Author Archives: Deborah Hodge

Phoenix Highlights

I’m back from Phoenix, which I’m pleased to report, was a sensational experience! Over the next few days, I’ll jot down some detailed thoughts about the weekend conference (and will post some photos), but for now, I’ll list a few highlights. 

Highlights:
* Meeting the amazing folks in our audience: dedicated literacy specialists, teachers and reading coaches from all over North America. I couldn’t imagine a more passionate, committed group of reading enthusiasts anywhere. 
* Hearing the other authors on the program talk about their books. Wow! They were inspiring.
* Feeling the warm sun on my waterlogged Vancouver skin
Surprises:
* Phoenix folks were wearing sweaters and jackets. They thought it was cold!
* Hearing the Phoenix radio announcer say that in the chilly Canadian city that Obama visited (Ottawa), people ice-skate to work.
* Picking an orange growing in a tree outside my hotel.
I’ll post again in the next day or two, with more thoughts on the conference, but for now I’d like to send a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful folks who attended our symposium, and shared their thoughts on teaching, children’s books and their love for reading. Thank you, thank you!

Phoenix Bound!


My Keynote presentation is finished, my bathing suit is bought, my bags are (almost) packed, and my passport is at the ready. I’m flying to sunny Phoenix tomorrow to speak at the International Reading Association conference with my pals and fellow authors, Linda Bailey and Margriet Ruurs. (See my earlier post here to refresh your memory.) Wish us luck!

I’ll post a full report on my return. 🙂

Cheers!

Waiter Rant


I spent the weekend reading Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip — Confessions of a Cynical Waiter, and wondering which type of restaurant customer I am. Judging by this book, there are almost no good customers (including me!). I’ll never ask to switch tables again. This book was a fun read, and a revealing one (possibly more revealing than you’d ever want it to be). I had trouble putting it down.

It began as a blog, written by an anonymous, disgruntled waiter working at a New York fine dining restaurant, and quickly gathered a following. An agent who happened to read the blog, offered to represent the waiter (Steve Dublanica) and between the two of them, they ended up with an instant New York Times Bestseller. Now there’s a good reason to blog!

Phoenix Reading Conference


Winter weather getting you down? Consider flying to sunny Phoenix, Arizona for the International Reading Association conference, Feb. 21-25. I’ll be there with local authors, Linda Bailey and Margriet Ruurs. We’re part of a team presenting a day-long symposium titled: 


Spinning Multiple Genres Into Classroom Gold: Writers of fiction, poetry and nonfiction share their expertise, while the 2007 Teacher of the Year weaves their books together with practical classroom writing activities. (See our listing here, under Institute 8.)
I am busily preparing my presentation these days, and getting very familiar with Keynote (the Mac version of PowerPoint). It seems that nothing I ever do is quick. Sigh. But I’m learning a lot, and enjoying the creative part of structuring a presentation with multiple images.
Besides that, I’m bathing suit shopping. No easy task, either. 🙂
Sunny weather, here I come!

Thank you, South Slope School!


I spent two wonderful days this week at South Slope Elementary School in Burnaby, and want to thank everyone there: the staff, students, interpreters and, most of all, Holly Lloyd, the amazing teacher/librarian who invited me. All of you made me feel enormously welcome. 

For interested folks, you can read up on the school here.
After spending time at South Slope, I am now keen to learn some sign language. It was an inspiring couple of days.
Thank you, again, South Slope Elementary!

Thank you!

A big bouquet of metaphorical flowers to Renee Norman and her students for hosting a wonderful afternoon at Fraser Valley University yesterday! Thank you so much for inviting me to be part of your day. It was heartening to see all of you future teachers, and to converse with you about students, books and learning. An extra thank you to Natalie for kindly selling our books and to David for his kind introduction. I wish you all the best of luck in your careers!

Afternoon of Children’s Literature


I’ve been kindly invited to speak to Education students at an “Afternoon of Children’s Literature Event” at the University of Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, on Wednesday. The other speakers, with whom I share the afternoon, are Ellen Schwartz and Robert Heidebreder, both friends of mine and accomplished authors. All three of us are former teachers, and have been asked to speak about our books and how our teaching backgrounds inform our writing. 

