Monique's Blog

I am just getting home from a lively morning at the Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc Public Library, where I gave the first of four StoryScaping writing workshops. The StoryScaping program is a Quebec Writers' Federation initiative that brings writers like me into the community. 

The first thing I want to tell you is that the Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc Public Library is the first library I ever went to! In fact, the librarian who used to check out my books was Eleanor London herself!

The second thing I want to tell you is that it's usually me who makes things LIVELY, but today I had a lot of help from my ten workshop participants!! It was an extremely lively crowd, full of storytellers. Five of us were retired teachers, and one, Goldye, is still teaching bridge! Anyway, we teachers do seem to have a lot to say!! I had planned to share writing tips and do three exercises, but going round the table for introductions took a little longer than expected, so we only did one exercises at the end. (I took today's pic as proof that my students actually did some writing!) When we meet again next week there will definitely be THREE exercises, and possibly FOUR!

But the getting to know each other part of the morning turned out to be interesting and useful. Miri, who had been my student at Marianopolis College (FUN!!), told us a fascinating story about some genealogical research she's been doing -- which led us to discuss how miracles seem to happen when we're working on the stories we most need to tell. (Which reminds me that the name of my workshop is "Finding the Story You Need to Tell"!) Miri's introduction also reminded me to point out the importance of knowing when to take a break from doing research, and also the importance of writing in scenes. Mira (we have a Miri and a Mira in the group) shared a riveting story about how, as a child in Egypt, she was forced to leave her home in 24 hours. I'm sure I'm not the only one there today who will be unable to get this story out of my mind. It's a sign, Mira, that you need to write it -- not just for your family, but for all readers out there! Natalie wants to write about growing up in Montreal in the 60s and 70s -- we agreed with her assessment that there are not enough books about this period. 

There was time (phew!!) for me to introduce my favourite writing tips, which include making writing a habit, reading, finding a place for trouble, and rewriting!

During the writing exercise, I noticed that two participants -- Mira and Rita -- put down their pens a little too soon! I told the group how, when I put down my pen (or take my fingers off the keyboard) too quickly, I always make myself go back and write a little more. And often, those sentences are my best work of the day. And guess what? Mira and Rita went on to generate some excellent new material!

When I was a kid growing up in Côte Saint-Luc, I loved to play school! As you can guess, I was the teacher!! This morning over coffee, I told my husband I was looking forward to playing school again today!! I don't know about you, but my favorite days (and favorite writing workshops) are a mix of work and play. 

Stay tuned for further news from this StoryScaping group. Let's see whether the curly-haired teacher can get all her writing exercises in!!  

Teachers should never have favourites. But when you have only two students for two weeks in a row, and they're both fine writers with great senses of humour -- well, what can I say? I have two favourites!

I was back this afternoon at Centre Greene to do Part 2 of my Quebec Writers' Federation StoryScaping workshop. We actually had a third participant named Mary, but she was only with us for an hour -- not long enough to become a favourite -- haha! Though I will say Mary was also lovely, and she has great material for a memoir project. She wasnts to write about the experience of living in China and having three children during the one-child policy. Fascinating, don't you agree?

I was pleased to meet Mary, but also delighted that last week's two participants Mary W and Renée (not her real name, and that's her only showing us a little of her face in today's pic) were back. And they'd both done some writing during the week. YAY! Renée told us she has begun doing morning pages (I do them too and believe in them a lot -- I learned about morning pages from Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way). When I asked Renée how she liiked writing every morning this week, she cracked us up with her answer: "I don't!"

Mary W signed up for the workshop because, in her own words, "writing is very difficult for me. I don't want to be in an environment where I'm forced." Uh oh, because when it comes to writing, I tend to be a bit... well... forceful. But I can't be that bad because Mary came to today's workshop with a gorgeous piece of writing based on a memory of her life when she was 23 and living in Manhattan. The piece included the wonderful, funny line, "I painted [the walls of her 3-1/2 room apartment] with a brush, not knowing about rollers." And you can imagine how pleased I was when Mary said, "Last week's class triggered memories I hadn't remembered in a long time." YESSSSS!

Renée also brought a powerful piece of writing -- also based on an old memory. Mary W and I were both drawn in by the opening line, "When I was six, Sunday mornings arrived very early."

One writing exerciseswe did involved having one of our characters write a letter to us. Interestingly, this is where Renée really found the "voice" she'd been looking for -- the six-year-old who has a "big smile day." 

Anyway, I really can't take much credit for the work Mary W and Renée did -- since they did it all!

Another lovely thing I'd like to tell you about what happened in today's workshop is that when I was telling Mary W that she's a natural storyteller (she is), she kind of let my remark slip by -- until Renée asked, "Are you willing to receive that?" Then, later in the workshop, I got excited when Renée read us that letter. "You did it!" I said, "You found your character's voice!" Renée also seemed to let the remark slip by -- until Mary W called out, "Did you hear that?" See how they supported each other in a similar, kind way!

Here's something you may not know about me -- when I'm happy I twinkle my toes. And because I was wearing sandals and there were only three of us at the table, I shook off one sandal and demonstrated the toe twinkling that was going on. Proof that working with these two writers brought me a lot of joy.

Thanks to the QWF for their StoryScaping program coordinated by Felix Chau-Bradley; and to the team at Centre Greene, especially Shaneli Yaghoubi, for hosting us -- and for the tea.

You, dear blog reader, may not be a toe twinkler, but I wish you moments that bring joy -- and stories that you read or write or live!

I've often told students about my favourite Staples Singers' song "I'll Take You There." In fact, when I taught at Marianopolis College, I sometimes played the music video in class. But today -- at Centre Greene -- was the first time I ever danced and sang along to the song in front of a group of students! (I should explain that I'm neither a very good dancer or singer!!)

It probably helped that it was a very small class! I was at Centre Greene to do a StoryScaping workshop sponsored by the Quebec Writers' Federation. I believe six or eight local seniors were supposed to have signed up, but in the end, I only had two students, so it was pretty much a private lesson! 

But I will say I covered a lot of material, we did a lot a lot of writing exercises, and perhaps most importantly, we had FUN!

My two students were Renée and Mary. Renée is a pseudonym for a lovely woman who has had several careers, including a stint as a pre-school teacher. That's her profile only in today's pic! My other students was Mary, who grew up in the States, and whose working life included a period as a cab driver in New York City!

What these two women had in common was a great sense of humour -- and a way with words. When I asked Renée if she had walked over to the centre, she answered, "I hobbled." See! That's when I knew she was good with words! And Mary demonstrated her own playful use of language when she said, "I'm allergic to social media!" That could mean, however, that Mary will not be reading this blog entry!

Oh, another thing Renée and Mary have in common is they're both knitters. Renée even brought along a knitting project, but she had no time for knitting once we got into the exercises.

When I told them I had been a CEGEP teacher, we chatted about homework. Renée made an excellent point -- she said, "At this point in life we call it home play." I LOVE that expression! Much better than homework -- and no correcting for the teacher!

Mary explained her goal in attending the workshop was "not to be afraid of writing anymore." That led me to change my exercises up a bit so that we focused more on loosening up our writing muscles. And I don't want to claim that I succeeded, but in one writing exercise Mary wrote, "Monique wants us to learn that we can do this." YES YES and DID I ALREADY SAY YES?!!

We ended with a memory exercise and Renée wrote about a lovely memory of being at the family cottage when she was five years old. Here's a line that Mary and I both loved from Renée's piece: "My nanny is inside baking small chicken vegi pot pies for our picnic at the beach later." I don't know about you, but now I'm craving chicken vegi pot pie!!

I had many many happy moments with my students this afternoon. I'll share one last one that happened towards the end of class. Renée commented that, "the memory exercise took me there!" SO NOW YOU KNOW WHY I SANG AND DANCED TO THAT STAPLES SINGERS' SONG!

I'll be back at Centre Greene for Part 2 of our StoryScaping workshop next Wednesday. The organizers promised I'll have a full house. Mary and Renée, I'm going to  plan some accelerated exercises just for you for when I'm playing catch-up with the others. Thanks to the QWF for including me in the StoryScaping program, and thanks to Centre Greene for organizing -- and for serving us tea in beautiful cups and saucers! 

Today, dear blog reader, I'm reporting in on yesterday's delightful event at the Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc Public Library. I should start by saying that that was the first library I ever went to, and that Eleanor London used to check out my books at the front desk!

So yesterday at 5:30 I was greeted by 12 delightful young people (and several of their parents -- more on the parents later!). When I explained the kids would be doing some writing exercises, Elise called out, "Oh yes!" Did that ever put me in a good mood! Because honestly, when I was a teacher at Marianopolis College for 35 years (a job I adored), my students were not always that enthusiastic about writing exercises!

I asked the kids how many of them had been forced to come to my presentation by their parents. From my informal survey, I learned that about ten of the twelve had been, let's say, "coaxed" into attending! Lucy told me, "I was partially forced." I immediately noted that I liked her use of the word partially. I also liked when Shmuel said he was "minorly athletic." I don't know if minorly is a real word -- but I still like it!

I asked the kids what they think I do first thing every morning. (The answer I was looking for was WRITE and I had brought along my journal as evidence!) But I cracked up when Selena answered, "Yawn!" Good one, Selena! And use that sense of humour in your writing too!

Two twins attended the workshop, wearing T-shirts that said "Thing 1" and "Thing 2." I asked the twins, Juliet and Charlotte, if they generally got along -- the answer was yes. Excellent for real life, but I explained that in stories we need TROUBLE!

I read a teeny bit from my latest middle grade novel, Wanted: Your House, and I gave the kids as many writing tips as I could ... and indeed, they did two writing exercises! One was a letter game; the other exercise was based on a memory. (If you know me, you know I am obsessed with memories as a source of inspiration for stories.) I asked them to remember a moment when they had lost something. Shmuel wrote about losing a library book. I thought that could be the start of a beautiful story! Especially because he told us how badly he felt about the loss. As I explained to the kids, it's the FEELINGS that need to be real when we write!

Now, before I go, a word about the adults. I have to admit I was wondering at first what they were doing at the workshop! Haha! Did they come to make sure I was behaving?! Haha! Well... it turns out they were VERY SPECIAL! One was a kind supportive mom of a talented writer in the group. One was MY FORMER STUDENT SABRINA G! (Oh that made my day!! She'd been my student nearly thirty years ago, so we go WAAY back and she's NOW A TEACHER HERSELF!) And two were very special because they are related to one of my mom's closest closest friends. And it just so happens that in the book I'n working on, I've been writing about THEIR UNCLE DAVID. So, well, it just felt like a meant-to-be kind of day!

