The Girl Effect

Even though it's not exactly book related, this is the coolest vid. Enjoy

University Graduation

Finally getting around to downloading pictures from my camera. Here are a few of my youngest daughter's graduation. I can't believe I've (ok they did a little to help!) gotten all three girls through university!

The

big surprise was that one of my fav Canadian comedians, Rick Mercer, was getting an honorary doctorate at her ceremony. He's so funny. I wish I would have gotten a better pic but this was the best I could do with my lack of talent and point & shoot camera. It didn't help that I was barely out of the hospital and not at my best.

Picturing Canada by Gail Edwards & Judith Saltman

While I was in Vancouver I got a call from Ron Lightburn with some good news. Ron illustrated my first book, Waiting for the Whales, which is still in print after 19 years (note to self; plan party for the book's 20th anniversary in 2011). It seems an illustration of our book was one of two featured in a National Post article about a new book called Picturing Canada: A History of Canadian Children's Illustrated Books and Publishing by Gail Edwards and Judith Saltman.

In my mind, a book that documents the history of children's illustrated literature in Canada is long overdue and I'm thrilled that the book is finally out. The US, the UK, and Australia all have scholarly works documenting children's literature in their respective countries, and it's about time that we, here in Canada, acknowledged the contribution that the publishing industry and it's creators have made to our cultural growth. I recall being honored five or six years ago when Professor Judith Saltman arrived on my doorstep to interview me. We had tea, caught up on mutual friends and industry news, and shared titles of favorite books. She was both gracious and professional as she explained that mine would be one of dozens of interviews which would be integrated into her text and include: authors, illustrators, publishers and librarians and other professionals across the country. Her enthusiasm was contagious, but I admit that after a few years went by I forgot about her project. Now, after reading the National Post article, it has been rekindled. So, Picturing Canada will be on my list when I hit the bookstore next. I'm excited to read about Edwards' and Saltman's insights, and I'm curious about what my fellow creators and publishers had to say. Most of all, I'm thankful to be working in an industry that I continue to love after more than twenty years.

Saltspring Island

Saltspring Island was groovy as usual. The Saturday market is like going back 30 years...tie-dyed t-shirts, hippy skirts, long hair and beards, and guitar players with their cases open for donations, hand-made candles, and lavender jelly, organic smokies (vegie or turkey), plenty of pottery, fresh herbs etc. and a 5 foot nothing guy playing a digaree do & doing a little healing thing with some sort of animal bone thingy...so much fun. I wish I could have stayed a second night but as it turns out, I got pretty sick the next day too but it was just as well that I headed back home since I ended up being sick for a week...a major drag.

While on Saltspring I bought the cutest little original water color painting by for my daughter's graduation and a lovely cheese slicer with wood carved handle for my other daughter's birthday. The grad was lovely although no dinner for me as I was still not doing solid food. Pictures to come soon...

Saltspring Island

Yeah. Long weekend coming up. Ruby (my puppy) and I are heading over to Saltspring Island. The weekend agenda will include: good friends, good food, good wine, and probably a pile of books to exchange. We'll go to the market, walk the beaches, and catch up (since we all live in different places). I love my girl friends.

Life Above All, a film based on Chandra's Secret

OMG...this is so exciting. My friend Dennis Foon is off to Cannes. Dennis, an award-winning playwright, and novelist, wrote the screenplay for a fantastic YA novel, Chandra's Secret by Allan Stratton, about a 16 year old girl who looks after her younger siblings in the face of her father's death in the diamond mines and her mother dying of AIDS. The story is as compelling as it is uplifting; children parenting children with courage and grace in the face of poverty, abuse and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

The film is called Life Above All, so watch for it. In the meantime, yeah Dennis. Have fun in Cannes, and send us back some celebrity pics.

