Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Good news from IBBY Canada


The theme this past spring for Nami Island's second annual international Children's Book Festival in Korea was"Journeys of the Imagination." The idea of this IBBY sponsored event was "... to evoke the notion that every child can travel around the world in their imaginationon and through books and dream of a peaceful future in which they meet each other are are friends." I was delighted to hear that IBBY Canada had included Waiting for the Whales, my first picture book in the exhibition that respesented Canada. The other 9 titles included are:
Florence et la Sainte-Catherine by Lysette Brochu and Chrisian Ouesnel
Le Chandail de Hockey by Roch Carrier and Sheldon Cohen
La grandmere by d'Aputik by D Groulx
Dragonfly Kites by Tomson Highway and Brian Deines
NothernLights: The Soccer Trails by Michael Kusugak and Vladyana Kyrorka
A Big City ABC by Allan Moak
Tiger's New Cowboy Boots by Irene Morck and Georgie Graham
Glaire's Gift by Maxine Trottier and Rajka Kupesic
Ghost Train by Paul Yee and Hrvey Chan

To find out more about IBBY Canada (Canadian member of the International Board on Books for Young People) check out their website. They do great work.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

My new book, The Smell of Paint, is finally out!


So, I'm trying blogger out as a more user-friendly version of a website just to see how it goes. I'll start by posting my new book, The Smell of Paint which will be in bookstores near you in the next week or so. It's a novel for ages 11 and up, with the main character being 14. Check it out.

This is the ad copy written by my favourite editor Ann Featherstone...

For a track star, the race never ends

All Jess can do is run—from her mom’s illness, her family’s grief, her friends’ sympathy. But when Jess finally stops, who will be there to help her face the truth?

It's published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside, and will be available in both the US and Canada. I've already had my first good review which included a not so great picture of me at the track with kids and the coach from my kids' former high school running in the foreground. I'd include a link, but it's already in the pay section of the oneline version of the Times Colonist's and I doubt that, however much you love me, you won't be subscribing to the TC just to read that article. If you happen to be in Victoria on October 16th though, you could drop by Spectrum School @ 957 Burnside Rd to a group launch that will include my new book along with new titles from Kit Pearson, John Wilson, Adrienne Mason, Penny Chamberlain, and Dianna Bondar.