author of more than a dozen books for kids & teens
27 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in Events, For Educators, For Kids, For Parents, for teens, News Tags: Canadian Children's Book Centre, Canadian Children's Book Week, writing contest
I’ve been waiting for the stories from the 2012 Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Writing Contest and I just got the call that they’ve arrived. I have stories from grade 4 again this year. Guess what I’ll be doing for the next while!
If you missed the contest deadline this year, there’s always 2013. And, don’t forget that dozens of authors and illustrators will be touring the country to promote books and reading all week long. Your school might even be lucky enough to be hosting a visiting author or illustrator.
Winning entries for the writing contest will be announced during Book Week, May 5-12.
25 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in For Educators, For Kids, For Parents Tags: Parent and Child's 100 Greatest Books for Kids
Hurray, the 100 Greatest Books for Kids list from Parent and Child is out! But quite a few of my all time favs didn’t make the list. Here are a just a few great books that were passed over. There isn’t a single solitary Michael Morpurgo title on the list, which is a real shame as he’s such a fabulous writer. I love Dear Olly but there are others I love too. I can’t understand how The Golden Compass by the wonderful Philip Pullman could have been left off the list. Two of my favorite picture books didn’t make the list either, The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch and Bread and Jam for Francis by Russell. I was smitten with Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel, and I really really miss not having Beverly Cleary’s Ramona on the list not to mention Kit Pearson’s A Handful of Time.
There are others too, but, I’d be interested to find out which of your favorites were left out?
24 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in Events, For Educators, For Kids, For Parents, for teens, News Tags: Freedom to Read Week
It’s that time of 
the year again, the time when I remind you just how lucky we are to have the freedom to read what we choose. Freedom to Read Week is February 26-March 3. But our freedom to read is a fragile and tenuous thing that can be chipped away if we aren’t vigilant. Freedom to Read Week is one way to ensure that books that have been challenged or even banned, get our support.
17 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in For Educators, For Kids, For Parents, for teens Tags: librarians, stereotyping
I love seeing stereotypes challenged, and I know you do too. Here’s a site that bursts the bubble on the “librarians are boring stereotype”. Librarians come in all shapes, sizes and genders and ethnicities with interests that range from roller derby to raising goats and making cheese. A multitude of librarians have posted their pics on This is What a Librarian Looks Like, and let me tell you, librarians are an eclectic lot! From marathon runners to mountain climbers, from belly dancers to musicians, from motorcycle enthusiasts to world travelers, librarians do it all. So think twice before you label a librarian. Come to think about, think twice before you label anyone.
Wouldn’t it be cool to have a children’s writer’ site like this…
13 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in For Educators, For Kids, For Parents, for teens Tags: book trailer for The Smell of Paint, book trailers for kids books, CANSCAIP
I belong to a group called Canadian Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers or CANSCAIP. We’ve just posted a page of links to our member’s book trailers so check it out. My sole book trailer, done for my young adult novel, The Smell of Paint, isn’t up yet, but it will be soon. CANSCAIP BOOK TRAILERS. In the meantime, I’ll post it here. Enjoy.
01 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in For Educators, For Parents, Help for writers, Worthy Causes Tags: CODE, Kathy Stinson, laptops, Liberia, literacy
There are lots of great projects that need funding, but one that I really support is CODE Canada’s work to encourage and assist the publication of books in third world countries. Imagine a child living in a third world country trying to make sense of books about kids living in New York, or Iowa, or Whitehorse. Now imagine that you have to learn another language to even read them! That’s what it’s like for a child living in Kenya or Tanzania or Ethiopia or Liberia. Now imagine being able to read a book by a writer from your own country, a book in your own language, a book about your world. This is what CODE is trying to achieve…and it can, with your help.
I know, I know. If you’re anything like me, your donation dollars are already stretched to the max. But wait. There is another way to help. And it doesn’t involve your pocketbook, or even much of your time!
