More updates to come.

Honors and Kudos

— Jean Little

Congratulations to Jean Little on winning the 2012 MATT COHEN AWARD, given by the Writers’ Trust of Canada to a Canadian writer in honor of her distinguished contributions to Canadian literature! An avid writer and reader of books for the young, her work includes fiction, picture books, poetry, and autobiography. She is the author of over twenty-five books, including Emma’s Magic Winter; Lost and Found; Dancing Through the Snow and Hey World, Here I Am. Legally blind from birth, Jean taught disabled children for years before writing her first book, Mine for Keeps. She holds six honorary degrees and is a member of the Order of Canada. Kudos to Jean, too, on her nomination for the 2013 ASTRID LINDGREN MEMORIAL AWARD. Her many contributions to the world of children’s literature and culture are deeply appreciated. As a speaker, she has added significantly to CLNE programs through the years – and we applaud her accomplishments!

Honors and Kudos

Congratulations! Sarah Ellis, CLNE board member and CLNE's 2012 Greek Study Fellow and Writer-in-Residence, has been nominated for the 2013 ASTRID LINDGREN MEMORIAL AWARD for her contributions to the world of children’s literature and culture. Established by the Swedish government in 2002, this international award honors Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002). Its purpose is to “increase interest in children’s and young people’s literature, and to promote children’s rights to culture on a global level.” As CLNE Writer-in-Residence, Sarah engaged in a cultural exchange with Greek writers and artists in Athens, Greece, and led a session at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Nafplion. A Canadian writer and educator, Sarah Ellis teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, VT. She is a highly regarded critic and lecturer, a regular Horn Book reviewer and occasional reviewer for The New York Times. Her books include The Several Lives of Orphan Jack, That Fatal Night: The Titanic Diary of Dorothy Wilton, The Baby Project, Pick-Up Sticks, and Back of Beyond: Stories of the Supernatural.

Honors and Kudos

Congratulations to Katherine Paterson, CLNE honorary board member, on winning the 2013 LAURA INGALLS WILDER AWARD for her “substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.” Her books include Bridge to Terabithia, Jacob Have I Loved, and The Great Gilly Hopkins. Martha Parravano, Executive Editor of The Horn Book Magazine and Wilder Award Committee Chair, said, “Katherine Paterson has been writing books that have made a profound difference in children’s lives for 40 years. Her work acknowledges life’s challenges and difficulties, yet she always leaves her readers with hope. With her commitment to helping children become better citizens of the world, she is the perfect choice for this moment in time.” Katherine Paterson is a two-time winner of the National Book Award and the Newbery Medal, and in 2010-11 she served as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Honors and Kudos

Congratulations to Kathy Isaacs on the publication of Picturing the World: Informational Picture Books for Children, published by ALA. Click this link for full information. Kathy Isaacs has frequently led discussion groups at CLNE institutes and colloquies. She has spent many years as a teacher in the US and Asia, with intermittent stints as a school and public librarian. Most recently, she has been teaching children s literature in the education program at Towson University in Maryland.

Gregory Maguire Gifts Wicked Papers

The Associated Press recently reported that Gregory Maguire donated his papers to the University at Albany (SUNY), his alma mater. He handed his work over in person, including the first 30 handwritten pages of Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The book sold millions of copies and became one of the longest-running musicals on Broadway. Gregory was born and raised in Albany near the university campus. He credits the university with nurturing his writing talents, Gregory's papers join a growing university archives collection of work by such Albany writers as Pulitzer Prize winner William Kennedy (reported in The Boston Globe, Friday, November 23, 2012, p. B12).

Mythic Journey 2014

— Olympia, Greece

Join us for an exhilarating journey that includes an online course and a study tour to Greece. The 2014 course highlights mythic patterns, universal links between Greek mythology and other cultures. Click here for complete details and/or email Connie Carven, CLNE regular and ExL liaison.

Course starts January 4, 2014 and study tour is scheduled for April 17-27, 2014.

Ashley Bryan
Stevedore

Author and artist Ashley Bryan was a stevedore in the Army during WWII and was at the Battle of Normandy. Hear his interview by Dick Gordon (NPR), " An Artist at D-Day."

Susan Cooper
Congrats!

Congratulations to Susan Cooper, CLNE honorary board member, on the publication of Ghost Hawk (Margaret K. McElderry Books). More >>

Ashley Bryan
Happy 90th Birthday!

— Books by Ashley Bryan

Congratulations and Happy 90th Birthday to Ashley Bryan, CLNE honorary board member.

