Have you ever stopped to think about the buried creeks and waterways tucked under our parks, homes, and streets? There’s a wetlands near my home where a creek burbles to the surface briefly before it’s contained underground again. It sparked My Creek Speaks, written by me and illustrated by Hawlii Pichette. This lyrical nonfiction picture book is a way to connect and reconcile with the waterways that sustain us. It’s also a cross-cultural creative collaboration that I’m grateful to be part of. I’m an author of settler heritage, and Hawlii is a Mushkego Cree (Treaty 9) urban mixed ancestry artist and illustrator. Together with Groundwood Books, we can’t wait to share our creation with you in Fall 2026.
I’m a fan of Hawlii’s first picture book, BENJAMIN’S THUNDERSTORM, wonderfully written by Melanie Florence. Please check it out!
Have you ever stopped to think about all the footsteps that have walked your street—yesterday, today, and tomorrow? That thinking sparked My Street Remembers, written by me and illustrated by Cathie Jamieson. This lyrical nonfiction picture book is a way to connect and reconcile with the land where we live. It’s also a cross-cultural creative collaboration that I’m grateful to be part of. I’m an author of settler heritage, and Cathie is an Anishinaabe artist of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Together with Groundwood Books, we’ve created something special that we’re excited to share with you in Fall 2025.
I adore Cathie’s illustrations, including her art installation “The Gathering in Place,” currently on display at the YDZ Experience Centre in Toronto:
I’m thrilled to be co-creating One Cosmic Rock: The Asteroid That Changed Our World with illustrator Julia Vasileva! A companion book to One Tiny Bubble: The Story of Our Last Universal Common Ancestor, this new picture book tells the story of the asteroid responsible for the dinosaurs’ extinction 66 million years ago. It also celebrates the resilience of life on Earth and the evolution of the diverse life-forms thriving today. It’s coming in Spring 2026 from Owlkids Books, with many thanks to my agent Ginger Knowlton of Curtis Brown for negotiating the deal!
I’m honoured that One Tiny Bubble, illustrated by Dawn Lo, has been included in the TD Summer Reading Club 2024! This club is Canada’s biggest, bilingual summer reading program for kids of all ages, interests, and abilities. It’s offered at more than 2,000 public libraries as well as online. I love how it celebrates Canadian authors, illustrators and stories, and inspires kids to read!
Illustrator Dawn Lo and I are thrilled to announce that One Tiny Bubble has won the 2023 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for Canada! In case you’re not familiar with it, this is a peer-selected award, voted on by members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. You can check out all the winners here, but let me just say that One Tiny Bubble was selected from a stellar list of finalists! Thanks so much to the SCBWI members who voted and to the SCBWI staff for implementing the award.
I have to mention that this isn’t the first time a book of mine has been honoured with this award. My middle-grade novel Bog won the 2015 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for Canada. It’s an honour to be recognized once again!
