New WCBA Club Night a success

Last Tuesday, around 25 WCBA members and friends gathered the Library Bar for a cosy and fun storytelling session.

A couple of comments from the night:

'It was wonderful to greet new members and see long established members at this event. The storytelling by everyone was superb, with each person bringing a different feel and style. Club night looks set to be a wonderful addition to our member events every 3rd Tuesday of the month.' 

'... lots of positive feedback about the lovely room and the conviviality. I'm so pleased - it's nice to have a less formal way to gather that requires less planning and means people mix and mingle more. ...'

Others commented that it was great to chat to members they hadn't met before - and everyone enjoyed the five storytellers.

We loved the offerings from those who were billed. They included veteran storytellers Marie Murdoch and Moira Wairama, plus - making her storytelling debut - Holly Gooch. And it was awesome to have two more people add their names to the blackboard on the night and tell enthralling tales: Carol Jenkins and Jean Lloyd.

Pencil in Tuesday 19 October for the next WCBA Club Night. This time our theme will be: What makes a classic children's book?  Everyone is encouraged to bring their own contenders.

More details soon ...

Come to the WCBA Club Night

Club Night is a new initiative from the WCBA. It will be held on the third Tuesday of the month for the next 3 months, and if successful, will become an ongoing event.

WCBA Club Nights are in the Reading Room at The Library Bar  - above the Natural Health Centre on Courtney Place.

Each Club Night will have its own theme or focus. For our first session on Tuesday 21 September we have a blackboard storytelling evening which features Moira Wairama, Marie Murdoch and Holly Gooch in our line up.
 

WCBA members and their friends are invited to come along with their own stories, or just relax with a drink and listen.

Club Nights are free for WCBA members and $5 for non-members. (But everyone pays for their own drinks and food.  Serendipitously - Tuesdays are two-for-one dessert night at Library Bar!)

We look forward to seeing you!

Our wonderful visit to the Susan Price Collection

On the wet and windy Sunday just gone, Susan Price welcomed a small, enthusiastic group of WCBA members into her home to see her astonishing collection of over 20,000 20th Century children's books.

Susan has gifted the Collection to the National Library, but continues to house it herself, taking care of it, adding to it, and constantly updating her catalogue.

It was fascinating to hear Susan talk about her passion for history and realistic fiction, and see how her collection reflects this. In particular she has strong feelings about books that describe life during the World Wars, making sure those important memories are not forgotten.

After hearing Susan speak, we had free rein to explore the collection, and Susan was ready and willing to discuss any of the books. She was a mine of information about the history of important 20th Century children's publishers, and a highlight was being able to see different editions and translations of the same book, and talk about what these revealed.

Another charming and illuminating feature of her collection is the way she has gathered postcards, images, articles, and other ephemera, and tucked them in to the covers of books they are relevant to.

Each of us who went probably hoped to get something different from the visit ... an up-close look at a heritage collection of national importance; ideas for books to hunt out for our own children; a look at old favourites from our childhood; or the discovery of forgotten books that are as good or better than the enduring classics we know about ...

I think we all left having had these wishes fulfilled, and more.

Some people who had hoped to come were unable to, and others who went would like to go again, so we hope that we might organise another visit to the Susan Price Collection at some stage in the future!