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Writing or Illustrating Children’s Books

Are you interested in finding out about how to write or illustrate a children’s book and get it published? Do you live in Vancouver area? If so, you may be interested in an upcoming event at the Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch, on Tuesday, March 11 at 6:30 pm.

WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING KID’S BOOKS: THE INSIDE STORY.

Listen to a panel of professional children’s authors and illustrators and find out how they broke into this exciting and competitive field, and built their careers. Ask them anything!

Find out:

  •  How to improve your writing
  •  How to find a publisher and submit your work
  •  What agents do
  •  What to look for in a book contract
  •  What the financial rewards are

The panelists include: Nikki Bergstresser, Hayley Lowe, Cynthia Mackey, Kirsten Pendreigh, and Pam Withers, and the discussion is moderated by Ellen Schwartz. All are members of CWILL BC, the Children’s Writers and Illustrators of British Columbia.

The event takes place at VPL, Central Branch, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. It’s a joint event between the library and CWILL BC, and it’s always a wonderful, informative and entertaining night! I highly recommend it!

The One and Only Question

My dear friend and long-time colleague, Norma Charles, and her daughter, Andrea Charles, have a lovely new picture book: The One and Only Question, illustrated by Ken Daley and published by Groundwood Books.

It tells the story of Zeke’s first day at his new school and how his head is filled with one big question: What will he do when they call him the N-word like they did at his old school?

As little frustrations mount during the day—a boring class, a mustard stain on his favourite shirt— Zeke is prepared for the worst when a classmate approaches him in the schoolyard. But it’s not to bully him—it’s to spread kindness. Told with compassion and sensitivity, this story of a child finding safety and friendship in the classroom will help educators address racism-based bullying.

Ken Daley’s vibrant illustrations bring warmth and humour to the story, while showing hints of what makes this new school a safer space.

The One and Only Question will prompt young readers to ask questions of their own about how to handle bullying — while also encouraging conversations about everyone’s right to a safe learning environment.

The book includes an author’s note explaining the authors’ personal connection to this story, as well as a list of suggestions about what to do about racism-based bullying to help educators, caregivers and victims.

Congratulations, Norma and Andrea! It is a wonderful and important book!

Wild Baby Animals

My daughter was visiting early childcare centres in Powell River last week and was happy and surprised to see my book, West Coast Wild Baby Animals on display. Fun to see the little eagle stuffie beside it, too!

It made me very happy to see that small children of the area will have the opportunity to read and learn about the charming creatures of our beautiful west coast. My favourite part of being a writer? Knowing that my books have found their way into the hands of young readers!

January Thoughts

January can be a long month, with weather that is cold and dreary, so what’s a writer to do? Read more and write more! Bundled up inside the house and finding inviting words on the page is a lovely pastime. Wishing you a happy January and many good books to read!

And if you need a bit of January inspiration, here’s a quote (in the spirit of the month) from poet and essayist, T. S. Eliot:

“Every moment is a fresh beginning.”
— T.S. Eliot

Happy New Year!

We made it through another lovely (hectic!) holiday season, and I am grateful for the good times with family and friends. As 2025 begins, I am looking both forward and back. I am excited about three upcoming books that I’ve been working hard on – and include two books in a new series and a little board book. (More about those later.)

While going through some files recently, and in the spirit of looking back, I came across a photo, taken some years ago, of beloved writer friends and I at a colleague’s book launch at Vancouver Kidsbooks. I remember it being a wonderful evening of meeting up with friends and extending our warm congratulations to our colleague.

In memory of that evening, and with gratitude for the dear writing friends I’ve made over the years, I am sharing the photo here. From left to right are: Glen Huser, the late Irene Watts, Linda Bailey and I.

Happy New Year to you all!

Stories Come Alive

In a happy circumstance, I was delighted to be invited to include my story, Bear’s Winter Party, to become part of an annual online Advent calendar, created by the UK charity Roundabout Dramatherapy. It is an organization that works to transform the lives of vulnerable people with mental health issues through the use of dramatherapy.

My book was selected for December 23, and yesterday I got to watch the wonderful actor Nicola Martinus-Smith bring the story and characters to life with her lovely reading of it. If there are young children in your circle, they might enjoy watching the video, as well as seeing the festive stories for the other days of December.

Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday! Cheers!

Warm Winter Wishes

As the year draws to an end, I am feeling grateful for many things: family, friends, a warm home and a stack of books to read and write.

I adore these sweet little Douglas squirrel babies in their cozy nest, staying warm and dry in the ancient tree of the coastal rainforest. What a lovely place to be! This charming illustration is from our book, West Coast Wild Rainforest, full of gorgeous paintings by Karen Reczuch.

Here on the west coast, we will be having a green holiday — no snow on the horizon as yet. Wherever you are, snow or no snow, I wish you a warm, cozy and happy holiday season.

The Shortest Day

We are approaching the shortest day of the year, when darkness stays late in the morning and comes early in the evening. I love to watch the changing season and ruminate about the time when the days get longer again. There is always hope just around the corner.

For now, in these quiet moments leading up to the shortest day, I think about warmth and light, and wish you health and happiness as we proceed through the winter season.

Children’s Literature Roundtable

I recently attended a lovely weekend afternoon tea hosted by the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable. It was the annual gathering to announce the Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picturebook of the Year Award. Congratulations to Sydney Smith for Do You Remember? published by Groundwood Books.

The late Sheila Barry, who was my wonderful long-time editor and publisher, was a gem! I think she would be so pleased by Sydney’s win. I remember her thinking, as he started out, that he was such a gifted artist and she was thrilled to publish his work.

This charming illustration is by Kathryn Shoemaker, who works tirelessly to organize all the events for the Roundtable organization. Tea anyone? And she makes the room look beautiful every time! Thank you to her and all who are involved.

The Rainy West Coast

The rains continue on the west coast! We don our rain gear and put up our umbrellas and venture out into a sodden world. But we don’t complain because we know that the rain feeds the plants and the forest and gives us a lush green world by the time spring comes.

As the rain falls, I am thinking of the creatures of the forest who are preparing for the onset of winter. The bears have gobbled up the salmon and will soon head into their dens for a long winter nap.

This led me to my friend Bear, the sweet character from Bear’s Winter Party, who prepares for his winter sleep by hosting a party in his den for all his forest friends. Like Bear, I love to open my home to family and friends and cook for them. And now seems a great time to do so! Honey ginger cookies, anyone?