L.E. Carmichael's Blog, page 5

Amanda West Lewis: On Not Being a Poet

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Amanda West Lewis . Take it away, Amanda!

For most of my life, I’ve actively avoided writing poetry. There are SO MANY bad poems in the world.

But poetry has always been a huge part of my life. I studied calligraphy when I was young, eventually becoming a full-time calligraphic artist, spending countless hours lettering beautiful poems. I also trained as an actor, which included voice work with vibrant poems of all genres, spoken, memorized and incorporated into performances.

But compose a poem? Never.

When I studied for my MFA in writing for children and youth (VCFA), we were assigned Stephen Fry’s book The Ode Less Travelled. This deliciously funny, wicked, irreverent book on writing and reading poetry forced me to realize that my years of reading, lettering, and speaking poetry had left a mark. Words were deep in my cells –– the look of them, the sound of them, the rhythm, skip and beat of them, the feel of them in my mouth, lips and chest.

Words are the building blocks for any writer. As a writer for young people, I needed to embrace my role as a creator of meaning from little bits of sound. Children learn language by playing with words, and I needed to rediscover a sense of play. I needed to get over myself and try to write some poetry.

As I read more picture books, I discovered the American poet, Joyce Sidman. Sidman writes nature books, combining information with the language of poetry. Her book Caldicott winning book Dark Emperor and other Poems of the Night is a masterful combination of sound that explores the world of night creatures. This is fabulous, I thought. Maybe I can write non-fiction poetry. I like boundaries, and poetry that needs to convey real information will keep me from writing free-for-all-wallowing-in-self-centred-bliss poetry. I just needed to find my subject.

I’m a regular listener to the CBC radio show Quirks and Quarks. Every week, there is something new –– some beetle, some volcano, some newly discovered moon of Jupiter, some surprising discovery that connects us to the universe around us. I began trolling through Quirks and Quarks for interesting subjects, doing further research. I wrote poems about the Wandering Glider, Zombie Beetles, Mites, and newly discovered dinosaurs. But when I heard about new findings from Pluto I went crazy.

Poor little Pluto, bouncing between classifications as a Planet and a Dwarf Planet. Yet according to images we received from the New Horizons Space Probe, little Pluto has a red, heart-shaped plateau on it that ebbs and flows as though it is a beating heart! It has skies that are bright blue! Who couldn’t fall in love with that?

But how to actually structure a poem about Pluto? This is where Stephen Fry came in. At that point, I was working through his book and trying new forms. I had just discovered the Pantoum. Voila! Alliteration! A Pantoum for Pluto! It was a marriage made in poetry heaven.

I started discussing the idea of a book of poems about new discoveries in our solar system with Katie Scott and Kathleen Keenan at Kids Can Press. Because of my background in poetry, we came up with the idea of choosing a different poetic form for each planet. The characteristics of each planet would influence the choice of poetic form. Young people would learn about the planets AND learn about poetry. Brilliant, I thought. I get to learn more about poetry while I am learning about the planets! Bring it on!

Had I had ANY idea of how hard it was, I would have run away screaming. I am not a scientist nor am I a poet. What on earth was I thinking?

Eight years later, A Planet is a Poem has come out from Kids Can Press. The book combines the logic of poetic forms with the wonders of the solar system. The discipline of art is married to the mystery of science.

I am thrilled, and of course terrified. I’m confident in my facts (if you can’t trust NASA, who can you trust?), but aware that to aspire to good poetry is to aspire to divinity. You can see it, you can love it, but you can never achieve it.

I’m still hesitant to call myself a poet. Writing poetry is a sacred trust. It is the purest form in which we can convey ideas, and I haven’t yet achieved that effervescence, that translucence that I aspire to. But I am no longer afraid to try. I will always love the bounce, thrum, wobble, and slither of language, the puzzle and agony of working with words. It’s how I can try to make sense of the world.

A Planet is a Poem, Kids Can Press, is available NOW.

Sylvia McNicoll: About Blue to the Sky

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Syliva McNicoll . Take it away, Sylvia!

