wide-mouthed blog: Serendipity Children's Lit Conference

February 24, 2008

Serendipity Children's Lit Conference

"Our people will sleep for a hundred years and when they awaken it will be the artists that give them back their spirit." - Louis Riel

As a person with a profound belief in the power of story, I love the way these words shine a light on the importance of art and story as acts of creation, survival, healing, connection and delight. And what better place to hear them than smack in the middle of a day dedicated to sharing and honouring Canadian Aboriginal children's literature.

Serendipity is an annual conference organized by the Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable 's in celebration of children's literature. And it was worth leaving my house at an ungodly hour last Saturday morning to join a few hundred librarians, writers, teachers, students and lovers of children's literature who gathered in the UBC First Nations Longhouse to hear about the stories behind some of the most beautifully crafted, thoughtful, and moving children's books coming out in Canada today.

Usually I am not much of a fan of all the introductory speechifying at conferences, but after an introduction to the Longhouse by Richard Vedan, a welcome speech by Steven Point that defied the stuffiness of his Lieutenant Governor title, and several heartfelt welcomes, I could feel a palpable difference in the room. We were all ready to get down to story. And what stories there were. We laughed; we cried; we watched a rogue squirrel face off with the leftover bannock and salmon sandwiches. All in all, it was a pretty fine day.

I met some new (stunning!) books, and got to hear the stories behind ones I knew. But, more than anything, I felt incredibly lucky to be entering a profession where story is recognized as a sustaining force in the world. From speakers to casual conversations, so much about the day reaffirmed for me that I was in the right place as a children's librarian. This is professional development? Shhh.... don't tell anyone what a wonderful time we had.

The rockstars of the day were:

Nicola Campbell: Author of Shi-shi-etko and the forthcoming Shinchi's Canoe (two picture books that tell the story of the residential school system in Canada)