Sheryl McFarlane

I’m thrilled to hear that Jessie’s Island continues to be a BC Bestseller…number 2 on the list; not bad for a book first published in 1992.

Just in the nick of time!  Stephen at Crow Cottage Publishing has managed to pull together Island Santa as an ebook in record time.  Stephen is awesome.  With Sheena Lott’s gorgeous watercolors, I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s a lovely present for a child or grandchild. And, it’s in keeping with the holiday spirit since it helps to support Jeneece Place, a local home away from home for families who need to bring their children for medical treatment to the city.

If you’re looking for other fine audio enhanced e-picture books for children, be sure to check out Crow Cottage’s other titles. Their books are the kind that you and your kids will treasure for years to come.

Here’s a kidlit version of the traditional “Twelve Days of Christmas.”  Enjoy!

It was a chilly minus 8 degrees Celsius (about 18 degrees Fahrenheit) last night but the streets of Victoria were lined with crowds of young and old bundled up against the cold. The 15th annual Xmas Truck parade is kind of unique to Victoria but it shouldn’t be.  Local truckers decorate their trucks and wind their way through the city.  Food donation boxes are spread out along the route with volunteers dropping the boxes off at the end of the festivities. Everyone gets to enjoy a free, community based activity and we are all given an easy way to donate locally.This year, 75 trucks participated. It’s a total win win.  I love it.

I’m so pleased to hear that Jessie’s Island is on the BC Children’s Best Sellers Book List again this year. It’s one of the top five best sellers in BC. It was first published in 1992, and it’s still going strong thanks to great art work by Sheena Lott, a fabulous publisher, keen readers like you, the awesome teachers who introduce it to kids,  the wonderful book stores that continue to recommend it.Thanks to Lois Peterson for the heads up, and congratulations Lois on your best selling children’s book, The Paper House.

I had the flu this past weekend, but I gather everyone else on the planet was out shopping, including President Barak Obama. According to the White House, here’s the list of books he bought:

List of books purchased by Obama, according to the White House:

“Half Brother” by Kenneth Oppel
“Heart of a Samurai” by Margi Preus
“Flora and Ulysses” by Kate DiCamillo
“Jinx” by Sage Blackwood
“Lulu and the Brontosaurus” by Judith Viorst and Lane Smith
“Ottoline and the Yellow Cat” by Chris Riddell
“Moonday” by Adam Rex
“Journey” by Aaron Becker
“The Lowland” by Jhumpa Lahiri
“Red Sparrow” by Jason Matthews
“Harold and the Purple Crayon” by Crockett Johnson
“A Constellation of Vital Phenomena” by Anthony Marra
“The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance” by David Epstein
“Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football” by Nicholas Dawidoff
“Ballad of the Sad Cafe: And Other Stories” by Carson McCullers
“My Antonia” by Willa Cather
“Ragtime” By E.L. Doctorow
“The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini
“Buddha in the Attic” by Julie Otsuka
“All That Is” by James Salter
“Wild: From Lost to Found On the Pacific Crest Trail” by Cheryl Strayed

Did you notice that the first book on the list is Half Brother which just so happens to be a great kid’s book written by fellow Canadian Ken Oppel.  Hurray Ken.  There are a few other kid’s book authors on the list too, including one of my favorite writers, Kate DiCamillo.

May I suggest that our Prime Minister Stephen Harper take a page out of Obama’s book and do a little book shopping too! A little support can go a long way Mr. Prime Minister.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my friends and family to the south.

And to all of you NaNoWriMo fans…2 days to go so get cracking and WRITE WRITE WRITE.

November is Picture Book Month.  In my humble opinion, you’re never too old for picture books.  There are picture books about virtually every topic.  Some are funny. Others are quirky. And still others explore serious subjects.  Some picture books are designed for the very young. And some are clearly sophisticated cross-over books that both children and adults can enjoy.  Here’s a super cute video that gives you a little insight into the wonderful range of picture books.

So, what’s your favorite picture book? Is it one of the wildly popular Scaredy Squirrel books, or a classic like Where the Wild Things Are? Or maybe you’re a fan of Mo Wilms’ quirky  Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.  Or, you might be one of Robert Munsch’s Love You Forever fans who number in the millions. Whatever your taste, there’s a picture book out there waiting to be loved and waiting to be shared.