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February 20, 2025Author Megan Pomper and Illustrator Maia Hoekstra Talk About What Makes a Bird?
The natural world and its wildlife, from the exotic to that which we see everyday, can be fascinating to young readers. And, some of the best picture books involving these topics find ways to engage with ...
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May 10, 2018Artist and Children's Author Lori Joy Smith on Her Cross-Canada Workspace Evolution
"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." Ever since Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote those lines, starry eyed lovers everywhere have had a verse to describe their feelings. Riffing on the same idea ...
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May 07, 2019"Something Intimate, Honest, and Very Politically Feminist" Alexandra Kimball on Exploring Feminism's Failures with Infertility
A lifelong feminist, journalist Alexandra Kimball found herself shocked by how isolated her struggles with infertility left her. In a movement that is meant to support all women, she found herself, ...
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December 10, 2020Bee Whisperer Jenna Butler Talks from Her Off the Grid Alberta Farm about Climate, Storytelling, & Healing
In recent years, we've learned to look to the bees as a metric of our world's failing health, and the results haven't been heartening. But there are those who are doing the work to support these essential ...
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November 27, 2024Shenaaz Nanji's Latest Addition to the Alina Series Explores the Beauty in Connecting Different Cultures and Communities
With over a dozen books for children published and admired internationally, Shenaaz Nanji is an author who has found a distinct way to capture the minds of young readers with her imaginative and poignant ...
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June 13, 2019Dream Casting Frying Plantain
I know, it's super brave of me to make a post right after the Raptors won the championship (!!!!) but I'm going to do it anyway. The other day I did a talk at the Toronto Public Library (the Annette branch) ...
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June 24, 2019Advice From Mentors Past
One of the most surprising things I’ve encountered since starting to talk publicly about my writing and my first book is how many people appreciate the fact that I mention the positive influence of ...
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September 08, 2020Picture Book Magic
People are often surprised to learn that a picture book begins with the words. But every children’s book editor I’ve met has preferred to read a picture-book manuscript without any images. A good ...
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June 11, 2019Confessions of an Uncertain Booklover
All my life, I’ve considered myself to be a booklover. Even my twitter handle has the word ‘literati’ in it (don’t judge me. I was a pretentious undergrad when I came up with it). English was ...
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June 03, 2019I Promise You, It's Fiction.
Full disclosure, I had another post planned to kick off my Writer in Residency here on Open Book but I decided to change topics after seeing a write-up/review of my forthcoming short story collection. ...
