Tuesday, November 24, 2015

What a Party!



I was in Toronto last weekend taking part in a celebration of fall titles from Groundwood Books. And what an amazing weekend it was!

The event took place at the Koffler Centre of the Arts, a venue that had a lovely vintage-style theatre, with plush red seats and excellent lighting. Children and families, and booklovers from the Toronto area turned up to hear readings from the authors and watch the talented illustrators draw.

Following each reading, the children were invited to move to the centre’s cafĂ© and common area to create a book-related craft. I saw wonderful masks to complement Danielle Daniel’s book Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox and charming farm scenes to accompany Grant and Tillie Go Walking by Monica Kulling and Sydney Smith. There were also pirate hats to go with the story Buddy and Earl by Maureen Fergus and Carey Sookocheff. For my book, West Coast Wild, the children made glittering jellyfish with long waving tendrils cut out of ribbon.

There were yummy snacks, mugs of coffee and tea, and a congenial feeling all around as parents chatted and children played. Authors, illustrators and booklovers from near and far got to know one another. It couldn’t have been a better afternoon. :-)

Many thanks to Groundwood Books for hosting such a successful and enjoyable event!





Sunday, November 1, 2015

It's a Party!


My lovely and amazing publisher, Groundwood Books, has kindly invited me to Toronto in a few weeks (Nov. 21) to talk to children about my new book West Coast Wild. It's bound to be a fun afternoon, with a lively group of Groundwood authors and illustrators showing their latest works, and leading delightful craft activities that are theme-related to the books. (Would you like to make a sparkling jellyfish?)

If you are in the area, please join us! Check out the poster above for all the details. 

Hope to see you there!