1. Fifty authors, 25 libraries, one grand read-aloud festival! Join in the special activities and meet kid lit authors and illustrators including Zilpha Keatley Snyder, the San Souci brothers, Frank Portman - author of teen sensation “King Dork” - Penny Warner and more all weekend long at Contra Costa’s libraries. (Free)

2. Catch Dr. Noize, the award-winning musician and author, at the Bay Area Discovery Museum Saturday at 11 a.m. ($6-$8 plus museum admission)

3. Live music, arts and crafts, kickboxing and pop culture converge at the Asian Heritage Street Celebration this Saturday in Japantown from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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1. If you can still wrangle a ticket or two to “The Little Prince,” a co-production of the San Francisco Opera and Cal Performances at Berkeley’s ZellerbachHall, this weekend, do it! The three remaining performances are nearly sold out, so if you strike out at the box office, we’ve got two suggestions. Pick up the BBC version on DVD, settle into a comfy chair with your favorite little someone and bask in the lyrical heavenliness. Or…

2. For more flights of musical fancy, check out the Gold Coast Chamber Players Saturday at 8 p.m. at Lafayette’s Acalanes Performing Arts Center. The program, which is wonderful for grown-ups and kids 6 and up, includes William Bolcom’s “Fairy Tales for Viola, Cello and Bass,” which sets “The Frog Prince,” “The Fisherman and His Wife” and “The Hare and the Hedgehog” to music. (Tickets: $10-$30).
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Thomas the Tank Engine, the beloved little British locomotive, is puffing his way into Sacramento and 45 other cities nationwide on a grand railroad tour. (You probably can’t tell, but I’m typing this with a British accent, so read on accordingly.) I say, jolly good time! The little tank engine rolls into Sacramento May 9-18, offering rides, a meet and greet with Sir Topham Hatt, and an imagination station with plenty of kids’ activities. Get the scoop on the Sacramento hoopla here, and the nationwide tour schedule here. And if you go, snap some pics and send them our way. We’ll post the best of the bunch … and we know your kid is wayyyy cuter than Sir Topham.

OK, we totally know this looks like one of our “photos in need of a caption,” but it’s actually a shot from a rocket shoot at last year’s Maker Faire. (More on that below. Hmmm, maybe we’ll re-use this shot next week for the photo contest, though.) Here’s the scoop on what to do this weekend:

1. The Maker Faire sets imaginations on fire in San Mateo this weekend. Part craft fair, part science expo, all creativity, this annual shindig has something for everyone - bizarre rolling ball puzzles, Tesla coils, fire performances, LED hula hoops, Lego and more. (Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. on, $10-$25.)

2. Walnut Creek’s Bedford Gallery hosts a Family Day-O-Rama this Sunday to go with its diorama exhibit. Make inventive art, build forts and pop-ups, and eat at the “Play With Your Food” station. (Noon-3 p.m., Free)
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1. Got peanuts? Or the baby blues? The Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa is hosting Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman, creators of the comic strip “Baby Blues,” this Sunday at 1 p.m. for a talk and book signing. (Pregnant women get in free. Everyone else is $5-$8)

2. Check out First Five’s Children’s Fair in East County Saturday from 10 to 2 – educational booths for grown-ups, and a petting zoo, arts and crafts, bouncy house, amusement park rides and fun activities for the kids. All free at Small World Park in Pittsburg.
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1. It’s not often public art, a bus and a camera obscura collide, but this weekend, you can ride one. Watch a real-time movie of the world as you roll through Dublin, starting Saturday at 11 a.m. at Dublin’s Bray Commons Park and other locations.

2. San Francisco’s MoMA hosts “Paul Klee: Creature Creations,” a family art studio, this Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. Hands-on sculpture, wild things and art. Free.
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1. Cozy up with Curious George and your favorite authors at UC Berkeley’s annual Celebration of Children’s Literature Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Tolman Hall on the Cal campus. (Free)

2. Then join the fun at Cal Day, UC Berkeley’s massive open house, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Meet T. Rex, go rock climbing, check out the “Speed” exhibit at Lawrence Hall (it’s free all day), play with clay, talk to a bug doctor. Big fun. All free.
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1. Grab the kids and head for the Berkeley marina this Sunday for the Cal Sailing Club’s monthly open house, 1-4 p.m. Get a tour, go for a sail, then enjoy a BBQ. Big fun. (Free, but bring $5 a person for the BBQ.)

2. Swing by Alameda’s Rhythmix on Sunday at 2 p.m. for live music, a bouncy house, snacks, games and a celebration of Hank Hooper’s first CD for kids and families. ($5-$15 per family)
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1. Every Robin Hood fan dreams of lifting that bow, notching that arrow and letting it fly, unerringly, toward the bullseye. Now, you can give it a shot at the Diablo Bowmen’s annual archery range open house this Mt. Diablo Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($6, including lessons and lunch)

2. The clothes-obsessed emperor gets a new and unusual set stitched during this East Bay Children’s Theatre staging of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” Saturday at 10:30 and 1 at the Oakland Museum. (Free-$10)
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1. The Peking Acrobats take the stage at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall Friday through Sunday. ($12 and up)

2. Saturday’s Old Fashioned Easter at Dunsmuir Historic Estate includes the big bunny, games and egg hunts from noon to 3 p.m. Bring an Easter basket. ($1-$5)

3. Get your celt on at the annual Celtic Festival in Oakland Saturday and Sunday ($20)
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