January / February 2002 Vol. 34, no. 1

Uncover a Mystery

Josiane Polidori
Research and Information Services

Copyright/Source

On a rainy Saturday in November, happiness reigned at the National Library of Canada where a hundred or so youngsters and their parents celebrated Canadian Children’s Book Week. Communication-Jeunesse, an organization devoted to the promotion of reading and francophone cultural literacy among youth, collaborated with the National Library to organize the various literary activities included in "Uncover a Mystery."

Actress Amélie Grenier hosted "Murder and Mystery," in which approximately 40 youths ages 10 to 15 took part in an investigation based on a novel written by Laurent Chabin. Some children actively participated in role-playing and acting out the story, while others were simply delighted to be spectators to this unusual investigation. Those aged 10 to 15 were also able to meet the prolific and likeable author Laurent Chabin, who arrived directly from Calgary to share his writing secrets with his readers.

Louise-Michelle Sauriol explains to young readers the mysteries in her novel L’Espion du 307. Copyright/Source

Louise-Michelle Sauriol, author of a recent novel entitled L’Espion du 307, also chatted with her young readers. Whether or not she revealed the key secrets to her novel remains a mystery.

Younger children had the pleasure of seeing and hearing the wonderful storyteller Joujou Turenne, who draws her inspiration for stories from Haiti, the country of her birth, and from her many trips to Africa. This storyteller invites children and their parents to discover treasures from her imagination and from the traditional repertoire of storytellers. Joujou danced, sang and artfully manipulated brightly coloured scarves, creating a fabulous collection of mythical animals. Children were captivated by her stories; they were turning into frogs, cows or baobab trees. That’s the magic of storytelling. They were living the story. To them, it became real.

Storyteller Joujou Turenne. Copyright/Source

This day, filled with words, pictures and colours, ended with a fantastic treasure hunt. Children rushed about in search of books that were hidden within the National Library of Canada. Communication-Jeunesse and the National Library awarded T-shirts and posters to the lucky winners.

Canadian Children’s Book Week was a big hit. The Canadian Children’s Book Centre kicked off the large book-celebration, and this year, for the first time, a francophone component was included. This wonderful initiative was the result of meetings between Charlotte Teeple, Executive Director, Canadian Children’s Book Centre, Chantal Vaillancourt and Johanne Gaudet from Communication-Jeunesse as well as Céline Gendron from the National Library of Canada.

The Canada Council for the Arts, TD Bank Financial Group and the National Library of Canada are the major sponsors of the Canadian Children’s Book Week.