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My latest article for Canadian Children’s Book News is now available online. “The Emotional Impact of Writing About the Holocaust” is a personal essay along with interviews from Monique Polak, Emil Sher and Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. It was a difficult piece to write, but I am so pleased with how it turned out. I hopeContinue reading “Writing about the Holocaust for Book News”

What an amazing honour to be nominated for the Forest Of Reading’s Red Maple Award for The Other Side! And to be in a category with some many authors whom I admire and who inspire me everyday. Big thank you to the Ontario Library Association, Red Deer Press, editor Peter Carver and everyone who helpedContinue reading “2020 Red Maple Nominee!”

Books get all sorts of reviews, the good and the bad. This week, What If Soldiers Fought with Pillows? received a review that was beyond good. It was amazing. Incredible. Fantastic. I am still shaking. Booklist, from the American Library Association, said What If Soldiers is “a book that should be paired with John Lennon’sContinue reading “The biggest compliment of them all”

It really is a scary thing releasing a new book into the world, but so far, things are looking good! Publishers Weekly just posted a review of What If Soldiers Fought with Pillows and said my “brisk reportorial style is refreshingly straightforward. ” Cool! To read the review, visit Publishers Weekly.

What If Soldiers Fought with Pillows?, my first nonfiction book, will be released March 15, 2020, and the first review is in! “Fifteen quirky, thoughtful what-if statements trace the history of lesser-known social activists and organizations,” Kirkus Reviews writes, calls the book “hopeful and inspiring.” A pretty good start, I say! What If Soldiers FoughtContinue reading “First review for first nonfiction”

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre announced the nominees for its annual awards and Clutch made the list! Clutch is nominated for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction, along with Heather Smith’s The Agony of Bun O’Keefe, Kevin Sands’ The Assassin’s Curse, Julie Lawson’s A Blinding Light and Uma Krishnaswami’s Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh.Continue reading “CCBC Book Awards Announced!”

I’m not sure where spring went now that we’ve reached summer, but I do know I have been remiss in updating the crazy life of a first-time author and all the wonderful news from the past season. I say crazy, but overwhelming may be the better word because I have so much to be thankfulContinue reading “Spring wrap-up”

Today, Kirkus Reviews posted its Best Books of 2017 for middle grade. And Clutch was among the honorees! Clutch appears in the Best Middle Grade Historical Fiction category along with eight other very deserving titles. You can find the full list here. Another remarkable day in a extraordinary year.  

This week, the wonderful author and illustrator Debbie Ohi posted an article featuring, well, me. In “Three Questions,” I offer advice for young readers, talk about Jackie Robinson and describe a bookcase in my office. Yes, a bookcase. Please have a read of “Three Questions,” and check out the rest of Debbie’s site for  interviewsContinue reading “Three Questions”

It’s one thing to get feedback about a novel from friends and family, but it’s quite another to read what professional reviewers have to say. And let me tell you, it’s been amazing! The first review came in Quill & Quire, in which Paul Gessell wrote: “Joey is a fully developed, complex character one can’tContinue reading “A Kirkus starred review!”