News and Notes from the Field

For those unfamiliar, Science Literacy Week is an annual event that celebrates the messy, astounding, wonder-filled thing that is the scientific method and all the knowledge it gives us. It's a time to learn about science, do some science, ... Read More  

When I wrote SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS, a middle grade novel set in a funeral home, I actually didn’t think much about the science around death. My book is about grief and friendships and what happens to us when ... Read More  

I never meant to write about a story about death; not in the traditional “I’ve lost everybody I love” or the “I’m about to lose someone I really love” sense. After writing several dark and relatively painful manuscripts, I ... Read More  

The Boreal Forest has been nominated for a Red Cedar Award! The Red Cedars are British Columbia's children's choice awards, and I am SO EXCITED to know that kids across British Columbia will be reading my book this school ... Read More  

First things first: I am now fully vaxxed - woohooo! - and even though the second dose knocked me flat, I am intensely grateful for it, because next week I get to see my (also vaxxed) Dad and Not-So-Evil-Stepmother ... Read More  

In my presentations, when I ask my young audiences to define a carnival, often, they talk about the rides, costumes and music.  Carnival is also the celebration in which rich foods are eaten before the start of Lent, the ... Read More  

So, how's everyone doing out there? Frustrated? Exhausted? Burnt out? Yeah. Me too. I've been trying to figure out why I'm so tired - usually after I realize I've been staring into the middle distance for an unknown number of minutes ... Read More  

I am well and truly honoured by this news! The Forest of Reading is a children's choice award program, and knowing that kids across the country thought my book was good enough to vote for? That's both humbling and ... Read More  

After I finished writing my first book, Trash Revolution, I found myself continuing to research the broken cycle of production-consumption-waste. It made me think about some of the reasons we become consumers, and why we support the companies we ... Read More  

The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World's Largest Land Biome, has been nominated for a Yellow Cedar Award in the 2021 Forest of Reading! I am both thrilled and honoured to be in such great company, so I've ... Read More  

If you've been following the last three Teach Write columns on managing and organizing research, today is the day: the day we put it all together into a streamlined, efficient workflow. Note that this the method I've arrived at over ... Read More  

The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World's Largest Land Biome, has been nominated for a Yellow Cedar Award in the 2021 Forest of Reading! I am both thrilled and honoured to be in such great company, so I've ... Read More  

Picture books can be a safe place to have a difficult conversation. A picture book can sometimes tell a hard story in a manner that lands safely for a young reader, and hopefully leaves them feeling inspired. That was ... Read More  

The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World's Largest Land Biome, has been nominated for a Yellow Cedar Award in the 2021 Forest of Reading! I am both thrilled and honoured to be in such great company, so I've ... Read More  

OK. We've talked about how to take notes and how to track our sources, either manually or using a reference manager. Today I'm going to discuss another fabulous app for writers: Scrivener. The combination of Endnote (reference manager) and Scrivener ... Read More  

The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World's Largest Land Biome, has been nominated for a Yellow Cedar Award in the 2021 Forest of Reading! I am both thrilled and honoured to be in such great company, so I've ... Read More  

As I write this, it is less than a week before my first book, The Beekeepers, is released.* I am thrilled, ecstatic, and excited! But to be honest, I am also a bit scared. Will readers like it? Will ... Read More  

The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World's Largest Land Biome, has been nominated for a Yellow Cedar Award in the 2021 Forest of Reading! I am both thrilled and honoured to be in such great company, so I've ... Read More