1987 Conference in Ottawa, Canada

The 1987 Children's Literature Association conference will be held at Carleton University, which is located on a beautiful site on the Rideau River approximately three miles from downtown Ottawa. The theme is "Cross-Culturalism in Children's Literature"—the contribution of various ethnic, language or cultural groups to the world of children's literature, including myths, legends, fairy tales, fantasies, stories about other countries or minority groups clashes or divisions between different ethnic, language or cultural groups in modern society.

A special feature of the program will be a memorial lecture by Irene Aubrey on the life and work of Elizabeth Cleaver, the late Canadian artist and illustrator of children's books. There will be a display of some of her illustrations in the Carleton Library and an exhibition on Multiculturalism in the National Library.

In addition to the conference speakers, five local writers have been invited to give readings from their books for children: Jan Andrews, Mary Alice Downie, Allen Morgan, Kathy Stinson, and Ian Wallace.

Conference delegates will have an opportunity to visit some of the many interesting sites in Ottawa, such as the Parliament Buildings, the National Library, the Museum of Civilization, and local stores and restaurants.

Conference Speakers

Brian Alderson

Brian Alderson is internationally recognized as an authority on the history of children's literature. He worked in the book trade in London, was appointed Senior Lecturer in the School of Librarianship at the Polytechnic of North London, and was Children's Book Editor of The Times for many years. He is now a freelance writer, critic and editor. He translated Bettina Hürlman's Three Centuries of Children's Books in Europe (1967), edited collections of fairy tales by Grimm, Andersen and Andrew Lang, and revised Harvey Darton's Children's Books in Engend (3rd edition, 1982). He has recently compiled an exhibition for the British Library on "Grimm Tales in England" and is writing a handbook for another exhibition entitled Sing a Song of Sixpence: Ralph Caldicott and the Art of the English Picture Book. In 1986 he was a Visiting Professor at the University of California in Los Angeles.

Irene Aubrey

Irene Aubrey, Chief of the Children's Literature Service at the National Library of Canada in Ottawa, spoke at the ChLA 1979 Conference in Toronto on "Children's Services at the National Library of Canada." She has co-authored two collections of stories: Storytellers' Rendevous: Canadian Stories to Tell to Children (1979) and Storytellers' Encore: More Canadian Stories to Tell to Children (1984). She also edits the annual supplement to Notable Canadian Children's Books. A close friend of the late Elizabeth Cleaver, she will give the memorial lecture on her life and art.

Geoff Fox

Geoff Fox is well known in Britain and North America as a teacher, critic and editor. He is Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at Exeter University and has been a visiting professor at Harvard, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and New South Wales. In 1969 he was one of the founding editors of the quarterly journal Children's literature in education and continues to serve as Secretary to the UK Editorial Committee. He was the co-editor of Writers, Critics and Children (1976), a selection of articles from Children's literature in education, and he co-authored Teaching Literature, 9-14 (1985). In addition, he has written several school texts, numerous articles on children's literature, and reviews and essays for The Times Educational Supplement.

James Houston

James Houston is best known for his stories for children and adults about life in the Arctic. Trained as an artist, he was sent by the Canadian Government to Baffin Island where he encouraged local Inuit artists to develop their traditional skills in carving soapstone sculptures and etching lithographic prints. His first books were based on his observations of life among the Inuit and the qualities of courage, endurance and resourcefulness necessary for survival. He has also written stories of the Indians on the Northwest Coast. His novels for adults include The White Dawn, Ghost Fox, Spirit Wrestler, and Eagle Song. His more recent books for children, such as Frozen Fire and...