Book Launch There was such a snowstorm March first for the Toronto launch of Quantum Night, that some feared attendance would be sparse, but Canadians are hardy. Returning home afterward I saw one cyclist on the road, riding through blowing snow. Despite the blanket of flurries, Lansdowne Brewery was packed, even before the advertised start time. […]
Robert J. Sawyer — Quantum Night Read More »
I was lucky enough to interview the witty, award-winning Canadian author, Richard Scrimger. Versatile, he writes for small children, middle grade, young adult, and adult categories. My current favorite is his YA novel Zomboy, in which a new student turns out to be undead, and unwanted, by unenlightened members of his community. Zomboy provokes thought but still
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I recently enjoyed interviewing Jennifer Lott about her first chapter book. As an early childhood educator, she had insights into writing for children and teaching as well. Cursed Dishes is based on a ‘revenge’ story Lott wrote when she was sixteen about her uncooperative younger sisters. Ten years later this completely reworked version is volume one in the Family Magic series,
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I’m really enjoying running the Silver Birch Awards and Red Maple Awards programs this year as a librarian. It gives me a chance to read all the award-nominated books! I think this video captures a little bit of that magic feeling of discovery. More about the books and the club to follow. Happy reading…
Since his post-modern picture books: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolfe and The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales, I have looked forward reading more by Jon Scieszka. Today, I refer to three short novels in his Time Warp Trio series. I have read: Knights of the Kitchen
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Pobby and Dingan, by Ben Rice, is a unique young adult novel. It is set in an Australian opal mining town where ratting (stealing opals from another person’s claim) is as bad as murder. The point of view character, Ashmol, has a lonely, sensitive sister named Kellyanne. She treats her imaginary friends, Pobby and Dingan,
Sharon Jennings: Reluctant to Start Writing? Have I Got a Reader For You!Sharon’s class was so popular that she had to present in the chapel at Victoria College. She explained that the typical reluctant reader is a grade six boy reading at a grade 2.5 level. To grab this group she emphasized: exciting plot accessible
Packaging Workshops III — Sharon Jennings and Lucy M. Falcone Read More »
Bought at Packaging Your Imagination The Alchemist’s Portrait by Simon Rose The Mysterious Mummer by L.M. Falcone Good Times Travel Agency: Adventures in Ancient China by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Bill Slavin. I wanted to buy one of Sharon Jenning’s Bats books for reluctant readers but I only saw her books for younger readers. Workshops
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Today I attended CANSAIP’s annual conference called Packaging Your Imagination. Held at Trinity college, Toronto, the day-long conference consisted of three workshops and a keynote speaker. Between the second and third workshops, there was a sit down lunch with brief speeches from the CANSCAIP organizers. I will talk about the workshops another time. I’m still
This Can’t Be Happening at Trinity College — Gordan Korman Read More »
I have read The End. Lemony Snicket had me hooked from the very first page of The Bad Beginning, the first installment of his novel series about the Baudelaire orphans. Although his series lost some freshness for me in the middle, The Carnivorous Carnival, for example, felt like it was following the Snicket ‘formula,’ they
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