I’ll be at Roxanne’s Reflections in Fergus on May 2 to help raise awareness and have some fun on Authors for Indies Day.
It’s a way for authors to support independent bookstores and thank them for all that they do for us. We will be talking about books, recommending books and doing some readings and signings.
Happy World Read Aloud Day 2015 – LitWorld’s annual advocacy campaign for the human right of literacy! Some of my fondest memories as a kid are of reading A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books aloud with my mother, each of us taking turns reading the characters’ voices. I always wanted to be Piglet and Tigger, and my mother can still do an excellent Eeyore.
As a parent of young kids, reading before bedtime was an opportunity to connect after a long day, and my kids and I can still recite books like Loris Lesynski’s Dirty Dog Boogie and Robert Munch’s A Promise is a Promise from memory. On family holidays, we always picked a novel to read aloud together. Today, all the books we read aloud together still hold treasured memories.
One special memory came when we were reading The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. My partner and our daughters had travelled to a cabin in Algonquin Park with my parents. I’d carefully selected a book to read aloud that I hoped would interest everyone. After I read a few chapters, I was delighted when my father picked up the book and read the next chapter. He couldn’t wait to find out what happened next, and he greatly enjoyed reading aloud. During that holiday, we passed the book around, taking turns reading. My parents even planned to begin reading aloud together at home.
Another fond memory I have is of my two daughters reading aloud together from books like Camp X by Eric Walters. My eldest would most often read, while the youngest listened, perhaps painting her nails or tidying her room. When my youngest had to leave the room for a moment, she would say, “Pause,” and push her imaginary pause button in the air. My eldest would stop reading, and wait impatiently for her return.
Today, I still enjoy reading aloud with family and with my writing group as we critique each others’ works-in-progress. Reading aloud creates a shared knowledge, a community, and strong relationships. It empowers and it strengthens. On World Read Aloud Day, we can advocate for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology. One book at at time, we can show our support for the right to read, write, and share words that can change the world.
Want to be read to today? Then get cozy and enjoy! You can listen to seven author readings from Fitzhenry and Whiteside Publishers, including Caroline Pignat, Marty Chan, Lisa Dalrymple, Andrew Larsen, Natalie Hyde, Melanie Mosher, and me. Oh happy day with reading in it!
In my workshops for kids and teens, they always have questions about where they can publish and how they should go about it. So I tell them what I can, and I offer my ongoing list of Where Young Authors Can Submit.
I understand how exciting and validating it can be when a story or poem is accepted for publication, and I’m particularly thrilled when marginalized voices get a chance to be heard. But publication isn’t THE goal of my writing workshops.
Personally, I write to understand the world around me in all its complex, painful, fascinating glory. It maims us and then celebrates us. It gives us riches and takes them away. I find endless subject matter to write about by lifting my head and really observing what’s happening around me.
So I hope that, in my workshops, kids and teens can get a taste of that goal and its pleasures.
I also hope to share my awe of words – how they have the power to make me laugh, cry, or feel inspired. I’m continually delighted by the power of words to move me, particularly the brilliant writing that’s composed in only a few minutes during a workshop.
In a letter to high school students in 2006, Kurt Vonnegut wrote:
Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.
Wonderful advice! Is there are loftier purpose for writing? In his letter, Vonnegut goes on to suggest the students write a poem and then tear it up. Then he writes:
You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem. You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what’s inside you, and you have made your soul grow.
Thanks, Vonnegut, for the reminder.
Eva’s Satellite
Last night, I had the pleasure of conducting a writing workshop at Eva’s Satellite, a youth shelter in north Toronto, through the Toronto Public Library‘s outreach program.
My favourite quote from the workshop is from a peer critique: “You create a world in my mind that I want to play in.” I so agree. I witnessed powerful writing. I met honest, interesting people. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
We started the workshop by talking about what they liked to write, which sparked one woman to read from her notebook. The others headed upstairs to get their writing, and we shared and critiqued their worldly observations, cleverly plotted stories, and death metal lyrics.
We then did two writing activities that I’d prepared. One was writing from a prompt using words selected from my word box of powerful and interesting words. We also wrote story scenes from photos by Gregory Crewdson, who captures a “single-frame movie” in each shot. Both times, we shared our writing and discussed technique.