If you have an old laptop in the closet collecting dust, please consider donating it to assist a Liberian writer. Yep, it’s that easy.
Contact Kathy Stinson. She will be working with CODE to get your old laptops into the hands of writers and illustrators who need them most.
So, if have an old laptop in the closet collecting dust, here’s your chance to give it to someone who will put it to good use.
Don’t delay. Contact Kathy today.
31 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in For Educators, For Parents Tags: ALA, Children's Literature Roundtables, PaperTigers.org, website recommendations
One of the reasons I love Children’s Literature Roundtables is all the info that gets sent your way. For example, this morning, I received a recommendation for a website that is an awesome resource. PaperTigers.org was chosen by the ALA as one of the great websites for teachers, librarians and parents. It’s chalk-a-block full of good stuff like: interviews, book reviews, an illustrator’s gallery, info. on outreach programs, and a blog with a calendar of children’s literature events and a place where you can participate in conversations on multiculturalism, world literacy, literature and more. Drop by today!
27 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in For Educators, For Parents Tags: A Monster calls, intermediate literature, Patrick Ness, Siobhan Dowd, Young Adult Literature
I read A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness based an idea Siobhan Dowd had when she was dying of breast cancer. I loved everything about it. But be warned, you’ll want to have a box of tissues handy when you read it.
I don’t want you to think this is a one note band sort of book. It’s a complex story about family, friendship, and bullying in addition to exploring the way in which young people come to terms with death. It’s a story that embraces realism as well as the dreams and the interplay and tensions between the two.
I am disappointed that this wonderful book hasn’t received more attention, but I’m not all that surprised. For starters, it’s about thirteen year old Conor whose mother is dying of cancer. This is a difficult subject, and one that does not speak to every reader. It’s also an illustrated text, which some young adult readers may be inclined to shy away from, yet the story is rich and complex. This in turn leads to the question as to which category this powerful story best fits into; middle grade or young adult. It really is a book whose point of view is firmly grounded in childhood even while the main character is on the cusp of being a young adult. I’m sure that the question of where to shelve it has been much discussed in both libraries and bookstores. I suspect that creative booksellers and librarians shelve it in both spots, but most books don’t cross over quite so well when it comes to awards.
Still, A Monster Calls is one of the most compelling books I’ve read recently and I do hope it finds it’s way into the hands of young people on both sides of the intermediate and young adult spectrum. Awards are wonderful for bringing a book to the attention of readers. But, this is one of those books that probably won’t win many awards even though it is brilliantly written and illustrated. Instead, it will likely be reliant on astute librarians, teachers, and other adults to put it into the hands of young readers who will most benefit from it.
25 Jan 2012 5 Comments
in For Educators, For Parents, Writing Life Tags: copyright, educators, teachers, writers
Not long ago a teacher on a list serve that I belong to raised concerns about some of her colleagues whom she felt may be crossing copyright laws. This was my response:
As an author, I’m thrilled when teachers find my books useful in a classroom setting. I’ve seen such creative teaching strategies over the years…from found poems using phrases from a book typed and put into a basket for children to choose and piece together, to new stories being written from the point of view of one of my characters, to a story being read with a student-created soundscape reflecting the setting. I don’t object to my words being copied for this sort classroom use. In fact, I applaud it.
However, like many other authors, I draw the line at copying for the purposes of income. If you are making money using my work, you are infringing on my copyright. I also object to copying a book electronically so that additional purchases are not necessary. I’ve seen some of my picture books scanned and read to an entire school so that a library only need purchase one copy. While I understand that libraries are being squeezed, this approach really hurts creators. Most people are not aware how little authors and illustrators make (5% each of the retail sale price of a book). We have to sell a lot of books to earn a living, and if you copy our work, we aren’t even making that small amount. Writers and illustrators want to write more books for you and your students to enjoy. Please let these teachers know that our work is our livelihood. We can only continue to create if we can earn a living doing it.
Thanks for listening to my rant.
Sheryl
Sheryl McFarlane 