Food allergies seem like a big bother when you can’t bring your favourite sandwich or have a special treat day at school. But how much bigger is the bother for the person who has the allergies. Imagine trusting people with your life every time you lift a spoon to your mouth.

And it’s one thing if you’re allergic to peanut butter; everyone’s used to that allergy by now, but sesame seeds, or at least possible traces of sesame, are in almost every slice of bread, hotdog or hamburger bun. What about multiple food allergies? When you’re allergic to eggs, milk, shellfish, sesame, tree nuts, peanuts or any other combination of foods. Do you never go to a sleepover or birthday party? Can you eat at a restaurant?

Multiple food allergies can be depressing. They can cause anxiety. They can make you lose your confidence.  All of this happened in my family. A happy outgoing athlete turned into a recluse who wouldn’t join team sports. A young person closed herself off after sneaking some peanut butter cookie crumbs. I also watched friends try to order safe meals in restaurants. Nobody really seems entirely sure about what goes into our food.

I wanted desperately to help. There’s only one way I know of how to fix a problem and that’s to find a book about it. Since I couldn’t find a story dealing with allergies, I knew I needed to write one.

What I wanted to show was this really amazing person living her best life dodging around her allergies. Twelve-year old Ella plays music in her head to suit all her emotions and she writes poetry, mostly rhyming poetry. But she wants to eat pizza.

Pizza Pizza

I wish I could eat ya

Your saucy aroma hangs in the air

But I can’t eat you; it’s not fair.

 

And she wants to own a dog.

                                   

A walking teddy bear

                                   Full of itch-inspiring hair.

 

She’s positive she can do these things. Her mother isn’t and doesn’t want to take risks.

Ella feel pretty positive, however, that she can’t present a speaking assignment in front of the class. Her legs turn into noodles, the words fly from her head. But when her best friend Zenia wants to climb CN Tower for World Wildlife Fund, Ella is there. This challenge she knows she can handle. Once you conquer one challenge, doesn’t the next one come easier?

Here’s the book trailer that shows how my favourite characters’ thoughts work: 

 

Did I solve the problem of food allergies? No, I think scientists will figure some kind or treatment and cure eventually. But Ella is being touted as one of the first characters with multiple allergies who isn’t a side joke; she’s a strong girl who can wield her own epi-pen.

Ella taught me about resilience. I learned that the way through a dark tunnel of problems is to have a passion for something bigger than those problems. Of course it always helps to surround yourself with friends who care.

To learn more about Sylvia McNicoll and her books, visit her website.

Blissed Out from Book Week

Well, that was a whirlwind!

Experienced authors warned us newbies that Canadian Children’s Book Week was both incredible and exhausting, and they were… not wrong. I crashed pretty hard after my last visit Friday afternoon and am just now starting to feel like myself again. But what a week!

Nickel City Literacy League

I started my tour in Sudbury, with the Nickel City Literacy League – the youth programming arm of Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival. It was pouring down rain the first day, but some hardy souls came out to the library anyway! One girl asked me the best science question I have ever been asked during a presentation:

Is it true that there is more biodiversity in the Arctic than in Antarctica, and if so, why is that?

It IS true. The answer might be the subject of an upcoming blog post, because it’s just such a good question!

Signing Polar for a junior book lover and animal expert at the Sudbury Public Library!

The crowd the second night was a little bit younger than the target audience for my Polar presentation, but they were still down for adaptation-themed games and photos of cute wildlife.

My brother and me, taken just after we moved to Yellowknife. The distortion over my face is due to massive 80’s glasses. And yes, my hair was crimped.

And one junior book lover looked at the above photo of me and my little brother, and asked the next best question I’ve ever received during a presentation:

Why does your brother have a stick?

Given that it was 1989, I no longer have any idea whatsoever. But may I suggest this article about a community of official stick reviewers?

Book Talk

Speaking of Sudbury, my hosts arranged two media appearances for me! Thanks to Jonathan Pinto for having me on CBC Radio.