Robert (Bob) is a recently retired Kindergarten/Grade 1 teacher who won the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Wow! That’s an inspiring award! He specializes in creating wonderful, lively poetry for young children. Ellen is a versatile author, who capably leaps across multiple genres including: picture books, juvenile and YA novels, as well as nonfiction for the intermediate grades. For more information on my talented pals, check out these web links for Ellen and Bob.

It should be a fun afternoon! 

Irish YA Books















I’ve just finished reading two superb Irish YA books: Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd and War Children by Gerard Whelan. Both are powerful works of fiction that taught me far more about “The Troubles” than I’ve ever learned from a history book. 

In case you’re interested, here’s the cover description for Bog Child:

“Digging for peat in the mountain with his Uncle Tally, Fergus finds the body of a child, and it looks like she’s been murdered. As Fergus tries to make sense of the mad world around him – his brother on hunger-strike in prison, his growing feelings for Cora, his parents arguing over the Troubles, and him in it up to the neck, blackmailed into acting as courier to God knows what, a little voice comes to him in his dreams, and the mystery of the bog child unfurls.” 

“Bog Child is an astonishing novel exploring the sacrifices made in the name of peace, and the unflinching strength of the human spirit.”


And for War Children: 

“Six stories — one set in Dublin, the others in the countryside — about children who get caught up in the War of Independence and suffer dire consequences.”

“These stories bring to life one of the most dramatic periods in Irish history.”


They’re sobering books, but well worth reading. I highly recommend them!

Barista or writer?


This blog space has been a little quiet of late, and for that, I apologize. I had twice planned to write about being snowed in, storm-stayed and cabin-fevered, but I wasn’t sure anyone other than like-stranded Vancouverites would have the tiniest bit of sympathy for me. After 3 weeks of having my car buried under snow, and the road in front of the house impossible to traverse unless you owned a 4-wheel drive, I may venture out tomorrow. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, I’ve been hard at work compiling book images for a Powerpoint presentation I’m giving in Phoenix, Arizona in February. (No snow there!) The snow here (or at least being held captive by it), has also been instrumental in helping (forcing) me to ponder my next book projects. More on those soon…
While considering a particular book project today, I had an email exchange with the talented author of the Blue Jean Book, Tanya Kyi. We ended up debating the merits of a career as a barista. For your reading pleasure, I’d like to direct you to her conclusions here.
Now, I’m going to the kitchen to make myself a double shot latte.
Cheers!

2008 Retrospective

As the last minutes of 2008 tick away, I’m thinking about what a grand year it’s been. I launched my new book series (Who Lives Here?), travelled to China (see photos below) and had the enormous pleasure of meeting my lovely twin grandbabies, born two weeks ago. I’m so grateful for it all! 
Happy New Year, everyone!

Here I am in Shanghai, on the famous river walkway, called the Bund.

Here’s me with the Big Guy, who kindly invited me along on his conference trip to China. This was a shopping day at the Old Town Bazaar, Shanghai’s version of Granville Island.

Here I am with Betsey from Boston, another conference attendee. Behind us is a view of the Huangpu River and downtown Shanghai (known as Pudong).

This photo was snapped in a beautiful park in a serene area of Shanghai, known as the French Concession. People come to the park to practice Tai Chi, and spend time among the lovely greenery.
A busy Shanghai shopping street called Nanjing Lu, similar to Vancouver’s own Robson Street. There were huge crowds the day we strolled it. It’s not an experience for the faint of heart!

This is People’s Square, a large open area where Shanghai locals congregate, and listen to music or sit on benches and eat their lunch. The Shanghai Museum and Art Museum are near.
We were amazed to see this bamboo scaffolding on many buildings. Apparently, bamboo is an incredibly strong material. It seemed ingenius!
China is a wonderful place, and although I only saw a small bit of Shanghai, my appetite has been whetted for all things Asia. I can hardly wait to return. Maybe in 2009! 🙂
Happy New Year! Health and happiness to you all!