We then critiqued more from their independent writing. I also answered their questions about the submission and publication process, giving a summary of how it all works. I suggested books about writing that could help further their craft. We discussed how to set up a writing group as well.
It was a fascinating group, and all the youth were strong writers who I encourage to continue writing. Everyone, particularly people who may be marginalized, need their voices to be heard.
Reading from BOG at MacNeill SS, Richmond, BC
I’m just back from Vancouver, where I toured local schools and libraries, giving writing workshops and readings. TD Canadian Children’s Book Week is a national celebration of books and reading, organized by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. For one week, touring authors and illustrators bring the magic of books and reading to over 25,000 children and teens. I was thrilled to be able to connect with readers during Book Week – and to go looking for trolls in the forests of western Canada (in honour of my latest novel Bog).
“What else would you have become, if not a writer?” asked a teenager sitting at the back of one of my readings.
“Well,” I responded, “my career aptitude test in high school said my ideal job would be a long-distance truck driver.”
Laughter.
“It’s a true story,” I said. “I think it’s because I like solitary work.”
Looking for trolls in BC forests
But TD Book Week is about connections, not solitude, and I was happy to leave my writer’s den to meet hundreds of teens, kids, and adults in Vancouver, Surrey, and Richmond.
One memorable moment happened during a workshop with a grade 6 class of keen writers. We were writing based on personal experiences, and the topic was scars – both the visible and the invisible kind. One girl read her piece about her father, who had undergone open-heart surgery a year earlier. Her touching description of his physical scars and her inner scars from the scare of losing him brought tears to more than one person in the room. It was an honour to listen to the kids’ writing.
In another memorable moment, I shared a comic book I made as a kid with grade 4-6 kids, mostly because it shows that I had ordinary talent and that the craft of writing can be learned through practice. One boy came up to me after my presentation and asked to read the comic book. The teachers told me later that he was autistic and usually non-verbal. But that day, he chatted with me about the comics and laughed over each page.
“How does it feel to be nominated for an award for your book?” one girl asked. Although an award is validation that I’ve written a good book, my best reward is connecting with readers. Thanks to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre for the opportunity to do just that.
A reading at West Point Grey Academy, Vancouver, BC
March 5, 2014, is World Read Aloud Day – LitWorld’s annual advocacy campaign for the human right of literacy. The goal is to call attention to the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories. Imagine a world where everyone can read!
Let’s face it – words have power. They can unite us to a cause and move us to cry, laugh, or smile. Sharing words has always held an important place in my life.
Some of my fondest memories as a kid are of reading A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books aloud with my mother, each of us taking turns reading the characters’ voices. I always preferred to be Piglet and Tigger, and my mother can still do an excellent Eeyore.
As a parent of young kids, reading before bedtime was an opportunity to connect after a long day, and my kids and I can still recite books like Loris Lesynski’s Dirty Dog Boogie and Robert Munch’s A Promise is a Promise from memory. On family holidays, we always picked a novel to read aloud together. Today, all the books we read aloud together still hold treasured memories.
One special memory came when we were reading The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. My partner and our daughters had travelled to a cabin in Algonquin Park with my parents. I’d carefully selected a book to read aloud that I hoped would interest everyone. After I read a few chapters, I was delighted when my father picked up the book and read the next chapter. He couldn’t wait to find out what happened next, and he greatly enjoyed reading aloud. During that holiday, we passed the book around, taking turns reading. My parents even planned to begin reading aloud together at home.
Another fond memory I have is of my two daughters reading aloud together from books like Camp X by Eric Walters. My eldest would most often read, while the youngest listened, perhaps painting her nails or tidying her room. When my youngest had to leave the room for a moment, she would say, “Pause,” and push her imaginary pause button in the air. My eldest would stop reading, and wait impatiently for her return.
Today, I still enjoy reading aloud with family and with my writing group as we critique each others’ works-in-progress. Reading aloud creates a shared knowledge, a community, and strong relationships. It empowers and it strengthens. On World Read Aloud Day, we can advocate for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology. One book at at time, we can show our support for the right to read, write, and share words that can change the world.
To celebrate World Read Aloud Day, I’ve created this video below, reading a scene from my upcoming middle-grade fantasy novel titled Bog. Please listen, enjoy, and share it. What will you read aloud today?
To see more Canadian children’s book creators reading from their books, go to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre on YouTube. Thanks to the Book Centre for organizing this initiative!