Full disclosure–my local Burlington Public Library stocks one copy of my 2024 novel Blue to the Sky and when I vanity search to see if someone’s taken it out, there are suggestions of what to read “while you are waiting.” I love reading middle-grade novels, so I try to read all the books they are recommending (instead of buying another copy of my book. LOL.) I love The Summer of June and for once I can see some comparison here. June struggles to overcome anxiety and her single mom worries nonstop about helping her. June finds friendship and discovers a passion for nurturing a garden and this gives her a couple of coping tools. My character Ella writes out her feelings in poetry and step by step engages with her fear of presenting and reciting all the while training to climb the CN Tower stairs. He mother over-protects her because of her multiple allergies. If the two stories don’t seem too similar, trust me there’s an eerie similar feel. Also trust me that none of the other books my library wants readers to read while they’re waiting, are any where as close. Water melon pie–mentioned as Mom’s go to hit at bake sales and dinners in The Summer of June–I had to make some but as I tried a vegan recipe, it was a bust. I wish Jamie Sumner would have included Mom’s recipe.
From left to right, Lana Button, Jennifer Mook-Sang, Jennifer Maruno, Anitha Rao-Robinson, Jennifer Faria, Sylvia McNicoll
Bringing fun to reading and writing, that’s always been my goal. The joy of meeting the author–that should be accessible to all and it should start when you’re a child. Which is why every year I apply to the City of Burlington Culture Fund to give kids an up-close experience with a writer from their own town. I call the project “Authors in your Neighborhood.” This year we have five writers and one illustrator to create with the kids: Lana Button in August, Jennifer Maruno is September, Anitha Rao-Robinson in November, Jennifer Faria, our illustrator, in December and me to finish off our program with an all family invited fun afternoon of playing with words. As a bonus, we also have a picture book panel in the Literary Festival so everyone can learn about the process of creating. Watch for the Burlington Library eblasts and register.
Heather Camlot, Amanda West Lewis, Sylvia McNicoll(me), Mitali Ruths and Katherine Battersby at Babar Books Kickoff for Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
You can write the best story ever but if a book lands on a bookshelf and no one notices, it doesn’t get read. Canadian kids’ books compete with those from the behemouth to the south, complete with Hollywood platforms, full colour illustrations and sparkling covers. One of our publicity paths is visiting schools. We talk about writing process in conjunction with our creations and intrigue the students, not only with reading our books, but possibly writing their own stories. And there’s a side product. We are Canadian success stories and if we can do it, so can they. Not only with writing but all the other dreams they have. Thanks to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre I visited Quebec City classrooms, a German International school, many Montreal classrooms as well as (Mohawk) Akwesasne School, a dream of mine. I know my friend-a-leagues and I had fun and were inspired by the kids too!
Teaching grade 5 at Alexander Von Humboldt how to mind read with dogs.
Yes, kids still want to read books especially after they’ve met the author. Book Week clearly proved this to me.
What better way to celebrate a new book that to do it with a friend. Double the fun, double the cupcakes! I think what you’ll love about the two totally different novels is the characters. In Blue to the Sky, quirky 12 year-old Allergic-to-Everything Ella is determined to conquer her fear of public speaking by reciting her food allergy poem from the top of the CN Tower. In The Go-Between, Brave Sumi, Japanese Canadian girl,tackles her first summer job away from home while facing some heavy prejudice.
Join Jennifer Maruno and me as we chat about writing process, give a short reading and autograph your books. Bring young readers and writers!
Allergic-to-Everything girl comes alive in this book trailer for Blue to the Sky! 12 year old Ella is one of my favourite characters ever. You’ll love her. She’s so quirky.
Happy to have been selected to tour, in person, the province I think of as my long lost home, Quebec. For these tours, the cost drops significantly so it’s a great opportunity for a school to engage their young readers with a writer they may not know yet. Having written for 35 years and visited libraries and schools across Canada for the same amount of time, I think of myself as a grandmother of literacy.. I love the kids and my work. Passion inspires across the board, not just for reading and writing. You’ll see if you host me. Because the profile I’ve posted here is a screen shot, the pink hyperlink button won’t work. Here’s the application link, nice and long: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfPAM6jf7KIl2RN9LgJ2AzZ9swgizIOojcGXxcj8v07gQXTAg/viewform?pli=1
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