
Category Archives: authors


The Girl Who Writes
The Girl Who Writes, a picture book by Richard Cole and K. Jane Watt.
My new favourite picture book is a delicate, powerful story of a girl who uses her imagination.
She reads every book she can get her hands on but soon realizes that she need to tell her own stories.
“I know that with a bit of ink and 26 letters, I can make new worlds,” she says.
With her head full of images of kings and dragons and far-away places, but also with the splash of salmon and beaver in a nearby eddy, she writes. Her teacher and a writing contest encourage her to keep writing, even if her father says that she needs to get her head out of the clouds.
Perhaps this is how writers are made. I know this could be my personal story.
But it definitely is a story that will resonate with all those who love to use their imagination and dream of new world. A great gift for your favourite writer-friend!
http://fentonstreet.ca/projects/the-girl-who-writes/
ISBN 978-0-9917146-1-2

Author Visits
As a writer of books for children there is nothing more fun than to share my books with kids. Author visits are popular at schools across North America, but also at international schools. I have been lucky enough to travel to international schools across Europe, Asia, Africa and beyond.
I have made some life-long friends among teachers and librarians who share my love to literacy and travel.
Highlights include bringing books to nomad children in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, reading stories to children in Lahore, Pakistan, handing out books to children in Myanmar and many others.
Attached is an article about my recent visits to schools in Kenya and Ethiopia. I love the added bonus of learning about different cultures and now also write a travel blog:
https://globetrottinggrandparents.wordpress.com
Visiting international schools has led me to write books of a more international nature. My latests books include titles such as Families Around The World and School Days Around The World. Coming out in 2017 will be Birthdays Around The World as well as The Elephant Keeper, a book about my visit to an elephant orphanage in Zambia.
As I plan my next tour of schools in the Middle East, I often pinch myself and marvel at the fact that I am so lucky to be able to combine my passion for writing with my passion for travel.
The Underneat by Kathi Appelt
The Underneath, Kathi Appelt.
Simon & Schuster, ISBN 978-1-84738-311-2
This book.
What a book it is.
Not poetry really, but such a story.
Woven around some kittens and a hound.
This story is dark, heavy, gripping. Yet light as a feather. I couldn’t put it down – wanted to taste the words and swirl them around on my tongue. How does one author make such words, put them in such a delicious order?
This author.
She is a story spinner.
Some stories are built on strong characters, with strong settings. A plot.
This story has all that, spun out of wonderful words.
It draws you in, like the whirlpools in the dark river in the story.
I was scared. Scared for the kittens and the hound.
Scared of the snake and the gators.
Scared of the darkness of the man.
But there was light, too.
Light of love, and hope.
Always hope. Hope for a happy ending…
This is a story to read aloud, share with children the story this author spins.
If you are a writer, read these words. See how she spun them. Into a story that will tug at your heart strings. A story of love and friendship. A story of deep running hatred. A scary story that is beautiful.
Part folklore, part fairytale. A tale set in the south.
A tale that you will not soon forget.
Oh, such a tale.
Awards for The Underneath:
- Borders “Original New Voices”
- Book Sense “Pick of the Week”
- Starred review, Booklist Magazine
- Top Ten Bestsellers, Indie Bound
- Finalist, The National Book Awards
- John Newbery Honor Book, ALA
- Finalist, Heart of Hawick Children’s Book Award
- PEN Center USA Award Children’s Literature
- Winner, Writer’s League of TX Award for Children’s Literature
- New York Times Bestseller
On Writing by Stephen King
On Writing, Stephen King
Let me beginning with confessing that I am not a fan of Stephen King’s novels. I’m not ‘into’ horror at all, even though they are, undoubtedly, well written horror stories.
However, horrible as the writing life can sometimes be – what with rejections and all – his book On Writing is a spot-on, often funny reflection on the profession.
I found it to be a helpful encouraging, down-to-earth guide for writers at all stages of their career. The book does not make things more rosy than they are. It states clearly the not even attempt to write for publishing if you don’t have anything to say. But it does make it clear how exciting a writer’s life can be if you love research and storytelling.
“Long live the King,” said Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King’s On Writing: Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 — and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.
Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it — fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told. If you are serious at wanting to be a writer, get it.
Mass Market Paperback, 297 pages
ISBN 0743455967
Feature Movie: Library of the Early Mind
This documentary film explores children’s literature! Hooray for the creators, and those authors and illustrators interviewed.
OK, it’s very much American. Too bad they did not include some Canadian, or more international authors of children’s literature to give the study a broader scope.
Authors like Anthony Brown or Dick Bruna whose books are widely read in North America could have added a more worldly perspective.
However, this is an admirable production.
The accompanying website states that:
From the first stories we hear told to us to those childhood heroes that stay with us a lifetime, the impact on our culture runs deeper than what we might expect. “No one suspects the children’s writer,” says author and illustrator Mo Willems, a former ‘Sesame Street’ writer.
The film features nearly 40 prominent authors and illustrators talking about their work, its genesis and its impact. The number of books in print by the authors in ‘Library of the Early Mind’ exceeds 240 million.
It can be rented online to view directly on your computer, or you can purchase the DVD via the website. Check also to see if it is available in your local library.