Writer-in-Residence BlogTag
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August 08, 2020
A sentence & a breath
You want to write a book. Terrific! You've thought about this for years. In fact, whenever you tell your stories, people always say, you should write a book. And they’re right! You should. There’s ...
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June 29, 2020
If You Care About Education, You Need to Care About Copyright
Unless you’re a writer, you probably don’t think much about copyright law. But if you are a parent, or care at all about education, copyright needs to be on the top of your mind.A quick overview:Authors ...
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June 26, 2020
Five Reasons Why Children’s Science Books are THE Must-read Books of the 21st Century. For Kids and Adults.
I have been a fan of the scientific method since I first learned what it was (It's only the single most powerful tool humans have ever created, but that’s another post ).I was terrible at doing science ...
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June 23, 2020
The Male Default in Children's Literature - What It Is and Why It Matters
Perhaps you’ve heard of the Bechdel Test for movies. A film that passes the Bechdel Test must have at least one scene in which two female characters are talking to each other – and not about a man. ...
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June 19, 2020
To Pre-read, or Not to Pre-read?
Should you be vetting your kids’ reading material? For many, the answer seems so obvious, you don’t even need to ask the question. To make sure kids are choosing books that meet their approval, ...
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June 16, 2020
The School Library - Why It Matters More Than Ever
School libraries, now sometimes called Information Centres, have been getting short shrift in the last decade or so. Budgets have been slashed, staff hours cut and distributed among multiple locations, ...
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June 12, 2020
Why are Canadian kids’ books so darn good? (And they are!)
We Canadians are pretty good at downplaying our accomplishments. “Cutting down the tall poppies” and “familiarity breeds contempt” should perhaps be emblazoned on our coins and flag.So it may ...
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June 09, 2020
What Makes a Good Children’s Book?
You’re buying a book for a new baby, or for your own restless 12-year-old. You know what books delighted you when you were a kid. But are those books actually good? And are they likely to please and ...
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March 31, 2019
Writer at Work: Criticism is Care
When I began the “Writer at Work” series for Open Book, I wanted to explore what it means for me, a poet and a writer, to be at “work.” As a woman of colour and an emerging writer, I have many ...
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March 30, 2019
Writer at Work: The Steadfastness of Beauty
Last fall, a few days after my book, Port of Being, was sent to the printer, I met with Juliane Okot Bitek, whom I had asked for a blurb. During that rainy day at a pub, Juliane and I shared our parallel ...