Established in 1987, the Saint John Children’s Literature Round Table is celebrating its 15th year! The group meets quarterly at the West Branch Library. Numbers have risen and fallen over the years, but we have a small consistent group which finds value in continuing. Probably our busiest and most well attended year was 1992 when our group hosted the Atlantic Children’s Literature Conference. Programs in 2001 consisted of author Joann Hamilton-Barry talking about her book “Boldly Canadian: the Story of the RCMP.” Joann is also a member of our Round table, which made us very proud. Information Book Award Night always gets our fall underway and never ceases to provide argument and debate. This year we partnered with a small school thirty miles in the country. A grade 4-5 class did presentations on each of the nominated books and then voted. We took their input into consideration when making our decisions. Our outcomes were different but the children, nonetheless, defended their choices very well.
Catherine Hoyt, curator of the Eileen Wallace Children’s Literature Collection at the University of New Brunswick, guest lectured on this wonderful resource centre at our September meeting. Catherine also heads or headed the Fredericton Children’s Literature Round Table. Unfortunately for us, Catherine and her husband have left Fredericton to live in Nunavit where she is working for two libraries, and where she hopes to perhaps form a new round table.
Our February meeting is entitled “From Horn Books to Fairy Tales: the beginning of a literature for children to 1800”. This slide presentation will be given by me and based loosely on my MA (English) thesis on 18th century children’s literature.
So there are some of the highlights, not to mention the dinners/receptions we host for visiting authors when they are in the city for Children’s Book Week etc . – Linda Granfield, Kathy Stinson to name a few.
Contacts: Kim Hughes,
co-ordinator c/o West Branch Library,
621 Fairville Blvd.,
Saint John, N.B. E2M 4X5
(506) 643-7261
kimberley.hughes@gnb.ca
Anne Baker
516 Bay
St Saint John, N.B.
E2M 7L4
(506) 635-1147
bakerloo@nb.sympatico.ca
Pat McGill
519 Earle Ave.,
Saint John, N.B.
E2M 2M9