And thank you to Tony Ryma for chatting with me on CTV!

 

Fog is a Thing…

…a thing that, unfortunately, you can’t do anything about… which is why I ended up missing the two presentations I was supposed to give on Wednesday. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the airline had just said “We’re going to be delayed five hours.” It was the false hope and protracted torture of being bumped half an hour every half an hour… And because the Sudbury airport was small, the only food in the departure lounge came out of a vending machine. There were a LOT of cranky people in that lounge by the time we actually took off.

Fortunately, Tech Support was waiting with real food and a drive home. In fact – shout out to Tech Support in general, for his excellent chauffeuring and Book Week roadie services. I literally could not do what I do without his support – both moral and material!

Field Trips for The Boreal Forest

I don’t have any screen caps from the virtual visits I did, but thank you to the Waterloo and Pickering Public Libraries for having me in – and inviting some great classes to take part in science over Zoom!  I love doing virtual visits, at least when technology is working, which it did!

The North Kawartha Public Library hosted an on-site visit, where the kids had made me this incredible boreal-forest themed banner! 

 

A teacher from a neighbouring community (whose name I regret to say I’ve forgotten) packed up a bunch of her students and trucked them over for the visit. I still can’t believe that my talk was considered field trip worthy, but I sincerely hope the students had fun and that the presentation gave said teacher support to draw on when she’s trying to get them to REVISE their writing before handing it in. 

Six drafts of The Boreal Forest, kids, and that was just with my editor. I never count all the extra drafts I do on my own!

Mileage and Marathons

From North Kawartha, we zipped back to Toronto for the night. Friday morning I did a presentation for a gymful of grades 1-2-3s at Yorkwoods Public School. They were AWESOME. So engaged and excited to participate! If the teachers managed to snag a photo of everyone pretending to be trees, I will update this post, because wow. A hundred kids waving their “branches” in the wind? That is a sight I will never forget…

…even though I DID manage to forget my slide clicker AND the adaptor brick that connects my Mac to projectors. And by the time I realized it, we’d already driven three hours to the site of my final Book Week visits – Wellington, in Prince Edward County. Thank goodness for Krista, the fabulous librarian, who swapped my laptop for hers and saved the day. Librarians are quite honestly the best.

I did two talks for groups from the local school, and they were both AMAZING. The students were an absolute dream, but I got the biggest kick out of the parent volunteers, several of whom were more engaged than the kids! There is nothing better than knowing I’ve managed to entertain young readers AND their grown ups with the same presentation. It was the perfect way to round out an incredible week.

Sincere thanks to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre for inviting me to tour with Book Week this year. And a huge thank you to all of my hosts, for offering me the privilege of presenting to your communities. 

I am honoured. Exhausted, but truly, deeply honoured.

Up Next! Science Rendezvous Kingston

Science Rendezvous Kingston is the biggest family-friendly science festival in Canada. It’s 100% free to attend, and I’d love it if you stopped by my science-writer booth! Joining me this year are fellow children’s authors:

Rochelle Strauss

Elaine Kachala

Ishta Mercurio

If you can’t join us in person, visit the event’s webpage, where you can download free STEM@HOME activities of all kinds.

News Roundup – Earth Week Edition

Happy Earth Week, my friends! Tech Support and I celebrated Earth Day by doing our annual “stick it in the ground and hope for the best” spring planting in the back garden. So far, the neighborhood bunny – affectionately known as DoG (Destroyer of Gardens) – has declared our new lupin delicious… which does not bode well for its survival. But she doesn’t care for the grape hyacinths, so we expect a frenzy of bees as soon as the weather breaks.

On to the news nuggets!

Earth Day Accolade for Polar

Polar was named a Recommended title in the 2024 Green Earth Book awards! It’s also a Recommended selection of the Orbis Pictus, and an Honour book in the Eureka! Awards. All of which I am incredibly grateful for, but if I’m being honest, this is the accolade that tickles me most:

“L.E. Carmichael writes so eloquently, I can hear Sir David Attenborough’s voice in my head narrating through the entire read.”

