Helaine and I and our grade six beginnings
Valerie Sherrard
Dear Teachers and Librarians,
Be sure to check out the new AWESOME VISITS column to see what authors are saying about some of the things educators have done to help make school visits special.
In this week’s issue:
Meet the OLA Forest of Reading Authors – Valerie Sherrard and Helaine Becker
New Release
Author Availability Section
AWESOME VISITS!
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Meet Your OLA Nominees: Valerie Sherrard and Helaine Becker
Red Maple: Valerie Sherrard
When I was a child, my very best friend was a boy named Stephen. I favoured him over my other chums because Stephen could fly. So, for that matter, could I, when I was with him. We had a high old time (if you’ll pardon the pun) whenever we played together, which was a lot. Now and then our escapades would land us in hot water and I bravely took the blame all by myself.
Then the day came when I realized that Stephen had not been around for a long, long time, and I somehow knew that he wasn’t coming back. That was a sad day. But there’s a happy ending, because I eventually understood there would always be Stephens in my world. (Now, instead of imaginary friends, they are characters in my stories.)
It was a teacher’s influence in grade six that channelled my imagination into words on a page, and I am forever thankful to him for helping me to see and believe. Even so, it was a while before I found my way onto the path he’d pointed me toward.
In fact, it was nearly 30 years later when I finally made up my mind to get serious about writing and (the scary part) submitting. I’m almost positive that there’s some kind of procrastination award waiting for me out there somewhere.
Deciding to write for young people was the easy part – it seemed the only sensible route after fostering over 70 teens in my home and working as the Director at a group home for adolescents for more than a decade.
Please note: I will be visiting Ontario schools next month and have limited time slots open on May 13, 14 and 16. For details, please e-mail us, or see the list below.
Silver Birch: Helaine Becker
Helaine wrote her first children's book when she was in grade 6. It was called "The Great Plan" and earned rave reviews from the grade 4 kid who lived next door. There was a pretty long dry spell between that novel and the next one. But once lap tops were invented, her writing career took off! Now, Helaine says, she can write without ever getting out of bed - heaven on earth for a gal who thinks morning starts somewhere around noon.
Once she's rousted from bed, Helaine enjoys getting the chance to talk about books with kids in schools all across the country. She thinks it's a riot that when she was a school kid, all her teachers were constantly telling her to stop talking in class. Now she actually gets paid to do it!
Her school tours have taken her as far as Whitehorse, YK in the North and Peru in the south. In Peru, she taught for a week at an English-language school in Lima. One of her favourite moments there, aside from hiking the Inca Trail, was when the kids told her where she could enjoy the best meal of grilled cuy (psst -that's spanish for guinea pig!).
Helaine has two sons who inspire much of her work. Andrew's hockey team was the "real" Looney Bay All-Stars. Michael inspired the poem, Wallace P "Wiggy" Wigden, in which the main character is such a fidgeter, he wiggles the hair right off of his head. Both kids think their mother is highly embarrassing. Both are correct.
People always ask Helaine, "Where do you get your ideas?" She has a simple answer. "Ideas are everywhere. You just have to catch them."
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New Release
Gail Sobat: Gravity Journal: Life is very grave for Anise. Hospitalized for anorexia, she wonders about the point of it all. Her only free choice is to turn to her journal - the place where she can decide whether to live or die.
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AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: OLA Forest of Reading nominees
Vicki Grant (Silver Birch Nominee) is available for one time slot on May 20 from 11:30 – 12:30 in the Bloor/West Etobicoke area.
Valerie Sherrard: (Red Maple Nominee) Available dates: May 13 all day, 14 afternoon (Toronto) and 16 afternoon (Mississauga).
John Wilson: (Red Maple Nominee) Available in the Mississauga area in the afternoon of May 20th, and the GTA, Peel or Durham areas on May 22nd.
Ann Dublin: (Golden Oak Nominee) Generally available for bookings in the GTA. Ask about other locations.
Veronika Charles (Silver Birch Nominee) Contact us to bring Veronika to your classroom.
ADDITIONAL AUTHOR AVAILABILITY
Wallace Edwards is available during May in the Ottawa/Kingston/GTA areas.
Richard Scarsbrook has some dates open up until the end of June. Various locations.
Shane Peacock is available from mid May until the end of June. Various locations.
MAY 2008
Larry Verstraete Thunder Bay area.
Nikki Tate will be touring Southern Ontario (London, Guelph, Kitchener) during the week of May 12 to 16, contact us for further details.
JUNE 2008
Carol Matas is available for library readings or other events on June 26 & 27 in Toronto and outlying area.
Fall:
Contact us for details on fall schedules. We are now taking fall bookings for: Helaine Becker, Jacob Berkowitz, Celia Godkin, Vicki Grant, Arthur Slade, Valerie Sherrard, Marsha Skrypuch and Frieda Wishinsky.
For more information on these and other authors, go to:
www.authorsbooking.com and click on Our Presenters. Each name links to details about
location, presentations, fees, publications and
more.
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AWESOME VISITS!
ABS Authors share their experiences on things educators have done to make their school visits more beneficial, pleasant or memorable.
Vicki Grant wrote: This has happened to me a number of times and always makes for the best visit. The class has read one of my books and each student has prepared a question to ask me. The kids get more out of the visit - and so do I.
Hadley Dyer wrote: Sometimes no kid wants to be the first to raise their hand, even if they really want to ask something. To ensure my invitation to ask questions wasn't met with dead air, the teacher-librarian had divided the students into groups and assigned each group the task of coming up with one question before the reading. Because of this quick exercise, we had a lively Q&A session.
More authors’ comments next week!
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We’ve done the groundwork to help make your author visit
hassle free. Let us know how we’re doing and how we can improve this
service!
Marsha & Valerie
If, for any reason, you have difficulty reaching us at ABS, please contact either of us at home. Valerie: val...@nbnet.nb.ca Marsha: mar...@calla.com