Wowed by Kaleidoscope

For those of you who think I'm talking about the tube that you look into and see colorful shapes change with each little turn you'd be right, I do get wowed by those, but this time I'm talking about the Kaleidoscope 9 Children's Literature Conference. This conference is held every four years and brings together some of the best authors and illustrators from around the globe. It also brings together the best and brightest teachers and librarians from across the country.
Of course you can't make it to see all your favourites but here's a few that I did manage to see.

Shaun Tan - wow, when I saw that he was going to be at this conference I immediately signed up - he happens to be one of my favs. Here's some stuff that I jotted down, wonderfully odd, visual rhyming, each page a complete miniature story, troubled sense of belonging, returning to a child like state, confounding, all experience has layers, melts into real life, lost stories form the past, reconstructing memories, and people to a strange place or a stranger to a known place.
If you haven't looked through The Arrival or The Rabbits you're missing out on a wondrous experience that will stick with you for a long while.

Lois Lowry - another favourite for many many reasons, and as she revealed more about herself I saw infinite caring, humor and a deeply thoughtful person. Here's some stuff I wrote - human integrity, the importance of memories, we need the sad parts to balance and give importance to the rest.

George Little Child - How I'd love for him to come to our school and do an art workshop, his ability to tell stories, explain history depicted on a colorful canvas is almost beyond words. Here's some stuff I wrote - art has been his best friend and always been there for him, oral traditionalist, pictograph influence, blood memory (intuition), stars of hope.

I did see other workshops but these three are still firmly at the forefront of my thinking. How stories are all around us. That boxes full of pictures at a grandparents house represent amazing stories to be discovered or reinvented. To think of the ordinary from an outsiders view. To enjoy another persons perspective even when it differs greatly from your own.

I'll blog on individual titles by some of these folks soon.