Birch Trees and Fairy Godmothers

Librarians are a little like the fairy godmothers of children’s literature. A wonderful group of these fairy godmothers—from the Ontario Library Association—have sprinkled fairy dust on our book, Water Wow!, by nominating it for the Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award. And it’s in great company—all the other nominated books look really interesting!

The Silver Birch is part of the Forest of Reading Awards (and forests are perfect for fairies, of course). What makes these awards so special is that they’re reader’s choice awards. I’m thrilled that kids in Ontario will be reading Water Wow! Thank you fairy godmothers!

Eight days to the Vancouver Writer’s Festival!

I have a soft spot for the Vancouver Writer’s Festival because I volunteered for it for many years. It became one of my rituals of autumn, walking around Granville Island in the pouring rain with writers from around the world. Wet umbrellas and new ideas and good books to curl up with over winter!

So I’m thrilled to be part of it again this year, as an author this time. My co-author, Paula Ayer, and I will be giving a presentation on some of the ways water is truly amazing.

It’s also a perfect opportunity for me to hear some readings by authors from far away. How lucky I am!