Thank you so much, Storytime with Stephanie! Sir David, if you’re reading this, how would you feel about doing an audio edition of Polar?!

PJ Party at Hillcrest

A couple weeks back I did a PJ-Party-themed school visit for kids and their grown ups, and was it ever fun! I mean, I’m a writer – my office is down the hall from my bedroom. I go to work in “daytime PJs” practically every day. But I very rarely get to wear them when I’m at work in public! 

My favourite part of the event, though, was when I managed to get all the grown ups joining in, as we pretended to be trees in the boreal forest. So. Much. Fun.

Countdown to Canadian Children’s Book Week 

Book Week begins Sunday, and I am THRILLED to be touring for the very first time. True story:

My family moved to Yellowknife when I was in the middle of grade six. One of my best memories of that year was Nova Scotia author Sheree Fitch visiting my new class as part of Children’s Book Week! She recited some poetry from what would become There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen, and it changed my world. I’d already started writing my own stories for fun, but I’d never seen a real author in real life before. And she was a regular lady! If Sheree could do it, maybe I could, too?

I honestly cannot believe that I’m lucky enough to

be a real author in real lifebe touring with Children’s Book Weekhave the opportunity to influence kids the way Sheree influenced me 

This is what they mean when they say “dream come true.”

Most of my Book Week visits are at schools, which means private. But one is open to the public, and you can join from anywhere! Pickering Public Library is hosting a virtual visit with me on May 2 at 10:00 AM. You do NOT have to have a Pickering Library Card, but you do have to register: 

The event is free and you can sign up here.

Science Rendezvous Kingston

Speaking of free events, I’ll be at Science Rendezvous Kingston again this year! It’s on May 10, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and it’s the biggest family-friendly science festival in Canada. Joining me this year are fellow children’s authors:

Rochelle Strauss

Elaine Kachala

Ishta Mercurio

If you can’t join us in person, visit the event’s webpage, where you can download free STEM@HOME activities of all kinds.

Phew! I think that’s it for now. I hope you’re having an equally-excellent spring, and I’d love to hear about it! Share your updates in the comments.

Carol Matas: Psychics and Murders, Oh My!

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Carol Matas . Take it away, Carol!

I know I am a guest on a scientist’s blog today, but I have to talk about something that doesn’t quite fit in with scientific theory. Or does it???

Psychic powers? Synchronicity? Messages from beyond? Prophetic dreams? Dowsing? Far-seeing?

Is any of it real? But then what is reality anyway?

This is a true story:

I had my first book published in 1982 and then wrote three more that I could not find a publisher for. When I moved back to Winnipeg in ’82, I was eligible for a Manitoba Arts grant and applied. I submitted my 3 manuscripts as background material. Meanwhile my cousin Manny Matas, a practicing psychiatrist, who was very interested in the paranormal, suggested I go see a certain psychic. I went and at the end of the session he asked me if I had any questions. I did. “Will I ever get published again?” I asked. (Or maybe whined, not sure which.) “Yes,” he replied after a moment’s pause. “You will have 3 books published in a year by a publisher in Saskatoon.”

Okay. That was so weirdly specific I didn’t really know what to do with it so I forgot about it.

No more than a month later the arts administrator for my grant called and introduced herself. She said she had noticed that my three books had not yet been published. It so happened that on one of her juries sat a publisher from Saskatoon. Would I like her to give said publisher my manuscripts? She thought they might be a good fit.

I started babbling about a psychic who told me this was going to happen. I could hear that she thought I was a bit…something. Nevertheless, she gave them to the publisher as promised, the publisher read them, took all three, and they were published within a year as predicted.

Ever since then I’ve been fascinated by the paranormal. My cousin went on to write a book called The Borders of Normal, about de-stigmatizing the paranormal.

But when I wrote my first book, The Freak, about a Jewish Winnipeg teen who suddenly becomes psychic after a near death experience, it was less about her abilities and more about what such abilities could mean. Is everything fated? Where does free will fit into the picture? The book was also about antisemitism and Neo Nazis.