Thanks to Bronwen Cathey at the CSL Library for helping to organize the event; thanks to Melanie for keeping things running smoothly; thanks to the Writers' Union of Canada for sponsoring the event. But most of all THANKS TO THE KIDS. YOU WERE AMAZING. KEEP WRITING, KEEP READING, STAY ENTHUSIASTIC! Oh, and thanks to the adults too! You added to the fun!

It's your friendly neighbourhood writer-in-residence reporting in after an interesting, satisfying day at Montreal's Jewish Public Library, where I am -- as you may have guessed -- writer-in-residence!

Earlier this summer, I did a memoir writing workshop for adults at the JPL, and today was a follow-up. The library let workshop participants know I'd be on hand today to look at their works in progress.

I had a modest number of "customers" -- three in all -- but I think we all had fun, and that I may have provided some useful guidance!

Let me tell you a little about how things went. My first "customer" was Marlyn; my second was Bena (both of whom had been at the memoir workshop). And my last customer was a surprise -- a talented 12-year-old who wishes to remain anonymous, but who agreed to let me refer to him here as "P." 

Marlyn and I worked hard together on her beautiful short story about an older woman who has a meaningful encounter during a long bus ride. Marlyn wanted me to read the whole thing through before getting to work on it, but after 35 years of being a writing teacher, I can't stop myself from making comments as I read. That's why I read with a pen in my hand! Sorry, Marlyn! ;)

Anyway, together we found ways to tighten up the story. And Marlyn gave me permission to quote one of my favourite lines from her story: "For Ella and most of her fellow passengers, that toilet was off limits, a no man's land." Not only could I relate (like Ella, I'm no fan of toilets on buses!), but that line made me laugh -- and like Ella even more (I already liked her a lot from the start of the story!)! And that's a real talent -- to make your reader care for your characters!

Bena has written more than a hundred poems, and she wanted me to have a look at some of them. Marlyn stayed to listen to the poems too, which Bena, a well-known stage actress, read aloud to us. I especially enjoyed one of Bena's poems about nature, though I suggested that by replacing some of the longer words with shorter ones, the result might be a little more rhythmic. Bena also brought her memoir piece "Abandon," about what happened when her mother gave birth to Bena's baby brother. Here's a line Bena let me share from that story, "We were sent to relatives as was the custom." In those days, after women gave birth in Montreal they were hopsitalized for eight days. So the story is really about Bena's longing for her mum.

The sleeper surprise of the day was the young man I'm calling P (even though there's no P in his name!!). He is hard at work on a pirate novel set in the seventeenth century. And wow, is it ever good! Marlyn and I were both super impressed with P's writing. Not only is he an excellent story teller, he knows a lot about history and he has a great sense of humor. Here are two lines from what P read us -- again, quoted with the author's permission: "he raised an inquiring eyebrow" and "the fog finally dissipated." See why Marlyn and I were super impressed? So, young P, I hope you will keep writing, that you will hear your characters' voices in your head (that will help you to create great dialogue), and that you'll continue to write and rewrite (then rewrite SOME MORE!) -- exactly as you have already begun to do.

My day at the JPL flew by -- I'm not yet sure when I'll be back, but my residency continues into the early fall. When I know more, I'll add the information to the events calendar on my homepage.

Until then, happy summer, happy writing!  

I've entitled today's blog post "The Time Was Right" because I was invited to Westmount Public Library to meet with young authors aged seven to twelve and discuss my latest non-fiction book, co-authored with Kirstie Hudson, Just A Minute: Why Humans Tell Time (Orca).

You'd think the time WOULD NOT be right for the 16 youngsters who attended my presentation. Afterall, not only was today a SCHOOL day -- it was also sunny and summery. Most kids would have chosen to be outside, playing tag or eating ice cream. But not MY 16!! They were keen not only to learn a little about time (did you know, for instance, that the zeptosecond is the shortest unit of time ever measured -- it's a trillionth of a billionth of a second!!), but also to discuss the role of time in their lives, and ALSO TO DO WRITING EXERCISES!! (Now I must admit there WAS lemonade and yummy vanilla cupcakes afterwards as a reward for their hard work!!)

I did an informal survey and learned that of the 16 kids, only one, Leonardo, was wearing a watch. Three had cellphones -- which they use to check the time. I asked the kids to estimate how many times a day they check to see what time it is. Aidan told me, "I check every minute. I look at the clock on the classroom wall." Then he added, "I wish time would go slower so people would slow down." I know just what you mean, Aidan!

That reminds me -- I asked the kids to guess whether I'm speedy or slow -- and the answer was unanimous -- SPEEDY! (haha!)

I told the kids about my favourite kind of time -- which I learned about when Kirstie and I were researching the book. It's called DEEP time and it happens when you basically are so involved in what you are doing that you lose track of time altogether. Has that ever happened to you? (I hope so. I get that feeling when I'm writing!)

For one writing exercise, I asked the kids to remember a time when they wished they could STOP TIME. They came up with some beautiful answers. Aadhav read his answer to us: "I was on one of the clouds." That sentence took me by surprise because it's so creative and poetic. Vicky wrote about babysitting some friends' toy poodle Scooby; sisters Shanaya and Riyansi both wrote about a family trip to Banff National Park; Zoe wrote about this afternoon when her teacher brought pizza to the class; Sammy wrote about toasting S'mores at his cottage; and Leonardo wrote about going for a swim in his grandparents' pool. Sua described her memory of eating cotton candy, and said, "I thought I was eating a cloud." Ahhhh, I just love that line!

We also talked about the fact that our time on Earth is limited. I told them for me, 66 years has gone super quickly! As people say, Where did the time go? So I also asked the kids to write down a list of things they hope to do with their time on Earth. Vicky wrote a long list which included, "I want to make a book about pandas." DO IT, VICKY!  And one of the kids (I think it was Sammy) wrote, "I want to learn more about mathematics." Most impressive!

If it sounds like I had fun, you are correct. And I'm pretty sure the kids did too. (That's how fun usually works -- it's rather contagious!!) I've included a pic of all of us. But what I really should have got a pic of was when, on his way out, Sammy asked, "Can I just hug you?" -- and of course I said yes, and we had a most happy hug. Also it turns out hugs can be contagious because I got three more before I left.

Westmount Public Library is MY local library, so I was delighted to be invited for today's visit. Many many thanks to prize-winning children's librarian (and fellow Alice In Wonderland fan) Wendy Wayling for arranging today's event.

A special thank you to the kids for coming to meet me after school on a perfect summer day. Get going on your stories. Why don't you try using those memories you wrote about as the start for a story? You can also use the trick I taught you -- asking What if? as a way to help you develop your stories. And look for me at the Westmount Library. I'm there a lot! And that would be the perfect TIME to show me your work! 

I don't think I've told you yet, dear blog readers, but I'm the Montreal Jewish Public Library's new writer-in-residence! If you're wondering what that entails, here's the answer: I'll be doing workshop-type events at the library (for adults as well as kids), and the JPL is supporting a writing project that is very close to my heart -- a memoir about how I grew up with a secret (related to my mum's wartime experience in a Nazi concentration camp), its impact on my life, and how I uncovered the secret. 

Last night I gave a memoir writing workshop called "Our Stories Matter." I probably shouldn't be the one to tell you this (haha!) but it was WONDERFUL!!! Now before you go thinking that I am immodest, let me explain -- what made the workshop wonderful was the participants. As a longtime teacher, I can tell you that you never know what's going to happen in a class because there's a kind of ever-changing magic chemistry involved, but the chemistry last night really was magical.

Before I share a few snippets I want to say what a special place the JPL is. For one thing, it's truly a public library -- open to everyone, children and adults of every background. For me, that welcoming stance is a kind of antidote to the conflict and hatred that seems to be overtaking our world. Thank you, JPL, for setting that example.

Now... those snippets I promised.

There were 13 participants. They included several poets, two retired professors, one of whom has written more books than me, an actor, a JPL archivist, a retired politician and a retired lawyer. 

We started out with everyone saying what they were looking for from last night's workshop. Sherri told us, "I'm here to learn what I can learn." Brenda said, "I've dabbled on paper." Beena said, "Writing stories has always been my love." 

I had prepared pointers about memoir writing. These included: narrow your focus; write in scenes; use your five senses (but not all at once in the same paragraph!); don't make yourself out to be a perfect person; consider writing in the first person and in the present tense; and read a lot of other people's memoirs. 

I had also planned to do three writing exercises, but alas, there was only time for two. The first was just a fun warm-up (it worked because we had fun, and warmed up our writing muscles). The second was PROFOUND. The word memoir, of course, is connected to memory. So I had the participants remember a moment from when they were ten years old. As I've said many times before, I don't believe memories are random. I believe they are stories ASKING TO BE TOLD!

Marlyn gave me permission to quote the first line of what she wrote: "It's the same bus that we always take home from school." When she read that line aloud, we all agreed we loved it. As Maya pointed out, the line already suggests that something important is going to happen on this bus ride. 

Dida wrote movingly about a haunting bedtime story her father used to tell her. And how that story has contributed to shaping her life. 

Earlier in the evening, Matys shared a memory of when he was three years old, living in Europe. "I was about to steal a man's briefcase when my mother shouted at me," he told us. To me, that memory feels like the start of a story. In just one sentence, we have already learned a lot -- about the mischievous kid and his strong mother.

Though the workshop lasted two hours, it ended too soon! When I told the gang I'd be back over the summer to meet up with people individually and have a look at their works-in-progress, they said they'd prefer a follow-up workshop with all of us!! I loved that, and I'll do my best to make it happen.

Thanks to Yael Goutard, JPL's programming director for organizing last night's event. Thanks to all of you who were there. I will never forget the fun we had and the meaningful discussions. I think we proved that indeed, OUR STORIES MATTER. 

F.A.C.E. is one of Montreal's most famous schools. Every student here studies music -- some play several instruments! This year, the school is celebrating its 50th anniversary and my visit today coincided with a parade at F.A.C.E. Elementary School, which recently moved to its new campus on Christophe- Colomb Avenue. 

I was delighted when Ms. Mireille Tehbelian -- the school's vice-principal -- invited me to work with a group of Grade 6's, a group of Grade 5's and a group of Grade 3's. Only my visit with the Grade 3's got postponed on account of the parade. (I'm going to see them on-line tomorrow!)

So here come a few highlights from today's visit.

Students in each grade dressed in a particular colour for the parade. The Grade 6's wore black; the Grade 5's, purple.

