This year, back to school may loom a little larger in the minds of parents and kids. After months of at-home learning, many families may be feeling more anxious about kids returning to the classroom. Here are 10 Canadian kids' books that will help ease your kids back into the school mindset. Not all of … Continue reading As Seen on CTV Your Morning: 10 Kids’ Books for Back-to-School 2021
My eighth book, and third picture book, ANONYMOUSE is on-sale today! This book grew out of my love of street art and the many ways artists beautify public spaces, whether it's with murals, yarn-bombing, sculpture, or the more localized things people have started to do during the pandemic. But as much as I love what … Continue reading Anonymouse is Here!
I get it. The Winnowing seems like a hard left turn for me. My previous novels are coming-of-age stories about ordinary kids dealing with family and relationship-based drama. What is this slightly dystopian, conspiracy-driven thriller?! Where did it come from? In a series of Winspiration Guest posts I will attempt to answer this question. Thank … Continue reading The Winnowing Blog Tour
I value my picture book collection the way that Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler values her files: deeply, though you wouldn't know it by my lack of an ordered cataloging or shelving system. Here are some of the books published in 2016 that made it onto my shelves this year. Panda Pants is a dialogue between … Continue reading What I Read in 2016: Picture Books
This has already been a staggeringly good year for middle grade (don't call it a comeback), with personal favourites such as Raymie Nightingale, The Wild Robot, Look Out for the Fitzgerald Trouts, and Pax garnering all sorts of buzz and attention. Here is a sampling of the new kids on the block this fall: Ghosts … Continue reading Middle Grade Monday: Fall 2016 Preview
This week is my book birthday and boy am I spoiled girl! Check out the incredible cake made by colleague Barb, senior manager of advertising and design at Penguin Random House Canada. It was just as delicious as it was beautiful and certainly made this author feel loved. On Thursday I dropped by the Classical … Continue reading Kids’ Books Recommendations- Classical 96.3 FM
Kevin Sylvester can do no wrong- illustrator, writer, podcaster, frequent host of Kid's Lit Quiz - he is an all-around children's literature champion, particularly in Canada. I'm always delighted by the twists his career takes, which may be unexpected but are always genuine, kid-friendly and fun. Christopher is proud to be part of a mining … Continue reading Middle Grade Monday: MiNRs
If you don't already know Ursula Vernon, you will soon. This author-illustrator is on the verge of making it big. The creator of the very funny Dragonbreath series as well as a few equally hilarious middle grade novels, Vernon's new series Hamster Princess casts my new favourite rodent in a proposed series of fractured fairytales. … Continue reading Middle Grade Monday: Harriet the Invincible
As a kid I used to pick Dandelions, purple clover and Queen Anne's Lace and bring them home to be put in a vase and displayed on the kitchen table. I did not understand the difference between a weed and a flower. It's all a matter of perspective; one person's weed is another person's flower. … Continue reading The Art of Noticing: Sidewalk Flowers Review
