Celia Barker Lottridge Author

Gail de Vos, Merle Harris and Celia Barker Lottridge are internationally-known storytellers. Gail de Vos and Merle Harris are from Edmonton. Celia Barker Lottridge lives in Toronto. Merle Harris has always been fascinated with the oral tradition and loved listening to stories. In 1972, as a new mother in a new country, she found herself remembering her childhood in Rhodesia and how African parents used storytelling rather than lecturing with their children, and falling back on this tradition to raise her sons. Celia Barker Lottridge is the author of many award-winning children's books, several of them based on stories told in her family. As a storyteller she has performed at schools, libraries and festivals across Canada. For many years she was Director of the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program, a social service program for parents and young children based on the power of rhyme and story.