The Victoria Children's Literature Roundtable presents Carolyn Hart

Carolyn Hart: Cultural Diversity in Picture Books

Monday May 17th, 7:30 pm
at the Victoria Children's Literature Roundtable

Note: Roundtable meetings now take place at the Nellie McClung Branch Library, 3950 Cedar Hill Road, lower entrance.

Carolyn Hart is a mother of two boys, a teacher, and a children's book reviewer. She is also the BC Regional Officer for the Canadian Children's Book Centre. She makes presentations about early literacy and outstanding children's books to parent groups and professional organizations throughout BC.

Carolyn will speak about new picture books that celebrate our cultural diversity. She will also demonstrate activities and games that match the themes of the featured books. "When we make wise choices with the books we read to children, we can help diminish stereotyping and help youngsters develop respect for human diversity and curiosity about our world."

The VCLR is open to the public. Members free, drop-ins $5, students $4. Meetings are held at the Nellie McClung Branch Library, 3950 Cedar Hill Road, at 7:30 pm. Come early and browse the bookseller's table, and bring a friend!

Orca Book launch today!

Oops...I meant to upload this invite to the Orca Book launch but forgot. Sadly, it's too late to get there now, but it's never to late to drop by your local bookseller to pick up one of these great titles

BC Kids books to be featured in Korea

Taxes done and done! Before I head out to the garden to attack the weeds I have to get books ready for the Canadian Embassy in Korea which is showcasing BC children's authors and illustrators at their book fair this year. Very cool. I'll be sending The Smell of Paint, my young adult novel, as well as the Korean version of This is the Dog. I'll get the cover scanned in so you can check it out just as soon as I fix my scanner.

tax time

Home again and immersed in taxes. Yah yah, tax time has come and gone, but I'm just getting to it, wading my way through paper piled practically to the rafters. Thinking back over a year it's hard to believe I actually considered changing careers...It turns out that my income this past year is about the same as the year I began my writing career...so sad. Fortunately this year, luck is with me...I've received writing grants from both The Canada Council and The BC Arts Council and I'm lucky enough to have Suzie Townsend of Literary FinePrint Management as my agent. Life could not being looking better.

And speaking of Suzie, I just received two books from her in today's mail. She calls her self a book-fairy with good reason. Not only is she an insightful editor, she sends books! I can't wait to read them. The first is I heart you, You haunt me by Lisa Schroeder, and the other is an ARC The Duff by Kody Keplinger. (no image yet available). I'm tempted to crack the covers, but taxes first...well, maybe a little peek...damn you Suzie!

Whew. The 10 K was a success. Managed to find my friend despite the 60,000 other people who showed up to run. We totally rocked it, and loved the music every kilometer or so and the chocolate milk, oranges and bananas at the end tasted sooo sweet. The sun warmed us all the way through downtown, along the seawall, over one bridge, past False Creek and back to downtown over a second bridge. We walked the few kilometers home afterwards, even up that huge steep hill...showered, walked back down the hill to Granville Island to meet up with the rest of the fam for a lovely mother's day lunch, then barely made it back up the hill...collapsed on the couch and am now watching Vancouver whip Chicago. Sorry Black Hawks, but you're going down! After the game I'll fall into bed...read a few pages of The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo and sleep like a baby.

Happy Reading, Running or Renovations

I can't believe I'm watching hockey, but here I am, in Vancouver live streaming the Canucks getting their butts kicked by the Chicago Black Hawks! After several days of helping my daughter work on her new (aka 1960's) but oh so in need of renos condo, we ordered take out sushi and are watching the game which is being played just down the road, but tickets are out of the ball park (or hockey arena as the case may be) for most YA authors, myself included. After days of slaving away, I fall into bed, which in this case translates into a well worn second or possibly third hand couch, and fall asleep after a few pages of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, by Steg Larsson. I'm enjoying the book, and would probably be farther along if it weren't for above mentioned renos. I'll get back to you on whether it's worth the 841 page read although I have managed 240 pages these last few nights.

