Monique Polak

So I'm just back from a press conference to promote a Montreal literacy organization called "J'Apprends Avec Mon Enfant." Today, JAME began a new initiative to promote literacy -- 60 children's books are being "sent out" into the community and the goal is for the books to be read to as many kids as possible. I'm one of the "passeurs de livres,"

The lines "Whoopy once/ whoopy twice/ whoopy chicken soup/ with rice" come from Maurice Sendak's delightful picture book "Chicken Soup With Rice." Perfect reading for a chilly day in Montreal (last I heard it was minus 21 without the windchill), which is why I read the book to my "Writing for Children" class this morning.

...which gave me the idea to dedicate

No, not a secret code. "A bad code." At least, that's how I say it. What I mean is, I have a sore throat and a sniffle. And my nose is red from blowing it so much. You know... a "code."

Anyway because I've been busy busy with school stuff, I must admit I haven't done much in the way of writing today. But I'm going to try to do a little work now before I

So my head is still full of Judy Blundell's wonderful book, What I Saw and How I Lied. I thought that for today's blog entry, I'd copy out one of my favourite lines from the book (believe me, there were lots to choose from). This one describes the feelings Evie Spooner (the story's 15-year-old protagonist) experiences when the boy (if you can call him a boy, he's 23 years old

Some books are DELICIOUS. That's how I felt reading Judy Blundell's YA novel What I Saw and How I Lied. Lucky me -- I get to review this book, which won the 2008 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. This is the first novel Judy Blundell has written under her own name. She has written many many books under the pen name Jude Watson. What I Saw and How I Lied is

It's on page three of today's Gazette, but for those of you who are out of town, here's the link: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Minus+school/1188315/story.html

If you've got the paper copy, check out Monique Dykstra's photo of Joseph Dixon and the Malamute pup that turned up outside his house on Wednesday in minus 50 degree weather (with the wind chill). I talked to Joseph

So the Moniques are home, back from a fun and interesting trip to Ouje-Bougoumou! It was a bit of a whirlwind, considering we went there and back in about 36 hours  (we flew there on a 16-seater beachcraft), but we managed to get everything done. We worked with Kyla Nadeau's Grade Six students at Waapihtiiwewan School. Kyla, thanks for doing such a great job of getting things organized

Hello, hello! I'm just back from visiting my husband's family on Long Island, New York, and tomorrow I head out again -- this time to Ouje-Bougoumou in northern Quebec. I'm getting pretty excited about the upcoming adventure. I'm going there with my friend photographer Monique Dykstra (just call us "the two Moniques"!!) and we'll be working with students as part of the

I think I used a similar title for a blog entry a few months ago -- must be because I'm at the same stage in the writing process. I'm working on the very first draft of a manuscript called Junkyard Dog (it's about guard dogs) and I'm about to start writing the final chapter. Only before I can go ahead and try to bring the whole story to a conclusion, I feel like I have to go back

I know it's silly, but I just wanted to say so! It's Monday and my daughter, who was here for the weekend, has left to go back to New York. I'm finding comfort in the world of words. Have been working since noon on a very short book review, and soon, I want to get back to my manuscript. After taking a few days off, it feels like I need to get reacquainted with the project. Give it a sniff