Background
Jean Little was born in Taiwan.
Jean Little was born in Taiwan.
Although Jean was legally blind from birth, she attended elementary and secondary school in regular classes.
Her work has mainly consisted of children"s literature, but she has also written two autobiographies: Little by Little and Stars Come Out Within. Little has been partially blind since birth as a result of scars on her cornea and is frequently accompanied by a guide dog. The Little family came home to live in Canada in 1939, moving to Guelph in 1940.
She went to the University of Toronto and got her Bachelor in English Language and Literature.
Since then, Jean has had 44 other books published. She has written novels, picture books, poetry, short stories, and two autobiographical books
She has taught Children"s Literature at the University of Guelph where she is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of English. In March 2004 she went to India and in November 2006 to Bulgaria.
She writes with a talking computer and travels with her Seeing Eye dog Honey.
She is at work on a novel. 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. As many of her books were written several decades ago, they now serve as examples of how children with disabilities were previously raised and treated by society.
Another frequent theme is adoption and foster care, as shown in Home from Far and Willow and Twig.
Children often find homes and families throughout the course of the novel, whether it consists of rediscovering the importance of their family, being reunited with family or creating a new family in their new situation. While the novels often touch on very sad events, ranging from serious illness, abuse and death, the endings are usually positive and show the resilience of children.