Tomorrow I pick up my # and chip for the 10K Vancouver Sun Run which is Sunday. I'll let ya know how that goes too. It's my mother's day present to myself!

Happy reading, running or renovations...

Later.

I'm a Boo Hoo Bird

I can't believe I'm so forgetful! I even had it in my calendar, but I missed Jeremy Tankard last night. I'm a boo hoo bird for sure. He was in Victoria for the Victoria Children's Literature Roundtable which I chaired for many years. Roundtables bring in speakers, for parents, teachers, and librarians, support a Canadian Information Book Award, and do lots of literacy work. I'm so sad that I missed Jeremy because his presentations rock and his books are fabulous. He's hardly ever out here on the west coast, so who knows when I'll catch up with him again...sigh. Hope you had a great turnout Jeremy, and I hope you sold a ton of books.

2010 BC BOOK PRIZES

Last night was the BC Book Prize gala. It was awesome, and the food was sooo good, but the best thing of all was being in a huge room full of people where everyone there loves books as much as you do.

I was honored to be asked to announce one of the awards. Several people asked me to post my comments. Here they are.

I'm honored to have been asked to present the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize, supported by Kate Walker & Co. and awarded to author & Illustrator of picture books, picture book stories, illustrated non-fiction books. This is a relatively recent prize, and is particularly important because it divides the awards into two categories whereas previously there was only one; meaning books for babies were weighed against books for teens. Harris, considered the matriarch of Canadian Children's Literature in English, knew how important stories were for children. In her 94 years she wrote 20 books for young people & I am fortunate to have been able to call her a friend. She often began her stories with "I bide the time..."

One of the best ways to support books for children is to buy a book for a child. If you don't have children in your life, you can always donate a book to a school in your community.

Here are the nominees in the category Of illustrated books for children.

Bubble Homes and Fish Farts by Fiona Bayrock, illustrated by Carolyn Conahan, published by Charlesbridge is a creative, innovative and entertaining take on thematic science for young children supported by illustrations that illuminate and compliment the text. Read it for a whole new take on gas.

Ella’s Umbrellas 
by Jennifer Lloyd, illustrated by Ashley Spires and published by Simply Read Books is delightful and the perfect picture book to cheer up young readers on a drizzly day with a rhythmic text, bright illustrations and a message that speaks of good turns rewarded.

Maggie Can’t Wait by Frieda Wishinsky, illustrated by our own Dean Griffiths from here on The Island and published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside is a child centric story built around the conflicting emotions children sometimes experience when a new sibling arrives. The illustrations admirably capture the emotional range of the characters in a way that make them jump off the page.

On My Walk 
by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Christina Leist
 and published by Tradewind Books is a celebration of sounds heard by a boy, his mom and his dog on a walk. It’s told with onomatopoeic flare with the story complimented and extended by the illustrations.

Vanishing Habitats by Robert Bateman with Nancy Kovacs, illustrated by Robert Bateman and published by Scholastic Canada / Madison Press is a hopeful, engaging environmental science book for the young that does not sugarcoat the extent or significance of habitat loss. It is visually stunning, making it all the more powerful in it's message.

...and the winner is Maggie Can't Wait by Frieda Wishinski and Dean Griffins. Frieda was unable to attend but Dean is here to accept.

I only wish I could share Dean's acceptance speech here with you. It was very very moving.

Happy Earth Day plus and update

Earth Day update: Here's another great title that I missed. Check out Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals.

Hey it's Earth Day, so do something for our planet with the help of books...eat locally, walk or take the bus instead of driving...bring cloth bags to the grocery store...carry a reusable water bottle...anything to help our planet...and pass the word along.