My new book with Orca Book Publishers is also about a Jewish psychic teen but this one is much different. It is less about the “how can this happen?” and more about “what do we do when it happens?” In this case Zevi has been living with his psychic abilities ever since he can remember. In fact he thought everyone saw the world the way he did – until he finally realized they didn’t. His sister, a budding scientist, is working on a theory of quantum physics to explain it but in the meantime Zevi isn’t interested in the why – only on how he can hide it as well as possible. But then Zevi has a dream. A dream that tells him exactly where a young child has gone missing. And when Zevi’s dream saves the child, Zevi becomes famous. That fame seems set to derail a promising acting career that Zevi has been trying to build. When a famous actor comes to Vancouver to film a movie, Zevi and his best friend Nir sign on as extras. Little does Zevi know that it will be up to him to save this actor’s life – by using the signs and dreams that are flooding him all the time.

Before I became a writer, I was an actor. I trained in London, England for about 18 months and then worked in Toronto and Winnipeg. I draw from that experience as well as the 36 years of my husband’s experience teaching acting as a professor at University of Winnipeg. I also was very lucky to have Film maker John Kozak as a consultant on the manuscript.

So, acting, film making, psychic phenomenon all make up Zevi Takes the Spotlight. As does an old-fashioned murder mystery format.

Oh – and this is my fist Hi/Lo book, and that was a terrific challenge. But that’s for another blog another time.

I hope you enjoy the book!

And thanks to Lindsey for allowing me to guest blog here.

 

 

Loretta Garbutt: A Little Story with a Big Message

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Loretta Garbutt . Take it away, Loretta!

Writing for children is an incredible experience and it’s also a lot of hard work. But, I love it. Not every single minute, but when I sit to write, I feel like I’m doing something worthwhile. I often pinch myself to make sure it’s true that I am indeed, a picture book author and that kids, teachers and parents are reading my books. If any of my books connect with children and help them to understand something about themselves, I’m thrilled.

I was a week into some medical treatments and the only place I wanted to be, other than curled up under a blanket with a book, was in a forest. For some reason, when I walked among the trees there, my feet stepping lightly onto roots and fallen leaves, I felt soothed. Often, I’d put my hands to the bark of different trees, some super smooth like the skin of a dolphin or craggy like a wrinkled rhino. The added texture of light, wind and bird song turned my walks into a journey of spiritual wonder. The forest was a big part of my healing.

At the same time, I was soaking up words from books; ground-breaking studies about the life of trees, by authors such as Peter Wohlleben, Suzanne Simard and Diana Beresford-Kroeger. Picture books were a huge inspiration as well, Lindsey Carmichael’s THE BOREAL FOREST and CAN YOU HEAR THE TREES TALKING by Peter Wohlleben, to name just a few.

Mother hub trees are a wonder. According to Diana Beresford- Kroeger,

Mother trees are dominant trees within a forest system…the mother trees feed and protect other trees within the expanse of their canopy. They are the leader in the community of forests.

While searching for the ‘mother hub’ trees on my walk, this idea was born, ‘hey, if a young sapling is struggling, how would a mother tree help’? That’s when WAKE UP, LITTLE PIN found its roots, ha-ha, sorry.

The story is an imagining and a slight personifying of two pin oak trees to make the point about their interconnectedness; ‘A mother pin oak calls on the help of forest creatures and even fungi in the soil to wake her leafy offspring after a long winter’s sleep.’ 

This simple narrative tells a bigger story as the back matter offers some current science.

It’s a little story that leafs out into a much bigger story and brings to life the idea that mother trees share nutrients with their saplings using the mycelium as conduits. To put that into words for children, took a bit of creative wrangling. Thank goodness for Stacey Roderick, the editor!

The other elements that play a role in the health of this young tree are the availability of water and sunlight and the need for soft earth to surround tree roots so that small animals and worms can burrow through to create passages for water and nutrients to get through. By including animals with a bit of personality and charm, I was able to make the story playful.

