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CM . . .
. Volume VIII Number 20 . . . . June 6, 2002
excerpt: Julie Johnston Growing up as the middle sister in a family of three girls, Julie Johnston spent a lot of time reading as a child - horse books, especially, and all of L.M. Montgomery's Anne novels. But the fictional character she felt closest to was Louisa May Alcott's struggling writer, Jo March.
The revised
edition's subtitle states that it contains "60 Creators of Children's
Books." As the first edition, which appeared in 1994, offered but 50 entries,
mathematically inclined readers will recognize that there appears to have
been a twenty percent increase in the content of the revised edition.
However, a comparison of the tables of contents of the two editions reveals
that, in fact, the difference is actually twice as large for the revised
edition has deleted 10 subjects who were part of the first edition: Warabé
Aska, Lyn Cook, Laszlo Gal, Martyn Godfrey, Ted Harrison, Linda Hendry,
Dayal Kaur Khalsa, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Gordon Penrose and Gilles Tibo.
Since books from these "removed" authors and illustrators are likely still
to be found in school and public libraries, owners of the first edition
of Meet Canadian Authors and Illustrators who are planning to purchase
the revised version are strongly advised against discarding the original
work. Making up the roster of the 20 new entries are: Karleen Bradford,
Kady MacDonald Denton, Brian Doyle, Sarah Ellis, Kim Fernandes, Sheree
Fitch, Linda Granfield, Barbara Greenwood, Julie Johnston, Rukhsana Khan,
Julie Lawson, Ron Lightburn, Norah McClintock, Tololwa M. Mollel, Kenneth
Oppel, Karen Reczuch, Shelley Tanaka, Maxine Trottier, Eric Walters and
Tim Wynne-Jones.
Like its predecessor, the revised edition
of Meet Canadian Authors and Illustrators is organized alphabetically
from Michael Bedard to Werner Zimmerman with pairs of facing pages being
devoted to each person. Via a banner, each entry introduces its subject
as an "Author," an "Illustrator" or as an "Author/Illustrator." In the
case of the 40 reappearing subjects, in most instances their black and
white photos have been updated though the content of their entries,
with the exception of the bibliography portion, remains essentially
unchanged. The author's/illustrator's date and place of birth plus his/her
present community of residence appear under each photo. Below that is
a bibliography of "Selected Titles" which, in the case of authors/illustrators,
also uses symbols to indicate when they are responsible for just a work's
text or its illustrations. The bibliography also identifies any major
awards, such as Governor General's Award or the Vicky Metcalf Award,
which the person has won. As before, Gertridge utilizes black and white
reproductions of two book covers per entry for decorative purposes,
and, in the case of entries found in the initial volume, she has usually
updated them. The two column text speaks briefly to the author's/illustrator's
background and normally addresses how s/he came to her/his craft plus
how s/he works. Each person's entry concludes with a "Do It Yourself!"
suggestion for budding young authors or illustrators. These suggestions
are either made by the entry's subject or are based on that person's
works.
The supplementary sections at the book's
conclusion have also been modified slightly. The "Awards" section has
added five new awards while deleting one. Instructions and suggestions
for "Hosting an Author/Illustrator Visit" remain unchanged. The "Need
Help?" section now references CANSCAIP and the Canadian Authors Association
in addition to the Canadian Children's Book Centre and the Writers'
Union of Canada. The "Birthdays" section lists the book's subjects by
date, beginning with Philippe Beha's January 1 birthday and concluding
with that of Janet Lunn on December 28. While the "On Becoming a Better
Writer" section has been maintained, a new one-page section, ideas "On
Becoming a Better Artist," has been added. The "Your Classroom Publishing
Centre," a bibliography of writing related books, has been expanded
from 17 to 30 titles. Also greatly expanded is the concluding "Additional
Resource Materials" section which provides references to other sources
of materials about the book's subjects.
As school children are frequently searching
for biographical material about their favorite Canadian authors and
illustrators, either for their own interest or because of school assignments,
a book like Meet Canadian Authors and Illustrators is a necessary
resource in the nation's elementary or early/middle schools. And the
modest $2.05 increase over the first edition makes the new volume a
steal.
Highly recommended. Dave
Jenkinson teaches courses in children's and YA literature in the Faculty
of Education, the University of Manitoba.
To comment on this
title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal
use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other
reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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