Back Home

Back from a great trip to Calgary and the Young Author's Conference. The writing groups I had were great, and it was good to hear Michael Kusugak give the keynote. I haven't seen him for ages, and aside from being a little grayer, he was as charming as ever. He told a couple of stories I'd heard him tell before, but the highlight was his string stories. He has a new book out which has gotten great reviews so check it out. One of the things I love about this conference is running into old friends like Michael, Dennis Foon (check out the trailer to his new family movie, A Shining of Rainbows), author John Wilson, and author/illustrator Deborah Turney Zagwin.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

So, I was trying to decide what to bring this afternoon to read on the plane to Calgary where I'll be doing a couple of Young Author workshops. I was considering the second in the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen, but when I went looking through my "to be read" pile, which, by the way, has grown into a pile plus a whole bookshelf...all I could find was the third book. (:

I'll just have to let romance go until I can hit one of my fav. independent bookstores to pick up the second book. While looking, I did run across a fantasy title that my friend's son gave me for Xmas. It isn't new, but The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss did win the Quill Award, and I noticed that Ursula LeGuin blurbed it and I love her books, so I think I'll give it shot and let you know how it goes when I get back.

Eric Walters and Impossible 2 Possible

So this morning I was going through my email and heard from friend and fellow author Eric Walters. Now Eric always has something crazy on the go; sometimes it involves tigers at book launches, or a press release in New York with NBA players, or building schools in Africa, so I opened up his message with interest. "I wonder what Eric's up to these days," I asked myself. But even from a guy whose been full of surprises over the years, Eric's news was a bit of a shocker. It seems he's hooked up with high performance athlete Ray Zahab and the Impossible 2 Possible Team. The plan is to run 250 kilometers across sand dunes and hard pack of the Sahara Desert in Tunisia to raise funds for Ryan's Well Foundation. Now I have to tell you that Eric is no elite athlete; I'm not saying he's in terrible shape. It's just that he's an average guy my age who lives in the suburbs, has kids, and plays a little recreational sports when he has time...But there is something just a little bit different about Eric and you only need to have a short conversation with him to know what that is...the guy is crazy committed to making the world a better place for kids. An even more obvious thing about Eric is that his commitment is infectious. So, this brings me to back to his latest venture. All I can say is I'm glad it's you Eric and not me pitting yourself against an unforgiving environment while trying to keep up with much younger elite athletes. I'll be watching the video feeds and following the blogs that will be broadcast to schools across North America though Eric. And I know a whole lot of other people will be too. The well of funds that this crazy venture brings in is gonna cost you in aches and pains that you've never imagined buddy. But then I'm guessing you know that. I'm also guessing that wild horses wouldn't be able to stop you from doing it. Way to go Eric and good luck.

You or your school can help Eric out by raising funds and donating online at the above website.

Yeah Calgary Young Authors' Festival

Calgary Young Authors' Festival is coming up this weekend. I love going to this festival. It's a district-wide one day program for kids from grades 4-10 who love writing or illustrating. The teachers are fantastic, and so are the 1200 or so kids who attend every year. While I'll only see about 50 in two separate workshops, they'll pack the high school gym for the keynote speech. This year my workshop, Rock Your Writing, is going to be on editing. Sound boring?...No way! Editing is the heart and soul of any creative profession. I've asked kids to bring in a first page and will take them through a couple of different ways to edit. We'll be ditching the passive voice, blasting boring verbs out of existence, and trolling for the perfect hook to reel in readers. We'll be cutting and pasting and building characters that jump off the page. I'm so excited.

I'm just hoping that any and all snow storms hold off until after I've come and gone. Now that I think about it, a chinook wouldn't hurt either!

In the meantime though, the rest of the week is work work work on the new novel.

Shine of Rainbows

Thought I'd pass along this bit of news from my film-maker friend Dennis Foon. His new family movie, Shine of Rainbows will be opening this weekend in Vancouver, Langley and Victoria. It's based on the Lillian Beckwith novel of the same name. Go see it if you get the chance.

Cinemark Tinseltown in Vancouver

Cineplex Colossus in Langley

Empire University 4 in Victoria

Here's the link for the trailer.