The reality is, trees absorb and store greenhouse gases, regulate water levels, protect shorelines from storm surges and erosion, and cool our planet. There are thousands of species of trees and plants that give us medicine. Sadly, the threat to our forests is very real and this is a threat to us all. The health of our trees is the future of our planet. This too, inspired me to write WAKE UP, LITTLE PIN: The Story of a Sleepy Sapling.

The addition of the lush and gorgeous watercolours by Marianne Ferrer, complete this package of beauty. The playfulness in her illustrations make it beautifully kid-worthy. 

I hope WAKE UP, LITTLE PIN is a way in for children to become aware of the importance of trees; that it inspires them to ask questions about nature around them and most of all, that it creates compassion for our environment. According to Diana Beresford-Kroeger

The genetic information of a Mother Tree is perhaps the most important living library there is.

Thank you, Lindsey for giving me the opportunity to share my story. WAKE UP, LITTLE PIN: The Story of a Sleepy Sapling releases March15/24 from Owlkids Books.

 

 

 

Joanne Levy – How Bird Poop Inspired a Book

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Joanne Levy . Take it away, Joanne!

One of the most common questions I get from young readers is, “Where do you get your ideas?” If you’re an author reading this, I’m sure you’re nodding along—it’s very common.

I take this question to mean that the person asking is struggling to figure out how to be creative. How to come up with amazing stories like the ones they love to read. But they’re asking the wrong question; the key is not coming up with great ideas, the key is to being open to them when they strike you.

What I tell aspiring authors (even if they don’t overtly identify as would-be writers – to my mind, when they ask that question, they have just self-identified as an aspiring) is that ideas are literally everywhere and that they already are creative, that they have the capacity for lots of ideas. They may even know this already, but they need to turn off that internal editor that says an idea is too silly, or won’t work, or who would want to read a story about that?

Thinking about my own childhood favourites: a farm filled with talking animals, including a wise spider; a group of siblings that escape through a wardrobe to a whole other world; a peace-loving bull who loves smelling flowers, an orphan showing up on a farm, only to find out she wasn’t the child the family had been hoping for.

What if the authors of those books had let that self-editor get in the way of them telling their stories?

Hence my mantra: Be open to any and all ideas. You can always toss them later, but always, always be open to them. Because until you sit with them and let them germinate, you may not recognize that you can turn poop into gold. Or, more accurately, turn poop into a book.

Here’s my real-life example: I have an African Grey parrot named Gabby and, as you may know, parrots are very messy. They throw food around and, like all living creatures, they eat and then they poop. Gabby’s cage has bars at the bottom and then a tray underneath where I layer newspapers and grocery store flyers that catch her poop (and all that wasted food!). This makes cleaning up her messes a bit easier.

One day, back in 2015, I was cleaning her cage, changing papers and scrubbing poop, and I wondered what would happen if Gabby were able to read the papers and store flyers that I use to line her cage tray. She’s a pretty good talker and says many things in proper context, but what if she was over-the-top smart?  What would she say? What would she do with the ability to read? What would her story be?

Boom: book idea.

Of course, that was just the seed of an idea, but as soon as I had that, my mental gears started turning. That’s where the real fun is: Building a story around an idea and creating a character, using my own pet as a model.

Living with a parrot means I have an appreciation for how clever they are in real life. I am also familiar with Dr. Irene Pepperberg whose life work is studying African Grey parrots and how smart they are and how they can acquire and use language. I felt that weaving some of that real stuff in was important, not only to deepen the character of Ludwig the parrot, but also so readers would see that the parts I made up have some basis in fact. (I also include an author’s note so readers can separate the fact from fiction.)

It was such a joy to write what I think is a truly unique book that I know kids will love. Pets are a popular topic for kids but while there are so many books out there that feature dogs and cats, I was able to create a book that will entertain readers and teach them a bit about birds and how smart (and challenging and messy!) they can be.

I’m grateful that on a day way back when, I was open to ideas even as I was surrounded by poop and a clever parrot.

