Posts in Cantastic Authorpalooza

“Why rats?” The man’s voice was thick with scorn, like he’d just stepped in something disgusting. It was 2017, and the first edition of my young adult novel, The Great & the Small, had just come out. Using dual narratives, ... Read More  

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Stephanie Ellen Sy. Take it away, Stephanie! When my pandemic writing group challenged me to try fiction—specifically a children’s story—I knew exactly which ... Read More  

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Karen Krossing. Take it away, Karen! Please take a moment to place both your feet flat on the floor. Can you feel the ... Read More  

Like a dog spotting a squirrel, I’m usually the type to be easily distracted by the next new shiny idea. But sometimes I come across a story and it won’t let go. That was the case when I met ... Read More  

Reach back into your brain and try to remember, who was your first comedic duo? Like many others, I think mine was Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street. Their Cookies In Bed sketch and Here Fishy Fishy sketch still ... Read More  

I woke up with two lines in my head: In the witching hour, The sky turns orange. Just those two lines—but I knew it was something good. Read More  

My earliest memories of books take me back to my hometown of Val d’Or, Quebec, lying in bed, reading Winnie the Pooh. In Toronto, when I was a bit older, I saved up my money (50 cents!), walked to ... Read More  

In our hyper-online world, we worry about the effect our devices are having on us—and especially on our children. We strategize ways to disconnect from social media, from apps, from the dopamine machines we carry around in our pockets. Read More  

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Jennifer Maruno. Take it away, Jennifer! Chidori is the story of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, told from the point of view ... Read More  

Like many tweens, one of my biggest fears growing up was embarrassing myself. I was so scared of looking silly in front of my classmates that I often didn’t let myself try new things—from learning a new dance or ... Read More  

I was waist-deep in research about fourth industrial revolution technologies (4IR) when, many drafts later, I'd landed on the topic of wearables—technology that's on, in, or attached to your body. The topic cast a spell on me. I had to ... Read More  

I came to writing for children late in life, well after my own children had grown and left home. But books and stories have always been a big part of my life, even before my mother taught me to ... Read More  

Like most authors, I use the world around me - especially my own world of experience – to create stories for young readers. So it’s not hard to identify the spark that ignited my latest Middle Grade novel, After ... Read More  

Playdates at our home got my super-social daughter, Annaliis, excited. She also loved going to birthday parties, but an even bigger highlight was a playdate at a friend’s home. However, these were rare as she was born with disabilities ... Read More  

Creating new things. Sometimes beautiful things. We rarely know the deep origins, or why a particular “something” begins to wiggle, and then morph into a new creative work. Read More  

My Grammie’s House (Tundra) beautifully illustrated by Skye Ali, was inspired by the best kinds of childhood memories- the ones that bring back a sense of comfort and contentment. The child in the story gives a tour to potential ... Read More  

I began writing Amelia & Me, the first book in the Ginny Ross Series, when Amelia Earhart dropped into my family history. The convergence of Amelia’s history with my own was an opportunity I couldn’t ignore. It was 1932, ... Read More  

A mother and daughter love to canoe on the little lake at their family cabin. With her mother expecting a new baby, their paddling time together provides a perfect opportunity to explore local flora and fauna and for the ... Read More