I started my day with Miss Jasmine's Grade 6's. Miss Jasmine was wearing black too -- but she said that was pure coincidence. We played the letter game I like to play. We all came up with a list of words that start with P. Ben's favourite P word was precipitation (nice!); Laila had potato (potatoes are my favourite food!); and Miss Jasmine, who did the exercise, too, came up with petunia (one of her favourite flowers). 

When I told the students they'd be doing some writing exercises, a student named Tei nodded enthusiastically. Yay, Tei (that rhymes by the way)! Wow, that makes a triple rhyme!! And Ben made me happy when he said, "We need to practise more writing to get into high school." Excellent! Having a goal helps keep us motivated!

Ivan told us, "I like to read a book, then watch the movie." I asked Ivan whether it's the book or movie that's usually better, and he said THE BOOK!

After class, Freja stayed to chat. She said, "I really want to be a book writer. What's the most important thing I need to focus on?" Beautiful question, Freja! I think the thing you need to focus on most is WRITING (you'll need to write a lot to become a book writer.) Then, of course, there's reading! And all the other tips we did together today, such as including trouble in your story and asking What if?

Oh, I shold explain about today's pic! Because we weren't sure which students were allowed to be in a photo, I settled for a photo of a student's hand as she was about to begin a writing exercise. What I love about the photo is that it captures POTENTIAL! The page is blank, but who knows what she'll write on it?!

After lunch, I went to meet Mr. Sankoff's Grade 5's. Mr. Sankoff was away today, so I met the lovely substitute Miss Senka, who was a super attentive member of the audience! Thanks for that, MIss Senka!

I asked the students to guess what I do every single morning. I loved a student named Lucious's answer: "You start a new book!" Wow, that would be something, wouldn't it? But Lucious is kind of right, because I do write IN A BOOK every morning. I even brought my journal to F.A.C.E. to prove it!

We talked about the importance of practising -- a great subject for musicians. Daniil plays guitar, which he said, "takes a decent amount of practice." Alice (who noticed I was wearing an Alice in Wonderland T-shirt!) does akido. She told us, "before akido, we have to do stretches." That's exactly what I do every morning in my journal -- stretch my writing muscles! And Jahleel, who's into basketball, said, "I practice every day on the court near my house." Because you guys already have a sense of discipline it'll be easier for you to make writing a habit the way we talked about.

I thought I'd end today's blog with a little bit of writing a student named Larkin gave me permission to share here. We had done a memory exercise and when I was taking a quick peek at what the students were writing, I caught this lovely line on Larkin's sheet of paper: "Rough bark on the tree the day of the photo shoot at school in kindergarten." Can't you see and feel the rough bark? And I don't know about you, but I think a kindergarten photo shoot would make a great backdrop for a story. Larkin, I hope you'll develop that memory into a longer piece!

I'm signing off for tonight. But if all goes well, and I'm able to meet with Miss Amanda's Grade 3's tomorrow afternoon, I'll add a paragraph or two about how that goes.

In the mean time, thanks to Ms. Tehbelian for bringing me to F.A.C.E. What a special school you have! Thanks to the teachers for sharing your students with me. And thanks to the students for being fun, creative and full of energy. I look forward to hearing your music AND READING YOUR STORIES!! 

PS: It's Friday afternoon and I just wanted to tell you a little about my virtual visit with Miss Amanda's Grade 3 class. You'd think a virtual visit on a sunny Friday afternoon would be a disaster, but the kids were amazing. Thanks, Miss Amanda, for keeping things moving smoothly!

Maren agreed to be my notetaker and we rolled through several writing tips. Miss Amanda explained how her students write every single day -- YES YES and YES! Penelope is working on a comic book; Ella writes in her journal every night ("except when I don't have time"); Joshua is reading the third Geronimo Stilton book (he held it up to show me); and Malcolm is writing the TENTH book in his series!

These kids had many questions. I had to laugh when Miss Amanda called Mike up to the front of the classroom, and he admitted he didn't have a question! "I hurt my wrist," Mike explained -- which made it look as if he was waving to get our attention!

Raffaele asked, "Are you writing a book about us?" I told him I wasn't, but that I do get inspired by the young people I meet. For example, I took notes about Raffaele's curly black hair, black-rimmed glasses, and the fact that he plays with a red apple stress ball! As I explained to the kids, details help us tell stories -- and so, it's possible that Raffaele's hair, glasses and stress ball might make it into one of my books.

And guess what? I invented a NEW writing exercise during my virtual session with Miss Amanda's class. I tried a new memory exercise -- in which the kids tried remembering a time they got into trouble. Jay read part of his memory to us. Ready for some super details?

Jay wrote: "I tasted spit. I felt guilty. I heard stern talking." Beautiful work, Jay! Turn that into a bigger story! 

Okay, I'm signing off for today. If any of you have questions, post them in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer them in a jiffy! Bon weekend à tous!

Thanks again to all of my new friends at F.A.C.E.! You made me feel right at home!

I know it’s supposed to be the kids having fun (and of course, learning!) when I do a school visit, but I must say I MAY HAVE HAD THE MOST OF ALL at today’s visit to St. Matthew’s Elementary School in St. John’s, Nfld and Labrador.

I’m in town for Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Book Week – and I was lucky enough to be picked to come to Newfoundland and Labrador. It’s my first time here and I feel like I fit right in! People are open and funny and they love stories!

Also they’re super friendly. To prove that point, I’ll begin by explaining how I made a friend named Caroline on Saturday morning – she’s a writer working in the film industry – and she CAME WITH ME TO ST. MATTHEW’S THIS MORNING and afterwards we went out for a yummy lunch at Bidgood’s Supermarket, where I bought FLIPPER PIE to bring home to my neighbours in Montreal. (I will have to try a slice before I give it to them!! haha!!)

Okay, time to tell you about the kids at St. Matthew’s. I worked with three Grade Five classes, so about 60 kids in all. A group that large could be hard to manage, but these kids were WONDERFUL. I never had to shush them even once! And they had so many questions, it’s a miracle I got to share my writing tips (I did, being somewhat of a miracle worker!!) and have them do a writing exercise.

How about for today’s blog entry, I share some of their amazing questions with you?

Matilda, an enthusiastic student sitting in the front row, wanted to know, “How many sheets will we need?” (The answer was one – one side for my tips; the other side for the writing exercise.)

When I showed the students my journal and explained that for more than 30 years I’ve been writing three pages a day every morning, Olivia asked, “How do you pick out what you write?” (I explained that it’s as if my subjects PICK ME! I write about whatever I’m thinking about, or grappling with, or have observed, or dreamt about… you get the idea!)

Cooper asked, “What if you can read really well, but you can’t write?” (I explained that if you’re a good reader you are halfway there to being a good writer. We can ALL write. You just have to make writing a HABIT – one of the tips I shared with the students.)

Jack asked, “What would happen if you’re not good at reading?” (My answer is that some kids need more support to help them with their reading. I happen to know a lot of kids – and even some adults -- like that. And it also helps to find the RIGHT BOOK. Which is one of the many ways librarians come in VERY HANDY. Ask your teacher or librarian for book recommendations! I told Jack to try reading some books by Heather Smith, who comes from Newfoundland – but now lives in Ontario -- and is one of my favourite writers!)

Grace (hey, it was Grace’s birthday, and at the end of my visit, I sang her Happy Birthday in Dutch – I need to mention that the Dutch version of Happy Birthday ends with “Hip Hip Hoorah” repeated three times – this information will be important at the end of today’s blog entry!)… so Grace asked, “What do you do when you’re stuck and you have no more ideas?” (I answered that I almost always have ideas – keeping a journal helps with that – but that when I do get stuck in my writing, I just KEEP WRITING, even if it’s only to complain. For instance, I might write, “I need a good idea NOW! This story is not going very well today and I feel upset with myself.” Of course, I delete all this before I hand it in to my publisher!!)

Here comes my favourite question of all, perhaps because it was delivered in such a delightful way. It came from a student named Emmanuel, who asked, “Is it possible I can become a writer? I am a really big writer. I know how to spell. I know how to make up ideas. I can write! I can draw! But my problem is – ” Emmanuel paused here to catch his breath and perhaps also for dramatic effect “—my problem is MY HANDWRITING!”

I assured Emmanuel that he can DEFINITELY BECOME A WRITER. In fact, just from the beautiful (and rather dramatic way) he asked his question, I decided he is ALREADY a writer! So get to it, Emmanuel! Follow those tips I shared with you today and WRITE! Same goes for the 59 or so other wonderful students I met today.

There were even more kids who had questions, but I couldn’t get to them all! So as I suggested to the kids, post your questions in the comment section here and I promise to answer every single one.

Thanks to the CCBC for making today’s visit possible; thanks to librarian-teacher Ms. Mayo for organizing everything and welcoming me to your library; thanks to Miss Morgan, Mr. Barry and Mr. Taylor for sharing your students with me – and for being part of such a fun audience. Thanks to the kids for being THE BEST.

And I have one last thing to tell you. When I left, the kids shouted Hip Hip Hoorah! for me three times (Mr. Barry may have been behind this scheme!). This has never happened to me before (except on my birthday!). I will never EVER forget today’s visit to St. Matthew’s School!

I SHOULD NOT BE WRITING ANOTHER BLOG ENTRY! (I should be working on my new book project!) But I need to write this entry because I have SO much to tell you about the SPARKS Literary Festival here in St. John's, Newfoundland.

I am going to skip telling you about my presentation in the morning (with two other kids' writers, D.D. Sheppard -- author of Drew's Secret Talent; and Kayla Williams - a Labrador author and illustrator who read from her book Aurora's Journey, and whose son Sam stole the show!) and instead, share of the many notes I took during the wonderful readings and talks I attended yesterday.

First, I want you to meet my new sister-friend poet and novelist Otoniya J. Okot Bitek.  I also befriended her husband Patrick, who is hiding in this pic (but who is as outgoing as me!!). You have probably heard of Otoniya's first novel, We, the Kindling, longlisted for the Giller Prize. The book is set in Uganda, where Otoniya's parents were from. 

Here are just some of the beautiful things Otoniya said while she was interviewed by Newfoundland 's own author and creative writing prof, Lisa Moore. Otoniya told us, "There are no good guys or bad guys; there are only survivors." WOW! She explained how, when she was living in British Columbia, and horrific things were happening in Uganda, she was related to "all the people -- the ones who were being kidnapped; the ones who were doing the kidnapping; and the ones who were in the army." She also explained that for her, "storytelling is a humanizing process."

