The Little Festival 2026: Mumbai’s Children’s Book Festival Returns With Stories, Music, Theatre and More

Mumbai is gearing up for a literary celebration designed entirely for young readers as The Little Festival 2026 returns to the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) from October 22 to 24. Held alongside Godrej Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest, the annual children’s festival, will bring books, storytelling, art, music, theatre and interactive experiences together for children aged 7 to 13.

Presented in collaboration with the H T Parekh Foundation, the festival will welcome children from private, public and NGO schools, creating a citywide platform where young readers can experience literature far beyond the printed page.

The official festival website confirms the October 22-24 dates at NCPA and highlights storytelling, performances and the popular book swap among the festival experiences.

From Storytelling to Kathak, Children Get a Festival of Their Own

The Little Festival is designed around different age groups, with sessions intended to encourage children to imagine, question, create and participate.

Children aged 7 and 8 will take part in activities involving wildlife, imaginative letter-writing, and storytelling through unusual formats, including maps, art, and dance. Kathak will also become part of the storytelling experience.

For children aged 9 and 10, the program expands into bilingual storytelling through music, film, and live performance.

Participants up to 13 years old will be introduced to conversations covering map-reading, graphic novels, marine life, human-animal conflict, Mumbai’s heritage, inclusivity and empathy.

The festival will also feature nature walks and workshops covering poetry, theatre writing, illustration and building resilience through reading.

Big Names Bring Stories to Life

The 2026 program brings together writers, artists and children’s practitioners including Devashish Makhija, Fiona Fernandes, Katie Bagli, Lavanya Kartik, Nandita da Cunha, Neha Singh, Raviraj Shetty, Sonal Gupta Vaswani and Sonia Mehta.

Comedian Cyrus Broacha and sports writer Boria Majumdar will conduct sessions specifically designed for children, while professional clown Martin “Flubber” D’Souza will introduce young audiences to his craft and the story behind his work.

The festival will also stage the international family musical Grandpa Poseidon, which explores themes of change, feeling lost, and finding a way forward.

The Doorbeen Tent Returns

One of the festival’s recurring attractions, the Doorbeen Tent, will return with interactive activities and sessions. The space will also host the much-loved book swap, giving children an opportunity to exchange books and discover new stories.

The festival will additionally announce the winners of the Binod Kanoria Awards for Children’s Literature during the event.

A Direct Alternative to Screen Time

Associate Festival Director Reena Agrawal, who curates The Little Festival, said the program is intended to give children opportunities for direct interaction, creativity and discovery at a time when phones and tablets dominate much of their attention.

The festival’s organizers say the focus remains on nature and the environment, art, history, diversity, spoken-word storytelling and physical books.

The H T Parekh Foundation, which is supporting the festival for the third consecutive year, said its partnership reflects a shared belief that children can discover books by reading, listening, creating and exploring.

The Little Festival has previously grown from school events and smaller sessions into a full-fledged children’s literary festival. Its official program has featured writers, storytellers, performers, workshops, nature activities and interactive literary experiences.

With three days of activities planned at NCPA, The Little Festival 2026 is set to turn Mumbai into a playground for young readers—where books are not simply something to read, but something to hear, see, perform, question and create.