In the heart of downtown Abilene lies the Adamson-Spalding Storybook Garden, where storybook lovers of all ages can see larger-than-life sculptures of characters like the Lorax or Jack Frost. Observant visitors might even spot Stuart Little taking off on an adventure of his own.
The garden’s a local treasure all year round, but each summer it welcomes thousands of visitors and new statue resident during the annual Children's Art and Literacy Festival. A weekend full of dramatic book readings, animal guest stars, hands-on crafts, and more.
"This is that family event where we come and as a family, we share that experience doing the readings in literacy or doing the science experiments, but it is said that is for everybody, and it brings us all together in one place. It’s a community” said Suzie Carrot, a local volunteer for CALF.
The Children's Art and Literacy Fest lets young storytellers explore and share characters that live in their minds through stories, or in Julian Parish’s case Legos. “You want to tell me what you built bud?" Suzie Carrot asked Julian. He explained his creation to her, "This is like a spaceship for him; he's evil and goes up when he needs to go super fast.”
This year's selected artist brought a new statue and a new level of visibility to the event.
“My name is LeUyen Pham and I consider myself a storyteller, I think we’re all storytellers, but definitely that's my job,” said Pham, who has illustrated over 135 books, including several New York Times Bestsellers. Younger fans might recognize her Disney Junior character, Vampirina Ballerina.
Following tradition, the CALF committee selected one of Pham’s works to join the Storybook Gardens. This year's selection caused a range of reactions including several protests. What is this controversial work? Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn.
Most attendees were big fans of Pham’s Kitty-Corn characters. The “itty-bitty” hot pink kitten is the main character in the popular Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn series, created by Pham and her friend, Shannon Hale.
As simple as the pink kitten might seem, a group called Concerned Citizens believes there is a deeper meaning to the stories. They urged the city not to add the Kitty-Corn statue, claiming it promotes a message of transgender acceptance. Pham says the true message of Kitty-Corn is the power of friendship. “So there's nothing beyond that, other than two friends trying to make each other laugh. That’s the message: Love, Learn, Accept. If there’s love then there's acceptance and that's all there is."
At the statue unveiling Thursday evening, a small group of protestors held up signs reading "Storybook garden sculptures should unify not divide our community". They also carried flyers that read “Hands off our kids”.
“We’re okay with the CALF, we’re okay with what the CALF has done. We’re not okay with this,” said Concerned Citizens representative Tammy Fogle. “The sculpture that was chosen out of the 120 books could have chosen a different sculpture but it seems intentional on the one they picked to represent CALF for this summer.”
Despite the efforts of Fogle’s group, the greater Abilene community seemed to unite under the Kitty-Corn banner. Pham says she appreciated the community’s response to the pushback, "Abilene just did it right. I’ve heard that this year was the year where I think the most money has been donated. It was as though the community just reared up and said this is not who we are, that we celebrate stories we allow people to interpret as they wish.”
As the 12th annual Children’s Art and Literacy Festival comes to a close, organizers are already preparing to welcome next year's artist Dan Santat. And Kitty-Corn remains the newest resident of Abilene’s Storybook Garden.