For most of the authors sitting pensively in the stalls of the Baltimore Book Festival, attracting passers-by to their titles was hard work.
But not for Clifford the Big Red Dog, star of the children's book series of the same name. While strutting around Mount Vernon Square near sundown yesterday, Clifford suddenly came face to face with a sugar-fueled fan named Rhavyn Vines. Thrilled to be celebrating her sixth birthday, Rhavyn - her tongue painted blue from Italian water ice - charged and clamped her excited arms around his big red right leg.
"CLIFFORD!" she squealed.
For Rhavyn's mother, Kweisi Vines, the first night of the weekend festival was to let Rhavyn explore the abundance of children's books. Today, it will be Mom's turn to indulge in literary stargazing when she attends a reading by poet Nikki Giovanni at the Walters Art Museum. Giovanni, who delivered a poem at Virginia Tech shortly after the campus shootings this year, is well-known for writings that emphasize civil rights and equality - elements that resonated throughout last night's festivities, especially for women.
The importance of such a message was not lost on Kweisi Vines, who said she encourages her daughter to read books to obtain independence in her life.
"Everything she learns now sets the tone for what she'll be like as an adult," Vines said. "And it all starts with her being able to read."
Most of the featured events last night centered around the theme of Ladies Night Out.
First, there was the enthusiastic Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio, authors of The Girl's Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being a Bitch) and The Girl's Guide to Starting Your Own Business.
They told women to "be yourself" and to always speak the truth. The two New Yorkers then promptly joked - sort of - that they would be looking for visiting Yankees baseball players staying at their hotel last night.
Marie Langenes was impressed by their message.
Langenes owns an elementary school foreign-language teaching business in Portland, Ore. She agreed with them that many women have a hard time obtaining the confidence they need to ask for a raise or start a business, but said she thought the message resonated better with younger women. She started her business at age 50, when life experience had given her the necessary confidence.