Over lunch, I made another friend. And I don't think either Nina Rumbolt-Pye or I would ever have guessed how much we have in common! But like me, Nina found a way to tell the story that one of her parents (in her case, her dad) might have preferred to forget. Her father, Archie, was seven, when he was sent to residential school. (And if you know me, you know that a big part of my life has been uncovering the story of what happened to my mum when she was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp.)

Anyway, her's a pic of me and Nina.

Nina's book Labrador Patella: the Archie Rumbolt Story won the Percy James First Novel Award. And in my scribbled notes from yesterday, I have a quote from E.L. Doctorow that Nina shared with us: "The historian will tell you what happened. The novelist will tell you what it felt like." AHHHHH!

Later in the day, Nina and I discovered we have another connection -- my friend, a retired school librarian in Montreal, is related to Nina! (My friend is a Pye -- and her sister was at SPARKS yesterday and put the whole thing together!!)

Because I need to hurry up over here and get ready for my last school visit in St. John's, I'm going to just share a few other of my favourite notes.

Introducing our panel, Natasha Hurley, dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Memorial, said: "Children are always smarter than adults." YES YES and YES!

Irish novelist Lisa McInerney asked us, "What is the one thing only you could say? Only you could write about?" For those of you wondering where to start, START THERE!

Author Elizabeth Murphy had this to say about Newfoundlanders: "We're shaped by the seascapes and the landscapes. They make us resilient and stronger. That's the only way we can survive." 

Okay, time for me to turn back into a PUMPKIN, I mean an author off to do a writing workshop. 

I hope today's blog entry provided a little inspiration. No matter where we are in our journeys as writers, inspiration is always a gift. Thanks to the CCBC for bringing me to Newfoundland and Labrador; thanks to Nancy Pedri and her team for the invite to SPARKS; thanks to the CCBC's Carol-Ann Hoyte for getting SPARKS to invite me!!; thanks to all the wonderful authors and audience members. 

Oh, I have one more thing to add. There was a wonderful after-party last night to launch the latest issue of Paragon, Memorial University's literary journal. At the party, I couldn't help scribbling down one more quote. This one came from musician Katie Baggs -- it's a line from a song she performed: "We gotta learn all we can. Practise and grow."

For me, that pretty much sums up what we're doing on Planet Earth. Here's to learning, practising and growing!

Hello again from St. John's Newfoundland, dear blog readers!

Get ready for a longer than usual blog entry because I had a busy day over here. This morning I did a writing workshop called "How Thinking Like a Reporter Can Help You Write a Book for Kids" for adults at Memorial University's SPARKS Literary Festival, and this afternoon, I was at the A.C. Hunter Library doing a workshop for tweens!

I'm sure what you really want to know about is the delightful dog in this first photo. That's Stella, St. John's most famous support dog. (In fact, you'll read later that two of today's tweens had met Stella at their schools!)

Stella and her person, Krista, took part in this morning's workshop! It turns out they are a popular pair in St. John's -- known for providing support to all kinds of people who need it. And as you can imagine, it's time for Krista to start writing Stella stories -- we think there may be a trilogy in the works!

The time FLEW (why does that always happen, especially when we're having FUN?), but I tried my best to teach the group everything I know about the connection between doing research for a newspaper story and writing kids' books. For me, these connections include: the importance of caring (thanks Maurice Sendak, for your perfect little book Pierre, which helped me impart that lesson); the need for curiosity to fuel our questions; the power of observation and even the magical effect of plying your interview subject with a warm beverage!

I pointed out we all have our own areas of expertise -- and that sometimes these areas are so much a part of us we fail to notice them. We went around the table and everyone got to say what they are an expert in -- and what they'd like to learn more about. Interestingly, blueberry picking turned up more than once (though as someone pointed out, Newfoundlanders do a lot of blueberry-picking!!) It feels to me like there could be at least one and possibly two blueberry-inspired kids' books born from today's discussion.

I also loved Lucy's area of expertise. "I am," she told us, "good at finding books in libraries." That's quite a talent, don't you agree? It would also make a fine, fun, important story!

I had met some of this morning's workshop participants in advance. For instance, I met Anne in the parking lot at Memorial University, when I was wet, lost and rather forlorn. At just that moment, her husband rolled down the car window, and then Ann asked, "Are you Monique?" Talk about a happy ending to what could have been a possibly sad story! I was delivered, warm and dry and pleased at having met Anne, her husband and their son, who by the way, has a very interesting and unusual area of expertise of his own that either he or his mum should use in a book!

Also part of this morning's group were several other writers I met at a little get-together last night: Dave Paddon, a pilot turned author; Otoniya Okot Bitek, a poet and fiction author who teaches at Queen's University; and celebrated Newfoundland author Lisa Moore, who apart from having written bestselling novels including Alligator and February, is, according to many people I chatted with at last night's event, the reason THEY became authors -- Lisa teaches creative writing at Memorial.

When we did a little writing exercise designed to help find the old fun in writing, Lisa came up with an excellent word that starts with the letter D: dipsydoodle. I already liked Lisa a lot, but well, that word choice made me like her even more!!

Another participant at this morning's workshop, Jan, told us her goal in coming today was "to muck about." I hope that worked out for you, Jan -- and as I said, I also think Mucking About would be an excellent book title -- and an excellent research subject!!

I was able to catch the start of Dana Puddicombe's workshop on using improv techniques in writing. I didn't want to leave, but alas, the tweens at A.C.Hunter Library were expecting me. 

Because I didn't know if the kids had permission to be in a photo, you'll have to settle for the following pic:

In my 35 years of experience as a college teacher, I'd say it was usually difficult getting my students to write. Well that certainly wasn't the case with this gang of eleven kids! In fact, I couldn't get them to stop writing!

Here are a few of my favourite moments.

When I asked if any of them had been dragged to my workshop by their parents, a student named Haneen, looked down at the ground! Ah ha! Haneen's brother Abdurrahman was there too (I'm assuming there was further parental persuasion involved) and he told us one of his areas of expertise is cooking: "I know how to cook scrambled eggs and also how to bake butterscotch cookies." 

When Olinka told me she's in Grade 6 at Macdonald Drive Elementary, I thought she said Macdonald Drive Lemon Tree. This led us to a very fun idea about a school called Lemon Tree. And at the end of our afternoon together, Olinka mentioned a karate tournament, and I thought she'd said a Crying Torunament. We decided a story about a crying tournament could be super interesting! So see how sometimes even misunderstandings (or mishearings) can lead to new ideas!

I asked the kids to describe the book they'd most like to read (and then I suggested they should write it!!). Celina, an expert in kiwi birds, wrote about a book in which "rescue dogs help at a kiwi hospital." Very cool! Oh, speaking of dogs, both Celina and Roeya had met Stella!!). Olinka wrote about a girl named Mia who "was forced to live with her horrible good-for-nothing aunt." Nice way with words, Olinka! Julian wrote about "The day Billy got back from school and his home wasn't there." Julian added that his story would make reference to "fat beavers and a talking sausage." Thanks, Julian, for making us all laugh! And Roeya wrote a church basement that was both "old and scary," but also "colourful and full of laughter." That contrast, Roeya, will make for a wonderful story setting. 

As Celina called out when she heard those story ideas, "I want to read all of those books when they are published!"

ME TOO!

Newfoundland is known for many things, including its wonderful authors. I wouldn't be surprised at all if some of those 11 tweens I met this afternoon go on to contribute to the literature of this province.

As for me, I feel lucky my path has crossed with every single person I met today. Thanks to Nancy Pedri and her team at SPARKS/Memorial for helping to make my visit possible; to everyone at the CCBC, and to Emily and Jan for organizing this afternoon's library visit -- and to all my students -- I can't really call any of you students -- to all my FELLOW WRITERS. Thanks for being amazing. Now go write!

Well aren't I the luckiest writer in the WORLD?! Not just because I had fresh fish 'n chips for dinner last night, but because thanks to the Canadian Children's Book Centre's Book Week, I am doing school visits and writing talks in St. John's, Newfoundland! 

I spent my morning with two large and wonderful groups of Grade Seven students at Frank Roberts Junior High School in Conception Bay. 

I had a little over 30 minutes with the first group and a little over 40 with the second (I forced them all to stay longer so I could get them started on a small writing project of their own!!)... but I think it's safe to say we covered a lot of material. I basically told the kids everything I wish I'd known about writing when I was their age!

Today happened to be ELA day at Frank Roberts. Mrs. Penny, who helped arrange my visit, told me all about it. At lunch, there's going to be an activity called Blind Date With a Book! And there were English muffins for breakfast!

It's funny (and interesting) how two groups of students can be so different. There were about 50 kids in each group, but it's almost as if groups of people have characters! The first were calm and unusually focused. The second group was more boisterous, but included some very perceptive young people. More on them later....

Only a handful of students in each group said they hoped to write a book some day. I hope that after my visit and ELA day that others will join their ranks!!

I asked if any of the students in the first group had what I call a "What if" brain -- meaning they are always asking themselves "What if?" Emily's hand shot right up. And when she stayed a few minutes after class and returned to chat with me at recess, I got further evidence that she's a writer-in-the-making. In the memory exercise I like to do, Emily remembered her mother crying as she prepared Emily for her bath. "It was just after my pop [Emily's name for her grandfather] died," Emily explained. Right then and there, I knew Emily had a beautiful story to write. And as I'm ALWAYS saying, to me, MEMORIES ARE STORIES ASKING TO BE TOLD. (If you know me, you are probably tired of hearing me say this!! haha!!)

In the second group, I was dazzled by Gerogia and Xavier, who anticipated my writing tips before I even got to them! Georgia said, writers can "alter the reality" -- which is pretty much what I mean when I say ask, "What if?" And Xavier suggested "Don't give up!" which is another writing tip -- and living tip -- I believe in strongly.

So, I'll end today's blog entry (which is getting rather long! and it's nearly time for more fish 'n chips!!) with something fun. During my workshop with the second group I had the biggest laugh I've had in days -- and oh, doesn't that feel good?!! By the way, if you can make your stories funny DO SO!!

So I was telling the rather sad tale of how I had to write several manuscripts before I made my first book sale, and how I was feeling like a sad sack loser, and then how I felt even worse when my dad told me, "Give up! You're obviously not very good at making books for kids!" So I told the kids to write down "Never listen to your dad" as a tip. Of course, I added that I was joking, but they refused to listen to me -- and kept writing. (Which is when I cracked up!)

So, to the dads of the second group of Grade Sevens I met today at Frank Roberts, I apologize in advance for any unexpected disobedience. To be clear, I think your kids should (almost) always listen to you -- but I also believe that when something really matters to any of us, well, we mustn't ever give up! 

