Janet Louise Lunn, (''
née'' Swoboda; December 28, 1928 – June 26, 2017) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
children's writer.
Early life and education
Lunn was born in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas; she moved with her family to
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
when she was an infant. In 1938, she moved again to the outskirts of New York City. In 1946, she came to Canada to attend
Queen's University and married a fellow student, Richard Lunn. She became a Canadian citizen in 1963. They had five children and her husband died in 1987.
Career
Janet Lunn published her first children's book, ''Double Spell'', in 1968. From 1972 to 1975, she was a children's editor for
Clark, Irwin Publishers.
From 1984 to 1985, she was the first children's author to be Chair of the
Writers' Union of Canada
The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC), founded in 1973, describes itself as supporting "the country's authors by advocating for their rights, freedoms, and economic well-being." Its members are professional writers who must have published at least o ...
.
In 1982, she was awarded the
Vicky Metcalf Award. She was awarded the
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official Award, honour in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the A ...
in 1996 and made a Member of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
in 1997. She died on June 26, 2017 at age 88.
Selected works
* ''Double Spell'' (1968) ''Twin Spell'' (U.S. 1969)
* ''
The Root Cellar'' (1981)
* ''Shadow in Hawthorn Bay'' (1986)
* ''
The Hollow Tree'' (1997), winner of the 1998
* ''A Rebel's Daughter: The 1837 Rebellion Diary of Arabella Stevenson, Toronto, Upper Canada, 1837'' (2006) - part of the ''
Dear Canada
''Dear Canada'' is a series of historical novels marketed at kids first published in 2001 and continuing to the present. The books are published by Scholastic Canada Ltd. They are similar to the ''Dear America'' series, with each book written in ...
'' series
* ''A Season for Miracles: Twelve Tales of Christmas (various authors)'' (2006) - part of the ''Dear Canada'' series
* ''The Story of Canada'' with
Christopher Moore and Alan Daniel
* ''Janet Lunn's story'' with
Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, based on his son Christopher Robin Milne. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' stories, and has subsequently appeared in various Disney ...
and Whiney the Poo
References
External links
* Archives of Janet Lun
(Janet Lunn fonds, R11768)are held at
Library and Archives Canada
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunn, Janet
1928 births
2017 deaths
Canadian Anglicans
Canadian children's writers
Members of the Order of Canada
Members of the Order of Ontario
Governor General's Award-winning children's writers
American emigrants to Canada