May 10 @ 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Family Day: Jane Austen & Blue Willow Pottery
Sunday May 10, 2026
11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Free for kids and included with admission for adults
Join us this Mother’s Day for a special Family Day program featuring guest author Catherine Little reading from her recent book, Jane and the Blue Willow Princess. Each reading will begin with a display of objects featuring the Blue Willow pattern, including an example from 1810. Come guess how each object was used and which one was from Jane Austen’s time. After the reading, take part in a hands-on-clay activity in our new Makerspace, inspired by the patterns of blue-and-white ceramics in our collection.
Program Schedule:
Book Reading with Catherine Little
Location: Community Learning Centre, Ground Floor
Times: 11:00 am, 12:30 pm, and 2:00 pm
Hands-On Clay Activity
Location: Makerspace, Ground Floor
Time: Ongoing from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, 20-minute intervals
Please bring a box or recycled container in which to transport your work home.
About the Book
On a beautiful spring day, sisters Jane and Cassandra enjoy tea with Mother in the garden. Jane is in the throes of writing a story for Fatherâs birthday, but too many ideas swirl in her head and she cannot get started. The Blue Willow pattern on the tea set catches Janeâs attention. Will that be the inspiration sheâs looking for? Jane and the Blue Willow Princess commemorates the 250th birthday of Jane Austen. It celebrates Austen’s writing, which continues to engage readers around the world, and highlights the deep love between Jane and her sister Cassandra. The book introduces children to Jane Austen and her enduring legacy as an author, and may perhaps inspire them to become writers themselves.
About the Author:
Catherine Little is a Toronto-based picture book author and presenter. Her picture books have been featured by CBC Books, the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, and the Osbourne Collection. She was inspired to write Jane and the Blue Willow Princess when she learned of the discovery of a shard of Blue Willow pottery during the archeological dig of Steventon, Jane Austen’s childhood home.