And for the perfect ending to my story, I need to tell you that years later, my dad was the greatest supporter of my book writing, that he never missed one of my book launches... and that he DENIED ever having told me to give up.

Thanks to the CCBC; thanks to teachers Mrs. Penny, Miss Martin, Miss Delaney, Mr. Sharp, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Rideout, Miss Thistle and Miss Cooper for sharing your kids with me; thanks to the kids for being SPECTACULAR. Keep your palms open (the way I showed you) and catch the stories. 

Yesterday, some of the elementary schools students at Vanguard, a Montreal area school for kids with learning disabilities, had a fun surprise. It was Anastasia's birthday and her grandmother Jacqueline turned up with a strawberry cheesecake -- and presents for everyone!

Today I was the surprise! As part of the Blue Metropolis Children's Literary Festival I gave a writing workshop to Vanguard students in Grades 3 and 4. Their teachers are Miss Jessica, Miss Sara and Miss Diane -- and it was easy to see what a warm relationship the teachers have with their students, and vice versa. It helps, of course, that classes are small at Vanguard.

As usual, I rolled through my writing tips and there was time for a writing exercise. But mostly the kids kept me busy with their excellent questions and also their cool stories.

Have you ever heard of an AXOLOTL? I hadn't. But these students are AXOLOTL experts. FYI axolotls are mole salamanders. Destin told us how his two pet axolotls died. Come to think about it, many of the stories the kids told today were about the deaths of beloved pets and relatives.

When I showed the students the journal I write in every day, Jasmin asked, "How do you not get tired of it?" Great question, which nobody ever asked me before. I explained how I'm never the same after the 25 minutes or so I spend writing my journal. I'm always BETTER in some way. I see things more clearly, or I feel calmer, or I have more focus... so that's why I never get tired of journaling. Plus it helps to keep my writing muscles limber!

One of the first pointers I shared was how stories need to include interesting DETAILS. Jasmin did just that when she told us the story of how her cat, Blueberry, had to be euthanized: "someone crocheted a blanket and wrapped Blueberry in it." I don't know about you, but I don't think I'll ever forget that sweet detail. See what words can do?!

A special shout-out to Maggie, Valentina, Hannah, Olivia, Melina, Nova and Destin who were all in perfect note-taking position -- their pens poised to write (or draw!).

When it came time to produce a story, some of the students preferred to draw rather than write. And drawing is another, perfectly good way of telling stories! Grace drew the story of how she crashed her bike because she didn't know how to use her brakes. Maggie drew a lovely picture of a window with a tree, the sun, and grass outside. Because I had told the kids that stories need TROUBLE, I asked Maggie where the trouble was. Her quick answer made me laugh: "The trouble's already there inside. It's my brother!"

When it came time to go, I asked the kids whether I was as good a surprise as strawberry cheesecake. I was really only joking around. But then Maggie called out, "BETTER!"

Here's to words and drawings that tell stories that make us laugh, make us cry, and which we will keep with us always. Thanks to Vanguard for hosting me today, to the teachers for sharing your kids with me, to Blue Met for making the visit possible, and to the kids for... well, just for being YOU! 

It's a big week in Montreal for literature lovers! That's because the Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation has kicked off its annual literary festival. And lucky me, I get to be part of it. There will be loads of readings and activities for adults and kids too, and I'm visiting two schools as part of the children's festival. I'm just home from Mackay Centre School, a special ed school I've been to many times and which has come to feel like home. And tomorrow, expect another blog entry from me after my visit to Vanguard School.

I should start by telling you that the principal of Mackay Ms. Margetis USED TO BE MY STUDENT. When, at the end of today's workshop with the Grade 4's, I told the students this they PRACTICALLY FAINTED!! Also, they were very impressed!!

After a quick hello and hug from Ms. Margetis, I headed to Room 115 where I met Ms. Broywyn and Ms. Dimple's students. (I may have to use the name Ms. Dimple in a book!!) The kids were enthusiastic from the start. I had told them to expect a writing (or drawing) exercise and Tate kept asking, "What are we going to be drawing?" Victoria told me, "I want to write AND draw!" 

You may have noticed the title of today's blog entry is "Write LOTS." Let me explain where that came from. The students were helping me put my writing tips on the whiteboard. Tip #1 was "Write" but apparently Minnie heard me say it was important to write A LOT. So she added LOTS to my tip -- and I love it!

Also, when I told the students I'd be giving them a mini-writing workshop, Minnie nearly jumped out of her seat. "My name's Minnie!" she told me.

I explained that we'd cover five writing tips -- and guess what? I think we ended up doing ten, and maybe even twelve!! 

I also explained how stories need TROUBLE and how it's fun (and useful) to ask the question, "What if?" So together we came up with a story about a goldfish. Zen-luka suggested our goldfish should jump out of its bowl. Everen suggested we do CPR on the goldfish in our story. And Abraham suggested the goldfish could jump into the toilet. Great work, kids! Because that story has trouble, and it's also funny and gross! All of these are characteristics sure to appeal to young readers.

A special shout-out to Cassadine who told me his name and then added, "Nine letters." That inspired many of us to count the letters in our own names. Cassadine beats me because Monique only has seven letters!

We ended our session with a mini-MINNIE writing (or drawing) exercise. Victoria started work on an excellent creepy story about a ghost named Lana "who died in the school." And Zen-luka wowed me with his writing, and allowed me to share the first line of his story with you. Ready? "To survive a falling elevator lie back on the ground." DOESN'T THAT MAKE YOU WANT TO KEEP READING?!!

I'm a little sad today's visit to Mackay is over. The sun came out while I was there, and even if it gets cloudy, I'll still feel the sunshine from today's visit. Thanks to all my friends at Mackay, and to Blue Metropolis for making today's visit possible.

PS: Thanks, Ms. Bronwyn, for the pics. Love this one! 

One of the things I miss most about being a full-time teacher is observing how some days, a class gels in the most perfect way. But that was exactly the feeling I had today at the Quebec Writers' Federation headquarters in Montreal, where I did a workshop called "Solving the Picture Book Puzzle." There were twelve of us in all and not only did we gel -- we definitely solved the picture book puzzle!

We spent our day analyzing picture books together, doing writing exercises and listening to some picture books-in-the works. I don't think I've ever had a day that passed so quickly -- and so happily.

I must say we were a very interesting group! It included two translators, two lawyers, two teachers, several published writers -- including a poet, a screenwriter/video game writer, two journalists and a soon-to-be-published pic book author -- and at least two Ph.D. candidates! Amongst these was a mom of twins, a daughter who was one of ten kids, and people who had grown up in or lived in other countries including Brazil, Croatia and Japan. So, as you can imagine, we heard a lot of interesting stories!

So, if you're looking to solve the pic book puzzle, here's a little summary of what we figured out together: every word in a pic book needs to count; what can be told through illustrations shouldn't be included in the text; the child needs to solve the problem; and there needs to be growth. And repetition with variation often finds its way into pic books.

We also talked about our favourite pic books -- I took notes because I learned about several pic books that I hadn't read, but which I'm planning to read ASAP.

If you know me, you'll know I'm obsessed with MEMORIES, and that I believe they are STORIES WANTING TO BE TOLD! In one exercise, participants recalled a memory of being five years old. When we went around the table, exchanging memories, we heard some remarkable, moving stories. Amongst them: Beverley's memory of misbehaving in kindergarten after her grandmother died and her dad left town to attend the funeral; and Camerin's memory of throwing away a puppet because she loved it too much. (Even just writing that breaks my heart -- but in a beautiful way.)

Some of the participants brought their pic books-in-progress and read them to us. This was, for me, another highlight of the day. That's because the group was so supportive and people had such amazing insights. I must say I felt by then that I was hardly needed! (I've always believed that was the sign of a successful class!!) Natalia impressed us with her humour and word play. We loved Branka's story about two sisters with very different artistic styles, and I jotted down some of my favourite lines in Branka's story, such as "The paper wasn't big enough for her imagination" and "the house didn't look like the house in her head." And Mélanie WOWED us with her funny, powerful story about fighting trolls -- a story, designed like the very best picture books, to appeal to both kids and adults. 

I had warned the participants that after a day in my company, MOST PEOPLE ARE VERY TIRED!! So I'm afraid I may have exhausted the group. But I think it's safe to say we had a blast, we all learned from each other, we heard some fantastic stories, and we're looking forward to reading each other's stories. 

As for me, I feel like the luckiest teacher in the world. Thanks to the QWF for letting me offer today's workshop and to the participants for being the perfect class! 

This morning when I was leaving Montreal to do a writing workshop in the Eastern Townships, I asked my husband, "Do you think it's odd that your 65-year-old wife is looking forward to playing school today?" (He didn't think it was odd. He's used to me!)

It's probably not surprising that a child who liked playing school as much I used to became a teacher. And now that I'm retired after 35 rather joyful years of teaching I sometimes get to do writing workshops. Today I visited the Waterloo satellite office of the Yamaska Literary Council to do a Quebec Writers' Federation day-long StoryScaping workshop called "Finding the Story You Need to Tell."

I had nine "students" -- and they were all my favourites! One of the most fun parts about teaching is seeing how the group gels -- and this group gelled in the most perfect way. 

Also, I think I taught them EVERY SINGLE THING I KNOW ABOUT WRITING! (And they took notes!) But best of all, we did A LOT of writing exercises (five, I think) and in every case I had to tell the participants to STOP WRITING. I should explain that that rarely happens -- usually I have to (gently) push people to KEEP WRITING!

More proof that this was an unusual group: we did a word exercise -- writing a list of words that begin with the letter H (in honour of Herb, our eldest participant who is mighty spry and with-it for 79!) ... and two people came up with the word "hitherto" (one was Herb); two people came up with "harbinger" (it's a lovely word to say, don't you agree?) and THREE people came up with "happenstance." Happenstance is a gorgeous word, with a lovely meaning and three is a lot of people in one group to come up with what I consider to be a rather unusual word.

Oh, I need to do a special shout-out to Emilee and Daniel -- they both work for the YLC and they took participated in the best possible way. A small example: Emilee taught as a Tagalog word that starts with H: harana, which means serenade. 

We talked about the importance of doing research. To prove my point, I told the participants how I had done research about them! (I had been provided in advance with a list with all their names.) I knew, for instance, that Emilee is a well-known actor; that Mariah is a translator and writer; that Francis went to Massey-Vanier High School (he was quoted in an article I found on-line); that Valerie worked in Nunavik; that Jaime has taught yoga to kids with special needs; that Herb was born in Calgary (we later learned he won a contest for a six-word story!); and that Jessica is a nature educator. 