Video
Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot by Taliban fighters for her stand for education for girls speaks at the U.N. Youth Assembly on her 16th birthday. She states that "one student, one teacher, one book can change the world." Watch the video of her inspiring and remarkable speech that expresses the goals CLNE shares for all children. To view the video, click here.

Honors and Kudos

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has awarded Monsieur Marceau: Actor without Words by Leda Schubert and illustrated by Gérard DuBois (Roaring Brook Press) with the 2013 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.The purpose of the annual award is to "promote and recognize excellence in children’s nonfiction." Books are judged on accuracy, organization, design, and style. Each nomination is intended to be useful in classroom teaching grades K-8, encourage thinking and more reading, model exemplary expository writing and research skills, share interesting and timely subject matter, and appeal to a wide range of ages.

The award’s name honors Johannes Amos Comenius and his work Orbis Pictus—The World in Pictures, the 1657 children’s book considered to be the first of its kind.

Leda Schubert, an active CLNE participant, is also the author of several other books for children, including The Princess of Borscht, Ballet of the Elephants and Here Comes Darrell. For more information see www.ledaschubert.com.

Honors and Kudos

Congratulations to Elizabeth Poe on the publication of From Children’s Literature to Readers Theater, published by ALA. Foreword by Katherine Paterson. Elizabeth Poe, an active CLNE and ExL participant, is working with teachers in Athens, Greece who are excited about using Readers Theater with their students. Click this link for full information about her book.

Honors and Kudos
Congrats!

Congratulations to Susan Cooper, CLNE honorary board member, who received the 2012 Margaret A. Edwards Award, an annual lifetime achievement honor sponsored by School Library Journal and administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association. She was recognized for "her significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens for The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark Is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; and Silver on the Tree." The award is named in honor of the late Margaret A. Edwards, a pioneer in providing library services to young adults. Through her work at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Edwards demonstrated that only through literature would young adults move beyond themselves into a larger world.

Honors and Kudos
Congrats!

Congratulations to Ashley Bryan, CLNE honorary board member! Ashley Bryan is the recipient of the 2012 Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.
“Ashley Bryan, author, folklorist, poet and illustrator, couples a melodic voice to his brilliant artwork, transcending literary and artistic genres that leave readers unimaginably satisfied,” stated Award Committee Chair Pauletta Brown Bracy.

"...In 1962, he became the first African American to both write and illustrate a children’s book. He has since published more than 30 books of poetry, including poetry,spirituals and folktales.

The Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement is named in memory of beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton. The annual award is presented in even years (i.e. 2012, 2014, 2016…) to an African American author, illustrator or author/illustrator for a body of his or her published books for children and/or young adults, and who has made a significant and lasting literary contribution.

Kudos

Congratulations to Elizabeth Wein, CLNE participant, whose recent novel, Code Name Verity, received the Boston Globe Horn Book Honor Book Award for 2012.

Changeover: A Supernatural Romance (1984), Margaret Mahy

In Memoriam

Margaret Mahy, beloved speaker at CLNE institutes, died on July 23, 2012. Margaret Mahy lived in New Zealand and began her career as a librarian. She was the author of 40 novels, 20 collections of short stories and more than 100 picture books. Her books included The Great White Man-Eating Shark, The Great Piratical Rumbustification The Catalogue of the Universe and Changeover. She was twice awarded the Carnegie Medal, the Hans Christian Anderson Award and the Order of New Zealand. She was made a member of the Order of New Zealand in 1993 and was one of the 12 "local heroes" commemorated in a series of bronze busts in Christchurch in 2009.

As well as winning awards in New Zealand, she won the Carnegie medal twice and in 2006 she received the Hans Christian Andersen award – international recognition for her overall contribution to children's books (click here for her obituary in the Guardian)

Reverend John Paterson

Reverend John Paterson, husband of Katherine Paterson, died on September 30 at home. He had been challenged by illness for many years. John Paterson was the retired minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Barre, Vermont. With Katherine, John Paterson adapted Eden Phillpott's The Flint Heart (Candlewick). He also co-authored Consider the Lilies: Plants of the Bible, Images of God, Blueberries for the Queen and Roberto's Trip to the Top. His warm friendliness and good conversation were gifts shared with many CLNE participants in past years.

For more information:

Children's Literature
New England, Inc.
Email: info@clne.org

The program was inspired by a colloquy and study tour of Greece and featured reflections, readings, and performances to highlight the impact of the myths and legends of the Greek tradition on childhood, literature, and society.

The program was hosted by Children’s Literature New England in conjunction with The Examined Life: Greek Studies in the Schools and the Cambridge Public Library.

Cambridge Public Library
449 Broadway
Cambridge, Massachusetts

The symposium was free and open to the public, but with limited seating, reservations were required . . . More >>