Dr. Chris Shahnaz Saad

Dear Chris - It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since your passing, that you would be 60 now. I still think of you all the time, reliving memories of our challenging times at Penn, debriefing and laughing in your tiny apartment. I tell friends about you and your beloved Natasha, how Natasha loved Kraft American cheese, and how you trained her not to pounce on you and wake you up first thing in the morning. I wish we could have continued our friendship to this day, but I am grateful for...

Philadelphia has lost a leading children's book expert and advocate! I had many dealings with Chris and will miss her cheery voice on the phone. I am so sad for this great loss to the community of lovers of children's books. I can only hope that the doors of her wonderful book store will remain open. I greatly appreciate Chris's service to our school community on so many levels. My condolences to Chris's family and friends for the loss of this brave and very dear person.

I never had the good fortune to meet Chris personally, but knew her from the Rutgers Child-Lit list and as a contributor to the special children's literature issue of Disability Studies Quarterly. She sent me fascinating and useful bibliographies, and was always a delightful correspondent. She was a great person, and will be sadly missed by so many.

Chris,
Now I really see how wide & deep a life can be lived. I am just in awe of you and the life you lived. And you didn't want us to think it was anything special!

Thank you for being such a good friend. I miss you so so much and just really hope you have lots of sparkles and sunflowers and most of all peace where you are now.

~Jen.
P.S. Who am I going to talk to about Olivia now? Pls let me know, ok?

I was lucky enough to work with Chris on the Winter 2003 issue, Disability in Children's Literature, of Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ). In addition she was a correspondent and colleague on the child_lit list hosted from Rutgers.

Peace with you, Chris. I shall miss you.

Chris was an inspiration to us. We are deeply saddenned by her departure. May God give you the strength to bear this loss. Please count us among those who share your sorrow.
Naram, Hayat, Lana, Talal, Omar

Was it 1988 that Chris and I became friends? So many breakfasts shared while I still lived in Center City...so many Christmas trees decorated together in our 'bachelorette' apartments. I will always remember Chris's face smiling at just about every music or poetry performance I ever had. She was one of my 'biggest fans', and I hope she knew the feeling was mutual -- I so admired her academic achievement, her passion for children's literature, her establising a thriving independent bookstore...

My dear friend Chris-- I miss you so much already. I miss the sound of your voice on the phone. I'll miss getting a birthday card from you every year, and picking one out for you. Every time I think of you I cry, and I know you wouldn't want that, so I will try to smile. I hope with all my heart that you felt ready to leave this world--I sure wasn't ready to lose you.

I did not know Chris personally, but I am one of the many people on the child_lit listserve who valued her knowledge of and passion for children's books. Chris could always be relied upon to solve people's "stumpers" - queries from people with half-memories of beloved childhood books. She will be missed, enormously.