There were two people I hadn't researched. One is Joanne -- because she's my neighbour in the Eastern Townships and I'm getting to know her quite well on our unplanned morning walks. The other was Daniel (because he wasn't on the list). But Daniel may have provided one of my favourite quotes of the day. When participants took a moment to tell us what they wanted from today's workshop, he said: "I want to re-unlock some creativity that I lost." How beautiful! How hopeful. Several of the others said they felt the same way. And I've certainly been there too!

I thought I'd end today's blog entry with something funny. (We did have a lot of laughs during our day together.) We did the memory exercise that I love. And Jaime wrote about being ten years old and imagining what it would feel like to kiss a boy who happened to be her friend: "As I thought about his lips on mine, all I could taste was my mock chicken sandwich." (I'm sure people in the building next door heard us cracking up!)

There were quite a lot of highlights of our day... but that was definitely one. Jaime, use that excellent sense of humour in your stories (even when you are exploring difficult material)!

I know this may sound like I THINK I DID TOO GOOD A JOB... but if you will permit me to say... I had the feeling the participants at today's workshop did leave with a better sense of the stories they need to tell. And hopefully some tools for telling them.

Thanks to the Yamaska Literacy Council for bringing me to Waterloo today; to Emilee and Daniel for getting things organized and for the delicious lunch; to the Quebec Writers' Federation's StoryScaping program for funding today's workshop; but mostly to the participants. YOU MADE MY HEART SING. THANKS FOR BEING PERFECT. 

When I was a student, I remember my favourite classes were always a mix of learning and FUN. Later, when I became a teacher at Marianopolis College in Montreal, that was my goal -- to make sure my students learned a lot, but that we also had fun together. Of course, this wasn't possible every day (think tests!), but I believe that overall, I succeeded. I should also explain that I seem to have a higher need for FUN than the average person!!

All this to say that the Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC)'s fundraising webinar yesterday Get Published! let participants learn a lot -- while having fun. I know because, even though I was one of the presenters, I learned and had fun too!

Today's pic is a screenshot of the presenters -- first meet Meghan Howe, top right corner, director of operations for the CCBC; and Carol-Ann Hoyte (biggest smile in the photo), events and program manager for the CCBC. Meghan and Carol-Ann were there to get things organized. Thanks, Carol-Ann, for keeping us on track and on time and for handling the Q&A afterwards.

My fellow presenters were Khary Mathurin (he's at the bottom of the photo), an editor at Annick Books; and Tanya Kyi, a Vancouver- based author and prof, whom I had never met in person, but whose work I have long admired. Her middle-grade novel City of Lost Cats happens to be at the top of my reading pile!

Tanya and I were asked to speak about our writing process and working with an editor. Khary gave particpants his inside scoop on the children's publishing industry.

I figure there's no need to tell you what I had to say -- let me get right to what I learned from the other panelists.

Tanya began by telling us that like me (I had talked about my dad and his influence on me), she also had a dad who could be tough, but who supported her 100 per cent! She explained that he sold hundreds of her books at his restaurant. I love that picture in my head of Tanya's proud dad!

She focused on what she considers three requirements for those hoping to publish a book for kids: perseverance, flexibility and community. Tanya explained that for her, perseverance means not giving up in the face of obstacles and rejection; and flexibility means, in part, being open to an agent or editor's comments (she also provided a great example of a manuscript she had written about the history of underwear, which she had pretty much given up on, but which, several years later, she managed to re-jig and publish!). And then she talked about community, which I have to admit isn't something that comes up in my own talks. Tanya told us that for many years she has been part of a writers' group that meets once a month. At their meetings, they critique the work of one or two members, and they also discuss the business and support each other through the ups and downs of the writing life. 

Khary had many interesting things to say! He explained that many of the manuscripts he receives are unsolicited, meaning that the authors do not have agents who submit their work. He told us that Annick is especially interested in character-based stories -- that means stories with strong characters who will appeal to young readers. And he talked about Annick's mentorship program -- an annual program which helps emerging, under-reperesented writers get access to children's publishing. 

Although I think Tanya and I made a great team and covered a lot of ground, most of the questions in the Q&A were for Khary. (I had predicted that since I think most of the people who signed up are close to submitting their manuscripts for publication and eager for practical tips for how to improve their chances.) 

But at the end, we all had a chance to sum up, and what was interesting is that we all basically had the same message: WRITE WRITE WRITE! I managed to slip in a quote from one of my heroes, American fantasy writer Tamora Pierce, whom I once had the good fortune of interviewing. She told me, "No word a writer writes is ever wasted!" Ohhhhh, how I loved that line when she told it to me, and how I still love it every single day when I sit down at my computer.

Thanks to all the participants yesterday. We weren't with you in person, but we felt your enthusiasm and interest -- and that you were having FUN. And thanks to the CCBC for making the webinar happen. You guys ROCK!

You may be wondering why I entitled today's blog entry "Photos and Warm Drinks." It's because after the first of two talks I did this morning for Grade Five students at Lower Canada College (LCC), a student named Lev stopped me and said, "You know what you were saying about photos and warm drinks...."

Anyway, I just liked the sound of that sentence! We writers (and I think we are all writers!!) don't just like the meanings of words, we also like their sounds -- and how they come together to make phrases and sentences! 

I was invited to LCC by Miss Wearing, director of the junior school. She wanted me to talk to the Grade Fives about my picture book, The Brass Charm (illustrated by Marie Lafrance and published by Scholastic) and the deeply personal story behind it. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you already know the story was inspired by a real-life event that took place when my mum was a child prisoner in Theresienstadt, a Nazi concentration camp. 

I explained to the students how my mum kept her experience in Theresienstadt a secret for nearly 60 years -- not even discussing it with my dad. But because I'm curious (to a fault), love stories, and believe so much in the value of Holocaust education, I'm the one who managed to get the story from my mum. And here's where the photos and warm drinks come in -- I told the students that, when they are interviewing someone, especially about a difficult time in that person's life, it helps to look at photos together, and it also helps apparently (I read this long ago) if the person being interviewed is drinking a warm beverage. The theory is that people disclose less if they're drinking something cold! And it just so happened that during the five months I was interviewing my mum, the first thing I did when I walked into my parents' house was put on the kettle and make my mum's favourite tea (it was called Constant Comment).

Now -- back to today's visit!

The kids were AMAZING, so SMART, ATTENTIVE and WELL-INFORMED. Also, Miss Wearing stayed to listen to both talks, and I must say most school directors do not do this!

We started the day with Mr. Day's Grade Fives. (Don't you love the name Mr. Day? I am definitely going to use that for a teacher in my next book!) Lev, whom I have already mentioned, could tell from the book's cover that the story had something to do with the Holocaust. Good observation skills, Lev! Steven knew the meaning of the German words "Arbeit macht frei" -- work will set you free. It was a Nazi slogan posted to suggest to prisoners that if they worked hard they might live -- even though it was far from the truth. Claire told me that another student Ailina had done a project on Anne Frank (the students were impressed that my mum and Anne Frank had attended the same school in Amsterdam; they were both in seventh grade, but in different classes). Victor weanted to know if I had any "good" advice for writing and getting published. I suggested that he READ a ton, and that he might try to find a way to join or create a writers' group. And Scarlett made me VERY happy when she said, "I have a story!" That's because there's nothing I love more than STORIES! Scarlett's story was beautiful -- she told us about her great great grandmother (I think there were two greats here, but Scarlett, correct me in the comments if I'm wrong) who survived the Holocaust and who hid two precious candlesticks in a pillowcase. And my favourite part is this: Scarlett's family uses those candlesticks today! So you see, objects have stories too -- just like my brass charm!

Another beautiful moment for me was when Nate (he was my note taker in the first group) said something that showed his understanding of my personal connection to the Holocaust. If my mum had not survived, Nate said, "There wouldn't be you." Thanks for that, Nate! Isn't it interesting how we're all here -- on Earth -- because of events (sometimes big ones, sometimes random ones) that took place long before we were born?

Next Miss Wearing and I went to Miss De Toni's class, where she and her Grade Five students had been discussing the importance of making good choices -- and of doing the right thing even during challenging times. Of course, this is exactly what the woman-prisoner did when she gave my mum the brass charm (which was likely all she had to give). 

Shiloh agreed to be my note taker in the second class. Thanks, Shiloh! Leo, who I noted has a way with words, told me, "I'm a World War II geek. I know way too much about World War II for my own good." I told Leo that the more we know the better. The only way we can fight hatred and prejudice is by learning the facts of history, and also listening with an open heart to people's stories. Samuel mentioned that he loved Adam Gidwitz's book Max and the House of Spies -- which I told him that I also loved. Then Samuel added that the sequel (which I haven't yet read) is even BETTER. Great tip, Samuel! Also, I noticed that Samuel had not tied the laces on his sneakers -- when I pointed that out he laced one sneaker up! That's him in today's photo (wearing a red sweatshirt) showing off his sneakers. Regarding sneakers and laces, I told the kids that stories need INTERESTING DETAILS. So don't be surprised if Samuel's sneakers find their way into one of my books!

William wanted to know if I ever learned more about the original owner of the brass charm. I loved that question -- but the answer is that so far, I still don't know much. But it's a subject I plan to keep exploring. And a student named Rose, who was sitting close to where I was standing, impressed me with her calm temperament. As I told Rose, the two of us are pretty opposite. Let's say no one ever called me calm!! And that made me think that it would be fun to write about a calm character. (Maybe it would have a good influence on me!!) So thanks for the inspiration, Rose!

Thanks to all the students for being wonderful; to Mr. Day and Miss De Toni for sharing your kids with me; to Ms. Wearing for the invite and for being present. I know what's important is that the students learned from me and perhaps had some fun along the way... but I can tell you that I had a blast and learned a lot from them!

It's Monday afternnoon of a brand-new week and I must admit I'm a wee bit sad that I just finished the last of a series of writing workshops with Miss Julie's Grade 2 classes at Roslyn Elementary School. First, I need to tell you (again!) that Miss Julie was MY student when I taught at Marianopolis College and I'm super proud of the work she's doing with her kids!

Today, we talked about FOILS -- this is a term for when authors use characters who are opposites. A student named Amedeo "got" what I was talking about because he came up with a great idea of foils he could use in a story: "A person who believes in God and one who doesn't." I have to admit I was blown away to hear that idea come from a student in Grade 2!!

