Several of Little's books, such as Mine for Keeps and From Anna, focus on children who have a disability or are affected by a person with a disability. She continued to write through the aid of a voice-activated computer and travelled with her guide dog Honey. Īs of 2016, Little resided in Guelph, Ontario with her sister Pat deVries, her great-niece Jeanie, and her great-nephew Ben. Little gave the 2016 Margaret Lawrence Lecture at the Canadian Writers Summit in June. In March 2004, she went to India and in November 2006 to Bulgaria. She journeyed widely talking to both adults and children themselves about the joys to be found through reading and writing. Jean Little Public School, in Guelph, Ont. She had six honorary degrees, was a Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. Little taught Children's Literature at the University of Guelph, where she was an adjunct professor in the Department of English. Little won literary awards for her work and has been published internationally. Her novel His Banner Over Me is based on her mother's childhood. She has subsequently written over 50 published works, which include novels, picture books, poetry, short stories, and two autobiographical books.

It won the Little, Brown Canadian Children's Book Award and was published in 1962. She went to the University of Toronto and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature.Īfter teaching disabled children for several years, Little wrote her first children's novel, Mine for Keeps, about a child with cerebral palsy. Although Little was legally blind from birth, she attended elementary and secondary school in regular classes. The Little family came home to live in Canada in 1939, moving to Guelph in 1940.

Her parents were Canadian doctors serving as medical missionaries under the United Church of Canada.

Little was born in Formosa, the daughter of Flora (Gauld), a doctor, and John Llewellyn Little, a physician. Little was partially blind since birth as a result of scars on her cornea and was frequently accompanied by a guide dog. Her work mainly consisted of children's literature, but she also wrote two autobiographies: Little by Little and Stars Come Out Within.

Jean Little, CM (Janu– April 6, 2020) was an award-winning Canadian writer of over 50 books. Jean Little before delivering the 2016 Margaret Laurence Lecture in Toronto

Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little