The ABC's

The American Book Collectors of Children's Literature met for our annual show and tell at Susan Aller's home. There were about two dozen members in attendance, and special guests included Rick Ring of Trinity College's Watkinson Library with four of his book history students. Susan provided a roast and members brought additional "fixins," with a special emphasis on desserts! Many interesting books were shown, often with fascinating backstories.

A group from the ABCs made its annual December pilgrimage to the Society of Illustrators in New York for lunch, a program and a show of Society member's works.
 
The 22nd Annual Connecticut Children’s Book Fair attracted many ABC members, as usual, on the second weekend of November. The Fair is a project of the University of Connecticut Libraries and the UConn Co-op; proceeds from sales at the event are used for the growth of the Northeast Children's Literature Collection in the Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries. Diane deGroat, Etienne Delessert, Tomie dePaola, Robert L. Forbes, David Johnson. Steven Kellogg, and Jarrett Krosoczka were among the authors and illustrators who made presentations and did readings from their works. A panel discussion geared toward teens and the Young Adult genre was a resounding success for the third year. The dinner program featured Tomie dePaola’s whimsical, fictionalized tribute to NCLC curator Terri Goldich, who will retire in 2014. Awards were also presented to winners of the Raab Associates Prizes for superlative illustration to accompany a poem created by children’s book author Jane Yolen for the occasion.