Afterwards I told the students the story of the monkey man charm I wear around my neck. (It inspired my picture book The Brass Charm.) The charm, in case you don't know the story, was given to my mum during World War 2 when she was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. The students had loads of great questions. Norah asked, "How did your mother get out of the prison?" (The answer is she was liberated by the Russian army.) Asar asked, "How did the woman get the charm into the camp?" (The answer is the charm is made of brass, so because it had no value, she would have been allowed to bring it into the prison with her.) And Nyla wanted to know, "Where is your mum now?" (The answer is that my mum died in 2017 at the age of 87, but she was lucky to have survived and to have lived a good life -- and also she's the one who taught me everything I know about stories!!)

But I was mainly back in Miss Julie's classroom today to have a look at the stories the students have been working on. You will see from the following excerpts that there's lots of talent at Roslyn School! Mila made me laugh with the start to her story: "I went to Mexicold. That's not a typo!" Mila also added later on that, "my teeth chattered." I just love strong verbs and chattering is the perfect word for what you are describing, Mila.

Nolan also had a fun start to his story: "One time, I had three playdates in one day!" And as it turns out, Nolan's mum joined in the fun on one of those playdates! 

Chloe's story had great TROUBLE in it. (We had discussed on my last visit that stories need trouble the way that cars need electricity or gasoline.) Chloe wrote about going to see a performance of the Nutcracker: "one of the ballet dancers fell into my seat.... She pretended it was part of the show." Great trouble, Chloe, and also great imagination! I suggested that maybe Chloe could SLOW DOWN the trouble. What did it feel like when the ballerina fell into the narrator's lap? Did one of the ballerina's slippers fall off? Did the narrator laugh or did she call out for help? How did the people sitting nearby react?

It's usually a good idea for authors to slow down when they get to the trouble!

One of my friends, kids' book author Rina Singh, knew I'd be hanging around with Grade Two's today. Rina asked me to do her a favour: "Ask them what they wonder about!" The kids had several good suggestions including Minecraft, how to make people smarter, and sticky roll bracelets. But my favourite answer came from Eva D and Eva K. They called out at the exact same time: "We wonder when you're coming back!"

My visits to Roslyn are done for this winter. But Miss Julie and I are already planning a return visit for next year! And kids, if you're reading this blog entry, look for me in the mornings on your way to school. I jog past the Westmount Library -- and I go there at least once a week to find or return books!

Thanks to Miss Julie for the invite, and for all the work you've done with the kids on their writing. And thanks to the KIDS. You were smart and fun and creative company. NO WONDER I ALREADY MISS YOU!!

This is the first time I’ve written a blog entry on a FERRY! I’m currently on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, heading back from Entry Island to Cap-aux-Meules in the Magdalen Islands. I was on Entry to give an all-day writing workshop, sponsored by the Quebec Writers’ Federation. My workshop “Finding the Story You Need to Tell” is part of QWF’s StoryScaping program. Candace Aitkens, program manager for the Council for Anglophone Magdalen Islanders (CAMI) helped make today’s event happen.

Candace and I were up early – in time to catch the 7:30 ferry to Entry. My workshop took place at CAMI headquarters, in what was once the Entry Island School. And guess what? Years ago, I visited that school, did a writing workshop for the students, and even reported on the school for The Montreal Gazette!

One thing I can tell you is that MAGDALEN ISLANDERS SURE HAVE A LOT OF STORIES!! And everyone seems to know everybody else! A few times during my workshop, I had to tell myself to relax and just sit back and enjoy all the stories!

Let me tell you one of my favourites – this was told by an Entry Islander named Darlene. She recalled a fire at her school when she was about four or five years old. “I was crying. I had a new pair of shoes. I knew my mother would be mad if I didn’t have my shoes,” Darlene told us. She was about to run back into the building to get her shoes when she was scooped up by an older boy named Don. And you’ll never guess the ending to this story!!

… building suspense!

Darlene and Don ended up getting married!

Don’t you just love that story?

Because I had all day with my workshop participants there was time for many writing tips and many many writing exercises. So many exercises, in fact, that one participant, Nicole, made a funny face when I mentioned the fifth writing exercise! But the really funny thing is that Nicole was one of my prize pupils!

In one exercise, I asked the participants to imagine being at a bookstore and coming across the book they most wanted to read. Then I asked them to write the blurb they “saw” on the back of the book. I told the participants I’d be happy with two or three sentences, but Nicole wrote nearly two full pages!! She has what I like to call “fluidity” – it’s something I don’t often see in adults – the ability to just write and write! Nicole basically came up with a plot for a novel – it involves a mysterious kidnapping and a child’s return to her real family. I found that Nicole has two major strengths as a writer – she’s good at plotting, and she has a nice sense of character. In Nicole’s story, which is told from the point of view of the young kidnapping victim, Nicole writes, “I was very nervous to finally find my parents.” Nicole, I hope you will continue working on this story. And when you do, I really hope you’ll explore this nervousness. I know I want to learn more about that little girl and how she handles her complex situation.

All of the participants today had a great sense of humour, and there was a lot of laughter around our table. Diane wrote about a girl whose mother died while she was giving birth to her. (I know that doesn’t sound at all funny.) But when I asked Diane whether her protagonist (the girl, now older) was going to be feisty or fearful, Diane answered, “You’ll have to wait to read my book!” That made me laugh – but it also made me feel hopeful that Diane was going to keep writing after our workshop. Diane, if you’re reading this, I ralso eally really like your story of the girl who went to babysit her sister’s kids in PEI, and who wasn’t used to living in English! Write that one too!

We were mostly women over the age of fifty gathered today, but we had a lovely young woman with us too – Stacey (she’s Candace’s daughter; and Stacey’s grandma, Candace’s mom Judy, was with us too – I may never have taught three generations of writers before!!). Stacey works on the Magdalens as CAMI’s early childhood youth coordinator. She told us that because it’s Suicide Prevention Week, she wanted to write a story about a young person contemplating suicide. I noted that Stacey has a poetic style; she described her character as having to choose between “going down or going up.”

Another workshop participant named Donna told us how she relied a lot on journal-writing during challenging times. Donna is a great fan of Quebec author Louise Penny, and for her book-she-most-wanted-to-read, Donna came up with a fun addition to Penny’s detective Gamache series. When Donna shared this with us, Judy made a comment that really made my day. She said, “We should do that for Entry Island!” That is come up with a detective series or a series of thrillers set on Entry Island. And who better to write it than the people who were in my workshop today?

I head back to Montreal tomorrow, but I still have tomorrow morning to continue exploring the Magdalens and to hear more stories! This is definitely a place where I could see myself coming back and listening to the waves, the stories, and of course, do some writing.

Thanks to the QWF for making this visit possible, in particular to Felix, who handled the logistics; thanks also to my friends at CAMI, especially Candace, and to the other workshop participants Stacey, Diane, Judy, Darlene, Nicole and Donna. Hope we find ourselves seated around a table together again in the future – telling stories, laughing, and learning a little about the writing process!

Today I’m reporting in from the Magdalen Islands! I spent a wonderful, perfect day at Grosse-Ile School. It’s a small English school that goes from pre-school to high school. And though I didn’t work with the pre-schoolers, I was able to give writing workshops to pretty much all the other kids! I don’t think I’ve ever had a day pass so quickly in all my life!

Ms. Dorothy teaches English Language Arts, so I spent most of the day with her and her students. I started my day with the Grade 9’s. Though some claimed to be just waking up, they were bright, attentive and full of energy.

In our hour together, we rolled through writing tips, and did two writing exercises. When we discussed identity, a student named Connor told me, “We’re Grosse-Ilers.” Then he explained hos the Magdalen Islands, les Iles-de-la-Madeleine in French, were named after Jacques Cartier’s wife Madeleine. How romantic is that?

When I talked about the need to practise writing as much as possible, Lukas drew a comparison to soccer, which is a big part of his life. During winter, Lukas practises indoors once a week indoors – and in summer, he practises a lot more than that. Aren’t I lucky that as a writer I can practise all year long? ;)

When we talked about the absolute necessity of REWRITING, Connor said something amazing: “You know what would make a book? Seeing all the rewrites.” Only a writer, Connor, could have that thought! So you must BE ONE!

And when we played my come-up-with-a-word game (in this case we looked for words that started with the letter D), the students came up with some words that made me happy. Isn’t it great that words can make us happy?! (It’s another sign of being a writer, I suspect.) Tommy came up with daggers; Lukas with deception; and Landon with delusional. Which makes me wonder – do those words make you happy too? Or is it just me, breathing in the air on the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River?!

Next up were Ms. Dorothy’s Grades 6’s, 7’s and 8’s. I know from 35 years of teaching that every class is different! These students wanted to TELL ME STORIES. A lot of their stories had to do with a cocoa powder explosion! After a few minutes in my company, a student named Katelyn observed, “You remind me of a coffee!” (I’m not sure it was a compliment, but I think it might have been!!) And a student named Jax (more on Jax later) demonstrated his sense of humour when I asked the students to come up with a blurb for the book they’d most like to read. Here’s what Jax wrote: “How to get rid of books! Every way to get rid of a book! Burn it, shred it, sell it, throw it and more.” But hey, don’t go getting the wrong impression of Jax – he was joking – and if you keep reading, you’ll see that he redeemed himself with me later in the day.  

I had lunch in the staff room, where the other teachers treated me like one of their own. Let’s just say that doesn’t happen in all staff rooms! Thanks, gang, if you are reading this.

Then it was back to work with Ms. Dorothy’s Grades 3’s and 4’s – and one Grade 6 student. Can you guess his name? JAX!

Of the seven students in this group, FOUR want to write and publish their own books. WAY TO GO! During a writing exercise, a student named Judith piqued my interest with the very first three words of her story: “One sad day….” Doesn’t that make you want to keep reading?

When I told the story of the monkey man charm I wear around my neck (it was a gift my mum received from a stranger when they were imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II), Jax was inspired to show me the necklace he wears every day. “It was my cousin Joshua’s,” Jax explained. “He died in 2007 when he was 16.” Jax’s story broke my heart, but it also shows that people live in on our memories and our stories. And then Ms. Dorothy added a story of her own – she told us that all the teachers loved Joshua because he possessed a special charm.

I ended my day with Miss Laura’s Grades 1 and 2 students. You’d think I’d be tired by the time I got to that group, but they ENERGIZED me with their openness and creativity. When I told the class I write three pages EVERY SINGLE DAY, a student named Kimberly called out, “That is impressing!” And when I told them I was 65 years old, Casey remarked: “That’s not too old.” (Thanks, Casey!) And Eliot happened to observe out loud, “I wish I could make a book!” You can, Eliot! Start by writing regularly and reading a lot too. And keep an ideas notebook while you’re at it!

