Author Archives: Deborah Hodge

Happy Earth Day

In honour of Earth Day, I am posting this lovely piece of art from our upcoming book, West Coast Wild Rainforest, to be published next spring. It is the fourth in our West Coast Wild series. Karen Reczuch, illustrator extraordinaire, and I have loved creating these books! We had many fun west coast adventures that helped us in our vision and research.

Karen’s art for this new book is complete and I can promise that every page is gorgeous! We can hardly wait for the book to be printed and on the shelves.

For now, I hope you enjoy this illustration of a family walking through a west coast rainforest at the edge of the Pacific Ocean – as we did many times. We are forever in awe of the giant trees!

Maybe you are visiting a forest or the seashore to celebrate Earth Day. Whatever activity you have chosen, we hope it is a wonderful one.

Happy Earth Day!

Forest Giants

Last fall, Karen Reczuch and I spent some fabulous days wandering through the magnificent rainforests of the Pacific west coast.

We were on a research trip so that Karen might see these towering trees and lush forests as references for the art on our upcoming book — the fourth in our West Coast Wild series. At every step, we were enthralled with the gorgeous ecosystem of coastal forests on the Pacific Ocean.

Karen is hard at work on the final art now, painting glorious pictures, I’m sure. We will fill you in on more about the book in the days ahead but, for now, here are a couple of the photos of the spectacular forest giants we encountered on our adventures.

Sometimes I Feel Like a River

To my surprise and delight, I received a beautiful new book in the mail this week!

Sometimes I Feel Like a River is the most recent title by the talented Danielle Daniel, with lovely art by Josée Bisaillon, and published by Groundwood Books.

It is a lyrical ode to nature in all its forms (river, sun, rain, forest, clouds and more) told in the form of 12 short poems, and is an inspiring follow-up to the well-loved Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox, also written (and illustrated) by Danielle.

I’m so pleased to have the lovely new title in my hands, and wish I were still teaching so that I could share it with students in my classroom. I happily recommend this gorgeous book that celebrates the natural world – and how its beauty and power surrounds and shapes us all.

Warm Winter Wishes

Is it time for a winter party at your house? Here on the west coast, the snow has turned to rain and our umbrellas are out in full force. A perfect time to gather indoors with friends and family!

If you have children in your midst, they might enjoy the story of Bear’s Winter Party, about a lonely bear who invites the other animals to a winter party at his den, not knowing whether anyone will show up. The creatures of the forest have always been afraid of Bear. But Bear is a wonderful host and would love to make friends.

This gentle story will warm your heart on a cold (or rainy!) winter day. It includes a recipe for Bear’s own Honey Ginger Cookies, and is just right for a winter gathering at your place!

Wishing you a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2023! Cheers!

West Coast Research Trip

Karen Reczuch and I are just back from a trip to the west coast of Vancouver Island, doing research on our upcoming book on the rainforests of the area.

We spent our days hiking through multiple old-growth forests and marvelling at their beauty. Karen took many photographs that will provide the basis for her art in the book, which I know will be stunning!

We stayed in our usual spot on MacKenzie Beach and managed to get in some lovely ocean walks as well. It was an active trip! The photo shown here is at dusk on the cove where our cabin was located. Such a gorgeous setting! We can hardly wait to go back!

Book Warehouse Visit

Thank you to Book Warehouse Main Street for inviting my newest writing pal, Scot Richie, and I to visit their store on Saturday. It was a fun afternoon talking about books and signing copies of our most recent titles.

It is a wonderful store with oodles of great books – I wanted to read them all!

Scot’s book Tug is the story of a tug boat pulling a log boom, as seen through the eyes of a young boy, and is accompanied by charming, colourful art. Being multi-talented, Scot writes and illustrates his own books. You can pick up a copy of Tug at Book Warehouse or at Kidsbooks, my favourite children’s bookstore.

And if you are so inclined, you’ll find my latest books, West Coast Wild at Low Tide and West Coast Wild ABC there, too. Enjoy!

Coastal Books for Kids

I was delighted when my two most recent books West Coast Wild at Low Tide and West Coast Wild ABC were featured in Hakai magazine’s collection of new coastal books for kids. Such lovely reviews! And a real honour to be in the company of so many other wonderful titles.

If you’d like to read about these books, please check out the Hakai article: “Turning the Tide: 13 New Books to Get Kids Reading and Exploring Nature.” 

The gorgeous art shown here illustrates the Hakai article and was created by Roy Henry Vickers. It is the cover image for his new book Ben and the Sea Lion.

Munro’s Books

I’m just back from a visit to lovely Victoria, BC. The sun was shining and the city was as beautiful as always.

Every time I am there, I make sure to stop in at Munro’s Books – a gorgeous store with a wonderful collection of books to peruse and purchase.

A highlight of the trip was the warm welcome by Munro’s staff and being invited to sign copies of my books.

And I made sure to come home with a couple of new novels and a selection of delightful greeting cards tucked under my arm.

Thank you, Munro’s. I’ll be back!

 

 

CBC Radio Interview

A huge thank you to CBC Radio’s Sheryl MacKay for interviewing Karen Reczuch and I on North by Northwest.

We were so happy to be invited to talk about our collaboration as author and illustrator on our West Coast Wild series. If you’d like to listen to us, our interview, begins at the 22:48 mark.

Thank you also to  49th Shelf, who posted our photo essay The Joys of a Wild Collaboration that tells the story of Karen’s and my research trips to the west coast of Vancouver Island.

New Book

Today is a happy day! My new book West Coast Wild at Low Tide has arrived in the world!

I feel lucky to share in the creative process with my collaborative partner, Karen Reczuch, who has painted such beautiful pictures. Together, the two of us have taken multiple trips to the west coast of Vancouver Island to do research and breathe in the wonderful sea air. This wild coastline may be the most spectacular place in the world!

We saw many fascinating creatures  while poking around in tidepools. It was fun to choose the marine animals that kids would find most interesting. (The Giant Pacific octopus is one of them!)

If you’d like to read more about our west coast adventures, please see “The Joys of a Wild Collaboration” that was posted on the 49th Shelf blog. I hope you enjoy it!

And if you’d like to purchase our new book, check your favourite local bookstore or online retailer. Or find it at Groundwood Books, our publisher’s website.

Thank you for your interest!