By the way, I can honestly say that I’ve also gotten great ideas when scooping my cats’ litter box, so great ideas are definitely not limited to bird poop.

Happy Women in Science Day!

It’s the International Day of Women and Girls in Science – yaaaaay! If you’ve been around this blog for more than five seconds, you’ll know that I happen to be a woman in science, which means uplifting female voices in STEM is a thing I am pretty deeply committed to. So I thought I’d celebrate today by sharing this interview with Dr. Linda Campbell of Saint Mary’s University. I worked with Campbell at SMU, and she’s an intellectual badass who’s passionate about both science and science communication. 

LEC: Your work focuses on aquatic ecosystems – lakes, wetlands, and their associated life forms. What made you want to work in this field?

Campbell: I have always enjoyed being outdoors being curious about what was around me since I was a little kid. That curiosity has led me in many interesting directions, and resulted in my decision to take Biology at university.  I took many types of courses, and realized that I was most concerned about freshwater issues.

LEC: A lot of your research has focused on environmental contaminants, especially those from industry. What would you say is the most important discovery you’ve made?

Campbell: Mercury is a very old contaminant used by humans for millennia around the world, but remains a modern legacy in freshwater ecosystems around the world.

LEC: What the heck is a Chinese mystery snail, and why should we be concerned about them?

Campbell: Chinese mystery snails are large freshwater snails that are native to eastern Asia and Russia. Those are popular food species for humans and are also used as aquarium species to keep fish tanks clean.  Chinese mystery snails were brought to western USA in the late 1800’s, and gradually were re-introduced to many ecosystems across North America.  We are currently tracking presence and abundance of Chinese mystery snails in Nova Scotia where those species are under-studied and under reported.  We are concerned that the new presence of Chinese mystery snails may have impact on freshwater food webs and water quality of our lakes.

LEC: You serve on the Board of Gallaudet University for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students and are involved in research and advocacy for Deaf academics and the Deaf community in general. How have your experiences as a Deaf scientist changed over the course of your education and career? Do you see more opportunities for Deaf students than were available to you?

Campbell: Being a Deaf scientist in a hearing world can often mean more work and more responsibility for me as I must constantly educate my colleagues and students, and people often look to me for answers regarding diversity and inclusion.  It also means more opportunities as I meet a very wide range of people beyond the usual pool of scientists and university colleagues. As a result, I get opportunities to solve problems via lateral thinking or even via “orthogonal thinking”, e.g. thinking perpendicular to issues and finding solutions beyond the usual patterns.

Deaf scientists are rare due to implicit biases, communication barriers and scarcity of role models in scientific fields.  In my field, there are only 2 aquatic environmental researchers who are Deaf in the world, with my colleague Dr. Caroline Solomon being at Gallaudet University in Washington DC.  There are several graduate students in this field who are Deaf, so we are hoping it won’t be long before our numbers grow! 

Capitalizing the word “Deaf” indicates that we are members of a culture and linguistic community who use sign languages and visual communication strategies, and the Deaf community is global in nature with strong networks, shared love of multiple sign languages and cultural practices.  Being a member of this community is wonderful, and being able to share and talk science with another Deaf scientist in one of our sign languages is a fantastic opportunity.

LEC: What advice would you give to girls (and any other kids!) who are interested in working in STEM?

Campbell: Be curious about the world around you, read and think as much as you can, find people of all ages who share your curiosity and passion for discussing science.  Mentorship is important, not only for you, but also you becoming a mentor to others, so seek opportunities to learn from others and to teach others.

Farida Zaman: Aliya’s Secret

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Farida Zaman . Take it away, Farida!

Aliya’s Secret published by Owl Kids is a picture book very close to my heart. Firstly, because it’s my debut picture book as an author / illustrator, and secondly because it was inspired by my own childhood experience, trying to fast just like my parents but not going beyond a couple of hours by when my tummy would roar like a lion! My parents had no idea that I was hatching the plan to fast the first time and dropped me off to school and was grumpy when I returned and of course broke it by eating something!

