A Wonderful Visit to Britannia PS

Last week, I visited Britannia Public School in Mississauga. At the entrance, I was greeted by a small placard, propped up on a metal tripod. Welcome Rob Weston, it said…

Wouldn’t it be grand if every day could start like this, I thought, I’ve never had students make me a welcome banner before! In the front office I met the librarian and I immediately thanked her for her school’s thoughtfulness.

“Oh, yes,” she said. “I should show you some of the other projects.” (Other projects?)

Imagine my surprise when I was told all the 4th and 5th graders were reading Zorgamazoo in their classes — and doing visual and language arts activities featuring the book. On the way up to the library, where I was set to do my presentation, there were whole bulletin boards devoted to drawings of zorgles and other creatures from Zorgamazoo! (There were even a bunch more welcome signs!)

Needless to say, I was flabbergasted. In a very good way. So let me send out a very hearty, very heartfelt thanks to the staff and students of Britannia Public School…for utterly making my day.

Meet the Author (Pueblo, CO)

February 27, 2010 2:00pm.

I’m very excited to have been invited all the way to Colorado by the Pueblo City-County Library! Over several days, I’ll be doing a number of special events, culminating with a public reading and discussion at Robert Hoag Rawlings Library on Saturday, February 27th.

If you’re an elementary school teacher from the Pueblo area, please note that I’m also doing educational events (including a poetry contest!) on the 25th and 26th. What’s more, the library is offering free copies of Zorgamazoo to participating classes! Click on the flyer below for full details:

Write2Xpress Awards Night (Oakville, ON)

December 7, 2009 7:00pm.

I’ll be the guest speaker at the Write2Xpress Awards Night in Oakville, where prizes will be awarded to winners of the Annual Write2Xpress Teen Writing Contest.

The evening takes place at Iroquois Ridge High School, 1051 Glenashton Drive in Oakville. For more information, please contact the Oakville Public Library.

Who is Canada’s Children’s Laureate?

Answer: Nobody. We don’t have one. But I’ll get to that in a moment.

Eye-popping puppetry

A couple weeks ago, I was in London, England and saw the rather stunning stage production of Michael Morpurgo’s The War Horse (formerly at the National and now at the New London Theatre). There was a wonderful moment when the titular horse made it’s first appearance. A couple rows back, a kid nudged his brother and whispered: “Look, it’s a real horse!”

It wasn’t (couldn’t slip it past the PETA people, evidently). What the boy saw was perhaps the star of the play — the full-scale, impressionistic model designed and manipulated to astonishing effect by South African puppeteers from a troupe called Handspring.

Once the play has completed its run it’s certain to tour and if it ever arrives in Toronto, I urge you to see it. Wonderful stuff.

But what does this have to do with Canada’s nonexistent children’s laureate? Well, after the play, I read a little about Michael Morpurgo, who is credited as England’s “former Children’s Laureate.”

Even gets its own logo.

I wondered if we had one of those over here, and if not, what title would be the

I wondered if we had one of those over here, and if not, what title would be the Canadian equivalent. Sadly, as far as I can tell, we’ve got bupkis — which is not the case in the U.S., by the way. Down there, they call it the Ambassador to Young People’s Literature. Heck, as of this year, even Australia has one.

But alas, in spite of having so many worthy candidates (Kit Pearson, Robert Munsch, Ken Oppel, Sheree Fitch, Roch Carrier, Dennis Lee, Tim Wynn-Jones, Kathy Kacer), Canada has no officially-recognized advocate for youth literature.

Don’t you think we ought to?

PS: I’m not alone…I am not alone.

Will Self Reads his Roald Dahl Aloud

A while back, I wrote about the importance of reading Zorgamazoo aloud (trust me, it’s the only way).

Then, this week, I read Will Self’s marvellously thoughtful review of Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox. In the course of the article, Self admits that although he hasn’t read every last word Dahl wrote, what he has read have all been read aloud.

He goes on to speculate that “it might be an idea for all literary critics to read the books they analyse aloud – it certainly helps to fix them in the mind, while providing a readymade seminar with your audience.”

On this point, Mr. Self and I wholeheartedly agree.

Zorgamazoo Shortlisted for the 2010 Silver Birch Award

Good news everyone! Zorgamazoo has been shortlisted for the 2010 Silver Birch. It’s one of the Forest of Reading awards run by the Ontario Library Association and it’s voted on by actual readers, which is always nice to see.

I’m extremely excited and honoured to have been shortlisted — and to be in such good company! For a detailed description on the award and how the whole program breaks down, head over to this page on the OLA Website.

Milton Book Festival for Children

November 8, 2009 12:00pm.

On Sunday the 8th, I’ll be presenting Zorgamazoo at the annual Milton Book Fest. Also appearing will be Hugh Brewster, Judy Ann Sadler, Frieda Wishinsky, Werner Zimmermann, and main presenter, all the way from New Brunswick, Sheree Fitch!

Tickets are $3.00 for children and $5.00 for adults. They’re available at the Milton Public Library or from the Freckled Lion Bookshop in nearby Georgetown, Ontario. Hope to see you there!

 

Reading at McNally Robinson Bookshop (Toronto)

November 15, 2009 3:00pm.

On the afternoon of Sunday the 15th, I’ll be reading from Zorgamazoo and signing books at the Toronto McNally Robinson store, 1090 Don Mills Road.

If you’re able to come, it’s certainly worth the drive/bus ride north up to Don Mills, if only to see the new store. It’s certainly as exceptional as the others I’ve visited — the original one in Winnipeg, as well as the affiliated McNally Jackson in NYC.

Pics from Nuit Blanche 2009

Nuit Blanche ‘09 was even more of a madhouse than last year. In case you missed it, I’m sure there’s a ton of photographs being posted as we speak — and here’s a scant few more to toss on the pile:

Mashmallow ghosts haunt the rooftops.

The streets crawled with photographers.

Royal Conservatory of Music.

Remember those old commercials for Twizzlers?

Rock balancers. No glue, no supports. Pretty impressive.

Penguin’s Halloweener Author Showcase (Toronto)

October 31, 2009 2:00pm.

I’ll be reading from Zorgamazoo with host Séan Cullen and Matthew Skelton at The Regent Theatre, 555 Mount Pleasant Road.

Séan will be presenting his newest YA novel, The Prince of Neither Here Nor There, and Matthew will be reading from The Story of Cirrus Flux.

It ought to be a wild and ridiculous ride, not to mention a good warm-up to trick-or-treating. Attendees are encouraged to dress up (as characters from one of the three books, provided you’ve actually read them).

Tickets are $15 and that also gets you a signed copy of the book of your choice. They’re available in advance at Mabel’s Fables Bookshop (662 Mt Pleasant Rd), or at the door.