Edinburgh Book Festival 2025 Children’s Programme
Last night, the Edinburgh International Book Festival launched their 2025 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 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, the programme starts with 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 song writing, bookbinding, sensory storytelling, rhymetime and Bookbug sessions, and more. Bookings open on 21 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experience these sessions always book up very quickly so I won’t list them all as this post would very quickly become out of date.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 the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters. You can collect your free trail sheet from the Box Office or Kids Zone. I’ve summarised the other non-ticketed drop-in events below, full details can be found in the Book Festival programme.
I’m also super excited to announce that I will be in the Children’s Tent again this year, on Sat 8 & Sun 9 August with the Maths Week Scotland team, alongside our colleagues from National Museums Scotland. Come and say hello, and make some shape animals with us!
Saturday 9 August
Meet Bunny and Monkey (all ages)
11:30am – 12pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join comic book duo Bunny and Monkey for high-fives, fist bumps and grab selfie with them.
Go Wild with National Museums Scotland & Maths Week Scotland (all ages)
1pm – 2:30pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Discover fascinating facts about creatures large and small, get up close with some amazing animal objects at the handling table, or get arty with an animal shape craft.
Sunday 10 August
Make and Create with Boxbuilders (all ages)
10am – 11am
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the Book Festival’s Communities team for a creative box-building session inspired by Kim Smith’s picture book ‘Boxitects’.
Meet Supertato (all ages)
11:30am – 12pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join in with some fruit and veg-themed songs, rhymes and games. Share high fives and cuddles with Supertato, and pose for photos.
Go Wild with National Museums Scotland & Maths Week Scotland (all ages)
1pm – 2:30pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Discover fascinating facts about creatures large and small, get up close with some amazing animal objects at the handling table, or get arty with an animal shape craft.
Tuesday 12 August
Unleash Your Imagination (age 6-9)
10am – 11am
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join Craigmillar Literacy Trust in sharing some picture books featuring inventors, and a colourful activity to bring your creations to life. A fun hands-on event for children and their grown-ups to explore, learn and be creative together.
Sustainable Textile Workshop (age 6-9)
1pm – 4pm;
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join Remode Collective in reimagining recycled and donated fabric into bookmarks, keyholder charms, and mini fabric artworks.
Wednesday 13 August
Gaelic Bookbug with Scottish Book Trust (age 0-2)
10am – 10:30am & 11am – 11:30am
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the Scottish Book Trust for Gaelic songs, rhymes and stories. No prior knowledge of Gaelic language necessary.
Thursday 14 August
Pop in and Play (age 0-5)
10:30am – 12pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the playleaders from Cròileagan Dhùn Èideann to learn some simple Gaelic words and phrases together with your child, through songs, stories and play. No prior knowledge of Gaelic language required.
Saturday 16 August
Meet Pikachu (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
Come along and meet Pikachu at his special Book Festival appearance. Give him a high five or pose for a photo.
Sunday 17 August
Design the Future (age 6-9)
1pm – 4pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join Remode Collective in reimagining recycled and donated fabric into bookmarks, keyholder charms, and mini fabric artworks.
Monday 18 August
Teddy Bear Picnic (age 3-5)
10am – 10:30am, 11am – 11:30am
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Bring along your furry friends and join storyteller Simon Radcliffe for a special storytime sharing stories, rhymes and songs.
Pop In and Play (all ages)
1pm – 2pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join Dads Rock for some activities to keep your wee ones busy.
Tuesday 19 August
Pop In and Play (all ages)
10am – 11am
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the team from Edinburgh for Under Fives for a story and art activity to take back home.
Pop In and Play (all ages)
1pm – 4pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the Book Festival facilitators for arts and crafts to keep your kids busy.
Friday 22 August
Bookbug (age 3-5)
10am – 10:30am, 11am – 11:30am
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join the Edinburgh Libraries team for sings, stories and rhymes. Then meet Bookbug for cuddles, high-fives and photos.
Bust a Move (age 0-5)
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Dancing shoes at the ready – join FATOWL for some music and movement to bond, connect and play with your little ones.
Saturday 23 August
Invent a Story (all ages)
10am – 11am
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join award winning storyteller Niall Moorjani for an array of traditional and invented tales, with lots of joining in.
Meet the Gruffalo (all ages)
11:30am – 12pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join in with songs, dancing and games. Give the Gruffalo a cuddle or a high five, and snap a selfie.
Sunday 24 August
Meet Zog (all ages)
11:30am – 12pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Join everyone’s favourite accident-prone dragon for a very special storytime, with stories and a dance – a chance for photos.
Letter Fae the Locals
3pm – 4pm
Children’s Tent; Free, Drop-in
Pop by and write or draw a welcoming message to refugees arriving in Scotland. The team from Refuweegee will guide you in creating these heartwarming messages which will then be distributed in welcome packs to help people feel more at home here.
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 ‘events for families‘ 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?
