LIHU‘E — The problem with centipedes from Waipa is you can only eat one, said Mark Jeffers of the Storybook Theater.

He and Russell the Rooster were soliciting food from the children from Waipa as they waited on Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., recently at the Mo‘ikeha Building.

“Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Hm-m-m, good,” Russell said.

The children of Kaua‘i are a constant source of inspiration, enriching people’s lives with their enthusiasm for life and capacity for personal growth, states the mayoral proclamation declaring October as Children and Youth Month.

A highlight of the month-long observance is the 8th annual Kaua‘i Keiki Story Festival that will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 24, at Kukui Grove Center.

The Read to Me International Foundation, the Storybook Theater, the Department of Education, Good Beginnings, and Child and Family Service join together to present the story festival.

Joanna and Dr. Terry Carolan, writers of the award-winning “A President from Hawai‘i” will be joined by Keli‘i Kaneali‘i during the festival that will feature authors, illustrators, clowns, dancers, face painters, storytellers, community leaders and entertainers celebrating literacy.

The authors and Kaneali‘i, along with Kaua‘i dignitaries, recently returned from a tour of Washington, D.C., to share the book at a national book festival.

“Open a book, open the world” is the theme for this year’s festival that celebrates children and youth in recognizing reading, storytelling and literacy have a great influence on the island’s youth.

Kaua‘i’s young people are a precious resource, carrying forward the hopes and dreams of earlier generations and representing the future of Kaua‘i, the proclamation states.

In response, the children from Waipa on the North Shore burst into several oli, appreciated by representatives who gathered with Carvalho.

• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be

reached at 245-3681 (ext.

253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.