Letter from the Editor

“You’re organizing a literary dinner party … who do you invite?” … so goes the question in The New York Times Book Review “By the Book” feature.

Have you ever pondered this question?

In this edition of the newsletter — arriving as we emerge from winter — let us set the table as we feature people (and books) who would bring warmth and inspiring conversation.

Isabelle Arsenault and Deborah Ellis, IBBY Canada’s nominees to the Hans Christian Andersen (HCA) Awards — “the highest recognition given to an author and illustrator of children’s books” — are profiled in articles written by IBBY Canada HCA co-chairs Robert Bittner and Lesley Clement.

As well, we feature an excerpt from Deborah Ellis’s keynote to the 36th IBBY Congress themed Creating a Day Before and share an article on Migrant Children at Risk, Patsy Aldana’s 2018–2019 Davidson Lecture at the Concord Academy.

There is a Q&A with Nahid Kazemi, 2018 Joanne Fitzgerald Illustrator in Residence, a spotlight on IBBY volunteer extraordinaire Andrew Dupuis, a report from the Reaching Refugee Children Through Stories panel at the recent Ontario Library Association Super Conference and a call from the L.M. Montgomery Institute.

Of course at the dinner party, there would be much talk about books:  the response to From Sea to Sea to Sea: Celebrating Indigenous Picture Books, the results of the 2018 Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award, the Canadian wordless picture books nominated for the Silent Books Collection in Italy and the 2019 Canadian selections for IBBY’s Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities.

What an amazing group to bring together for a late winter dinner party. Happy reading — and bon appétit!

Patti McIntosh, Newsletter Editor

p.s. On the theme of bringing an amazing group together, please mark the evening of Monday, June 17, 2019 in your calendar for the IBBY Canada Annual General Meeting of members. The meeting will be held from 6:00-8:00pm at the Toronto Public Library – Northern District Branch. Details will be circulated to membership via e-mail.

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