I always wanted to write and illustrate my own picture book and finally it happened with Aliya’s  Secret. It was an opportunity for me to write a story for children of the Muslim faith to feel represented.  This  heartwarming story of the celebration of Ramadan, food, and community is one that will hopefully appeal to those who celebrate the holiday as well as those who are learning about it.

Ammi says she’s still too young too fast, but Aliya is determined. At school, she refuses her snack, her lunch—even the cupcakes Sanjay’s mom drops off for his birthday. But when she gets home, she can’t resist Ammi’s sweet, syrupy baklava. Before Aliya can stop herself, she reaches out and takes a big bite.

Aliya is disappointed in herself, but Ammi explains that there are many other ways to celebrate Ramadan besides fasting, like performing acts of kindness! Together, Aliya and her parents spend the month preparing and delivering meals to people in need. The protagonist  Aliya is determined to fast but when she can’t she finds a way to still participate in celebrating Ramadan.

My medium for this book was a combination of watercolours and digital.  The interior of Aliya’s home looks a lot like mine!

Creating the illustration for Aliya’s Secret was an intense process, but I loved putting picture to the words.  It was pure joy going through the process of creating this book and finally holding the finished product in my hand.

To learn more about Farida Zaman and her work, visit her website.

You can also follow her on social media:

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A New Year and a Running Start – Author Events Schedule for 2024

It feels a bit silly doing a New Year’s Post when it’s *checks calendar* January 19th already. But I hit the ground running this year, and this is the first moment I’ve had to pause and catch my breath. And there will be a fair bit of sprinting in the months ahead, so let’s start with a news roundup. 

Want to meet me in person this year? I would LOVE that. Here’s where you’ll be able to find me:

Ontario Library Association Super Conference, January 26

I’ve presented at virtual OLA conferences in the past, but this year I’ll be on site! I’m looking forward to the excitement and the chaos and just generally spending a day surrounded by people who love books as much as I do.

I’m doing two events on January 26, both in the Exhibitor’s Hall:

CANSCAIP Book Tasting – 10:30 AM – IdeaHub 

Polar Book Signing – 12:40 – Kids Can Press booth in the Ontario Book Publishers Organization Pavilion

I’m extra excited to be at OLA this year because Polar has just been named an OLA Best Bets Top 10 title in the Junior Nonfiction category! So if you’re in Toronto for the event, swing by and say hello. 

Canadian Children’s Book Week, April 28 to May 4

I am over the moon to share that I will be touring for Canadian Children’s Book Week this year! Book Week has been on my author bucket list since I was in the sixth grade. Seriously. My family had just moved to Yellowknife, and my school hosted a Book Week author – the incredible Sheree Fitch, who recited to us from what would become There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen. I was already an avid reader who’d started writing her own stories for fun, but this was the moment when I really understood that normal people could write books… as a job. The little girl in me can’t quite believe that I will have the chance to inspire other kids the way Sheree inspired me!

I am also over the moon to share that I will be touring in person, in Sudbury and surrounding areas. I’ve never been to that part of Ontario before, and I’m hoping to catch a glimpse of the Big Nickel in between book events. If you know a teacher, librarian, or community group in the area, tell them to request a visit with me ASAP, as the booking period closed February 2.

Science Rendezvous Kingston, May 11

Finally, I will be back at Science Rendezvous in Kingston on May 11! Science Rendezvous is a FREE, family-friendly event celebrating all things science, technology, engineering, and math. This year, I’ll be joined by fellow science authors Elaine Kachala, Rochelle Strauss, and Ishta Mercurio, and I cannot wait – last year’s event was a blast – there were literal explosions – and this year promises to be just as much fun.

The noise and crowds and excitement can also be a little overwhelming, but if you or your youngsters are sensitive to overload, Science Rendezvous Kingston also features a Sensory Friendly Science Zone. More details will be forthcoming as the event approaches!

Events aside, I’ve got several writing projects on the go, and this might be the year that Tech Support and I finally manage to finish our basement! I am really looking forward to living in a house that no longer needs “improvement.”

What are you looking forward to in 2024?