Lyn Cook (children's author)
| Born | 8 May 1918 Weston, Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Died | 14 July 2018 (aged 100) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Librarian, writer |
| Education | University of Toronto (BA, BLS) |
| Genre | Children's fiction |
| Notable awards | Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People (1978) |
Evelyn Margaret (Lyn) Cook (8 May 1918 – 14 July 2018) was a Canadian children's book writer.
Earky life and education
[edit]She was born in Weston, now part of the city of Toronto, and attended Etobicoke High School and the University of Toronto. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1940 and a Bachelor of Library Science degree in 1941.[1]
Career
[edit]She worked at the Wychwood Park branch of the Toronto Public Library before joining the Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division in 1942.[2]
During her service in World War II, she worked as a meteorological observer at RCAF Station Centralia and RCAF Station Trenton.[3]
In 1946, Cook became the first children's librarian in Sudbury, a mining town in northern Ontario. She also hosted a weekly local radio program, entitled A Doorway in Fairyland, which was picked up by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto and ran for four years.[1]
Her first book, The Bells on Finland Street, is set in Sudbury and features a young Finnish-Canadian girl who wants to take figure-skating lessons but is constrained by her family's lack of money. First published in 1950, it was reissued in 2003.[4]
Cook published twenty-three books for children of all ages. Typically, the main character is "a realistic hero/heroine set in an identifiable Canadian setting", in a "plausible narrative of children interacting within a community".[2]
She received the 1978 Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature, awarded annually to a Canadian "author of an exceptional body of work in children's literature".[5][2]
Personal life
[edit]In 1949, Cook married and moved to Scarborough, Ontario. She had two children. She died in Ottawa on 14 July 2018.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Lyn Cook (1918–2018)". Database of Canada's Early Women Writers. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Lyn Cook fonds" (PDF). Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books. Toronto Public Library. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ "Author of 'The Bells on Finland Street,' set in Sudbury, dies at age 100". Sudbury.com. 7 August 2018.
- ^ Goodall, Lian (8 March 2003). "Girl's tale holds up almost 50 years later". The Standard. St. Catharines, Ontario. p. 36.
- ^ "Vicky Metcalf Award". Writers Trust of Canada. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- 1918 births
- 2018 deaths
- 20th-century Canadian women writers
- 20th-century women librarians
- 21st-century Canadian women writers
- 21st-century women librarians
- Canadian female military personnel
- Canadian women centenarians
- Canadian women children's writers
- Canadian women in World War II
- Canadian women librarians
- Canadian women radio hosts
- People from Sudbury District
- Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II
- University of Toronto alumni
- Writers from Scarborough, Ontario