3 to 5)
10:30am – 12pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the playleaders from Cròileagan Dhùn Èideann, Edinburgh’s Gaelic playgroup, to learn some simple Gaelic words and phrases together through songs, stories and play.
Teach Us Your Language (all ages)
1pm – 3pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
The Book Festival brings together people from all over the world – come along to this drop in session and share your language with everyone.
Friday 21 August
Move It Day (all ages)
10:30am – 10:50am, 11:30am – 11:50am, 12:30pm – 12:50pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Get moving in this session, using inspiration from favourite stories to move, dance and have lots of fun.
Move It: Build Cars, Trucks, and Anything That Goes! (age 6 to 11)
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Inspired by Richard Scarry’s classic book ‘Cars, Trucks and things That Go’, join the Festival’s Communities Team to hear the story and enjoy and afternoon filled with crafting fun.
Saturday 22 August
Meet Supertato (all ages)
11:30am – 12pm, 12:30pm – 1pm, 1:30pm – 2pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Come along for a chance to meet Supertato and give everyone’s favourite vegetable a high five or pose for a photo.
Meet the Donut Squad (all ages)
3pm – 3:30pm, 4pm – 4:30pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Come and meet the Donut Squad who will be hanging about to take photos in the Children’s Tent.
Sunday 23 August
Music and Making with Wild Wings of Hope (all ages)
10am – 10:30am, 11am – 11:30am, 12pm – 12:30pm, 1pm – 1:30pm, 2pm – 2:30pm, 3pm – 3:30pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
A delightful drop-in session packed with stories, papercrafts and drumming, with Scottish artist Ed Harrison and Ghanaian storyteller and musician Chief Gift Amu.
Monday 24 August
Pop in and Play (all ages)
10am – 10:30am, 12pm – 12:30pm, 2pm – 2:30pm, 4pm – 4:30pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Come and play – 30 minute guided sessions of fun and games, ideal to keep your wee ones busy.
Tuesday 25 August
Pop in and Play (age 3 to 5)
10am – 10:30am, 12pm – 12:30pm, 2pm – 2:30pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the team from Edinburgh for Under Fives for a story and art activity to take home.
Friday 28 August
Gaelic Bookbug (age 3-5)
11:30am – 12pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the Scottish Book Trust for Gaelic songs, rhymes and stories in this special Bookbug session.
Scots Storytelling
2pm – 2:30pm (age 6 to 8), 3pm – 3:30pm (age 9 to 11)
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the Scots Language Centre for a special Scots storytelling session.
Saturday 29 August
Meet the Gruffalo (all ages)
11:30am – 12pm, 12:30pm – 1pm, 1:30pm – 2pm, 2:30pm – 3pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Come along and give the Gruffalo a cuddle or a high five, and snap a selfie.
Sunday 30 August
Parade Prep (all ages)
11am – 1pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Create colourful crafts to wear, hold and wave in our afternoon session, to celebrate the end of another fantastic Book Festival!
The Last Hurrah with Mama G (all ages)
2pm – 4pm
Childrens Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join pantomime dame, and author, Mama Go for a fabulous storytime and parade, the celebrate the end of another amazing Children’s Programme.
NOTE: As always, the information is correct at time of writing, but please check before you travel. All free family events mentioned can be found under the filters ‘children’s programme’ and ‘free events only’ in the festival’s online programme.
Will you be visiting the Edinburgh International Book Festival this year? What are you most looking forward to seeing?
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