Celebrating 2017...

Dear Friends,

Thank you for making 2017 a wonderful year by your interest and involvement in the National Centre for Australian Children's Literature Inc. We have been charmed and delighted to meet with so many of you and to talk about the Centre's incredible resources. We look forward to sharing our vision with you either in person or through social media.

You might like to view small promotional clips about the Centre developed in 2016. The Centre is deeply grateful to the Producer, Nalini Haynes, and the Editor, Edward Haynes, of Dark Matter Zine, for their continued interest and support.

You may wish to become virtually involved with the Centre, following us on Twitter and Facebook, reading our newsletter or by remembering the Centre at the end of the financial year.

Breaking News
Thanks to Jane Carstens, Editor, the first issue of the National Centre for Australian Children's Literature's new journal Behind the Imagined is now available online.

Still touching hearts: an evening with May Gibbs

For those of you who were unable to attend our very special evening, enjoy photos of our May Gibbs event held on 11 May at Australian Library & Information Association House. We thank Jane Brummitt for talking and for donating an original framed artwork by May Gibbs. This artwork is a preliminary piece created for May’s early work, Gum Blossom Babies (1916) Tania McCartney enthused us all with her talk Mamie: a celebration of May's life for modern children.

We were also in The Canberra Times the following day. Jane was interviewed at 9am on the morning of the talk at the Commonwealth Club and a follow up article was published in The Canberra Times.

It was gratifying to have a full house and such an engaged and enthusiastic audience.

We acknowledge our many volunteers who helped with publicity, food, administration and sold raffle tickets for our Pixie O’Harris glassware. We thank ALIA House for arranging access to their superb function and entry rooms.Thanks also to James Redden, Manager, Harry Hartog Booksellers whose continued support of the Centre ensured that Jane Brummitt’s and Tania McCartney’s books were available. Most of we thank our two speakers, Jane Brummitt and Tania McCartney, for their fascinating insights into May Gibbs. It was indeed an evening of delight.

Photographs:
Top left Dr. Belle Alderman AM, Jane Brummitt and Tania McCartney
Top Right Julie Long OAM and NCACL Board Chair, John Faulks
Bottom Left Attendees at the May Gibbs presentation
Bottom Right Audience members at last year's talk when Jane Brummitt spoke at the Canberra Museum & Gallery on the occasion of our May Gibbs exhibition of books and ephemera from the National Collection

Thanks Bob Graham...

Bob Graham, a long time contributor of the Centre, has created a unique image for our planned exhibition Imagine if… Bob has very generously given the original artwork to the Centre to raffle to assist with fund raising activities to cover the cost of 20 ‘temporary’ exhibition style frames which the Centre can reuse for future exhibitions.
We invite you to support us too by purchasing a ticket for $5 in our raffle which will be hand sold in Canberra and on social media. Instructions to purchase tickets are available from Imagine if…

Vale Narelle Oliver

It was with sad hearts that we learnt about the sudden death of Narelle Oliver last year. She was a creative powerhouse whose work continues to bring joy. Our condolences to her husband, Greg and children Liam and Jessie.

Thanks CBCA...

The Centre is keen to collect small press and self published books. They might not make their way into libraries where there is a legal requirement for such publications to be donated. So we look for them and avidly collect them, as we believe they are an important part of what is being published in the Australian children’s book field and they are also part of what children are reading. The CBCA has donated 100 of these books to the National Centre. We congratulate them on this initiative, and we are very proud to have these titles to catalogue and to make them accessible.

Good news!

The National Centre has just received a very large bundle of artwork from Alison Lester. Our volunteers have been pouring over the works with great relish.

We are most grateful to have received a large collection of Deborah Niland's artwork. This artwork enhances the fairy and folk tale holdings we have of Jean Chapman. The illustrations bring joy into our imaginative worlds.

The National Centre has also taken delivery of additional papers from Wendy Orr, to add to her large collection at the Centre, and wonderful papers from Jane Carroll.

One Happy Hippo helps out...

The National Centre has loaned One Happy Hippo original artwork to the University of Canberra’s Health and Counselling Centre. The cubical where it temporarily resides is where nursing staff give immunisation injections to children. The staff hope to distract children with this lovely piece.

Many thanks to Wayne Harris for this beautiful artwork which is from
One Happy Hippo. Oakleigh, VIC : Cambridge University Press, 1991

Heartquake...

Libby Hathorn (Left) has launched Heartquake in response to the terrible earthquake that occurred in Nepal in 2015.

View her launch and read about the activities already undertaken here.

Donation from the USA...

The Centre joyfully received two book donations from New Jersey USA. Jane Eldershaw who has lived in Australia and has been a correspondent of Belle Alderman's for several years, sent a rare edition of The Magic Pudding and Eve Pownall's The Australia Book. The Centre has several different editions of The Australia Book but Jane's had a dust jacket and our six copies of various shapes, sizes and dates had none. Thanks Jane for thinking of the National Centre.

The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature Inc gratefully receives monetary donations into its Gift Fund. Such donations enable us to pursue a range of activities and to achieve short and long-term goals. Annual reports provide details about many of these achievements.