There was time for these kids to start stories of their own. Oliver wrote about a frightening memory: “My dad’s boat got stuck on the shore near Brian Island. I felt scared. My dad had to call his friend.” There’s a lot going on in those three sentences, isn’t there?

And Tessa wrote about a birthday party gone wrong: “My friends smashed my birthday cake on my face.” Not very nice of those friends! But you know what? Tessa totally made my day when on her way out of class, she told me, “I’m going to finish my story in daycare!” YAY YAY YAY for TESSA!

I have loads of people to thank for my visit today at Grosse-Ile School. First my friend Kim Clark, whom I met on my last visit to the school and who helped me get me back on the Maggies this year; principal Donna Anderson for the invitation; secretary Heather for her help; Ms. Dorothy and Ms. Laura for sharing their students with me; Ms. Molly for the offer of a lift “home”; Ms. Nancy for in the end being the one to give me the lift! I met a few more people – all kind and fun – but I didn’t get all their names. Thanks to all of you, and thanks especially to the KIDS. You made my heart grow a little bigger today!

There’s lots I like about attending the Ontario Library Association’s annual Super-Conference. I get to take a quick trip to Toronto; hang out with my best pal, author Rina Singh; and meet up with loads of librarians (yay for librarians!!) and fellow authors (yay for them too!!)For several years now I’ve wanted to sit down with author Lorna Schultz Nicholson so I could ask her a few questions about her writing life – and share them in a blog entry. Well we finally made that happen today.

Get ready for some excellent, practical writing advice from a celebrated Canadian children’s author!

First, an update about Lorna’s upcoming book, Man of Motion: How Rick Hansen’s World Tour Helped Break Down Barriers for People with Disabilities, scheduled to be released this April by Owl Kids.

Lorna got the idea for this book when she met and befriended Rick Hansen at an Edmonton Oilers hockey game. “His journey happened in 1985. He left and was gone for two years, two months and two days, raising a ton of money for physical disabilities such as spinal cord injury. I thought, ‘Kids need to hear this story, and it needs to be retold.’” Lorna explained.

What, I wanted to know, that makes Hansen’s story so important? Lorna had no trouble answering that question. “It’s a story of resilience, persistence, grit and determination,” she told me.

And now, because I was thinking of you, dear blog reader, I asked Lorna, “What’s your best advice for writers who are getting started?” I loved her answer: “Finish! Don’t edit as you go along. Get the first draft done!”

If you are familiar with Lorna’s work, you will know that one of her specialties is writing stories that involve sports, especially hockey. But you may not know that during university, Lorna was a competitive rower, and that following university, she spent a year on the Canadian rowing team. So I wanted to know if Lorna’s focus on the importance of finishing was influenced by the world of sports. Here’s what she told me: “When I play a sport, or even run a half-marathon, I’m going to start out at the start line, and I know exactly where the finish line will be. It’s the same thing for me when I’m writing. It’s important for me to know where my story will end, even if that changes. Because then I can get from A to B.”

Like me, Lorna is in her sixties and has been writing for many years. She and her husband recently moved from Edmonton to Penticton, BC. They make frequent trips to Toronto -- because it’s where their three grandchildren live. But when it comes to writing, Lorna isn’t planning to slow down. “I’ll write for as long as I can – because I love it so much!”

With that, I was off to catch my train. And Lorna was off to see her grandkids. I did extract a promise from her to let me know when she’s in Montreal. I’m already looking forward to our next chat. And I hope you are too!

If you ask me, there's nothing better for a grownup than hanging out with Grade Two's! I may have a soft spot for Grade Two because I still remember my own Grade Two Teacher -- Miss Marston -- and that was nearly SIXTY years ago! (I've tried over the years to find Miss Marston, but I never succeeded! I always wanted to tell her that she's the one who made me LOVE school!!) 

This week, I spent Monday and Wednesday afternoon at Roslyn Elementary School, where I worked with three Grade Two classes taught by Miss Julie. Are you ready for an interesting fun fact?

Trying to build suspense here!

...

Miss Julie was MY student at Marianopolis College, and when I asked her students if she was a good teacher, they answered with a CHEER! (I take credit for all my former students' accomplishments -- haha!!).

Besides covering most of my usual writing tips (the importance of regular writing; the link between writing and reading; the need for research; the role of imagination; and of course the vital role of REWRITING), I mostly had the students WRITING.

I asked them to remember a difficult moment (today I used a moment of LOSS, explaining that it could be any kind of loss, such as losing a favourite mitten, a loved one, or even being LOST). On Monday, I asked the students to recall and write about a moment when they felt they were changed (for example when they learned to read or swim). I also asked the students to write a sentence or two about where they find comfort when they need it. 

Chloe wrote about learning to swim: "I told the instructor not to let go, but he did. It was in the deep end." That's a pretty exciting story, don't you agree?

Jasper wrote that he finds comfort when he plays video games. Arthur wrote that when he needs comforting, "I snuggle with my mom." 

Today, Nora wrote that there's comfort in "playing with my second-hand bunny stuffie" and Theo said he finds comfort this way: "I pat my hamster." I think Miguel and Tristan may have been trying to get on my good side when they said, "We read!"

Paul wrote something fascinating about being lost: "I was lost in Berlin. I was worried that I wouldn't find my mom and dad." Imagine being lost in a strange city where you don't speak the language! That sounds like a great STORY to me (even if it was stressful when it happened).

Paul's story led us to discuss the importance of INCLUDING INTERESTING DETAILS. We can often learn more by asking questions -- I asked Paul where he was in Berlin when he got lost -- and that led to the detail that he was in a department store with three floors.

When Nolan told us that candy brings him comfort, I asked what kind of candy. (The answer was caramels.) But then we learned an even more interesting detail -- Nolan is only allowed one caramel per day. I like that detail a lot -- because it shows us that Nolan has sensible parents!

A couple of students wrote about losing a loved one -- in one case, a dog, and in another, a beloved grandfather. I explained that, in a way, writing can bring those loved ones back. If, for instance, you are ever inspired to write about a pet or person who died, don't forget to tell your reader all about the pet or person. Not only will it make for a better story, but while you are writing, that pet or person will come alive on your page. Writing is hard, but it can also be magical!

Here's a quote from Dominion, who understood exactly what I meant when I discussed the need to REWRITE. He said, "You have to rewrite it two times. No! Three times! No! Four times! No! Five times!!" I agree with Dominion that a lot of rewriting is necessary and can make an ordinary story become EXTRAORDINARY.

And now I'll end today's blog entry with something that made me laugh hard! Some context is required here -- on Monday I told the students that I write first thing every morning. Someone asked, "Do you make breakfast first?" to which I replied, "No, my husband makes breakfast." Well, at the end of the school day, I asked the kids what they had learned from me -- and Conrad called out, "Your husband makes you breakfast!"

NOW CAN YOU SEE WHY I LOVE HANGING OUT WITH GRADE TWO'S?!! 

Thanks to the kids for the great start to 2026. Thanks to Miss Julie for the invite. I'll be back at Roslyn in a couple of weeks. Kids, if you're reading this, get working on your stories!

Here's what I wish you all this holiday season -- good health, a good book to read and good company. And also, as a special treat -- some hugs from kids. 

This morning I was invited to Centre Rockland to do a reading for kids (and yes, I got some holiday hugs -- more on that later). The plan was to read from my new novel Christmas Weekend, but I packed a few other books just in case -- which was a good thing because my audience was younger than we expected. 

I ended up telling kids the story of the monkey man charm I wear around my neck -- and I read them a little from my picture book, The Brass Charm. The kids were interested in the story and eager to see Marie Lafrance's wonderful illustrations.

Also, because I can't resist being a writing teacher, even with mostly pre-school aged kids (!!), I shared some writing tips. We even did a quick exercise!! I asked the kids to think of two words -- one to describe how yesterday was, and another to describe how they want today to be. Aurèle came up with the word "cold" to describe yesterday, and the word "garage" to describe today. His mom Vanessa told me that Aurèle loves hanging out in their garage. Aurèle added, "I have a big garage at home."

I was most impressed by Marius, who was there with his dad and his sisters Lilly and Marion. At five years old, Marius was the oldest member of the audience (not counting the adults!). When I warned the kids that I was about to give them a little lesson (a bit like in school!), Marius called out: "I like that!" Later he told me that he loves nightmares -- I thought that would make a great story: a kid who loves nightmares!

Two lovely sisters in matching princess dresses showed up partway through my talk. When I asked their names, the older sister said what sounded to me like "Adélia." But then their mom explained their names are "Adèle" and "Léa." This also gave me an idea for a story -- two sisters who go by a shared name that combines both their names -- like "Adélia"!

My favourite part of my day happened at the very end of my presentation... here's why. First Adèle came over to tell me, "C'était une très bonne histoire" (which made me very proud). But better still, I suddenly felt six small arms around me. I was being hugged by "Adélia" (that's both sisters) and by Marius. Which was pretty much the best feeling in the world. And even though it's now about four hours later, I'm still smiling when I remember it!

On Wednesday morning at 11 AM my friend pic book author Andrew Katz will be at Rockland to read from his newest picture book. If you know parents with kids who live nearby tell them to go and have a listen.

Many thanks to author Connie Guzzo-McParland, to Rockland Centre's marketing director Karen Galena, to Rockland Centre and Minimod Coiffure for organizing this holiday reading series. Special thanks to the parents who shared their kids with me today. Happy holidays to all of you!

If you read Monday's blog you may remember I was worried about going back to Vanguard School today and not having as much fun with Miss Forlini's Grade 11 students as I had with the class I worked with on Monday. Well, I needn't have worried. These kids were wonderful too! And best of all, we beat my all-time record for writing exercises. We did SIX in all: an observation; a word list; a two word description of yesterday and today; a short piece about a treasured object; a longer piece about a tough moment; and even a book blurb! YAY for all of us. Especially for the students, who enthusiastically agreed to trying one more exercise as I was packing up my book bag!

I have lots of notes from today's visit, so I'm going to share some snippets.

When I arrived, I asked the students (there were nearly 30 of them), "Who wants to write a book one day?" Three -- Mikelina, Carlo and Marek -- said yes. I did say that I hoped by the time my workshop was over at noon more students would catch the book writing bug. Except I forgot to ask. So, if any of you are reading my blog and if I somehow inspired you to consider writing a book too, well then, you'd better post a comment and tell me so!!

A student named Cameron asked a beautiful question: "How does reading make you happy?" So I explained that for me, like for many people, reading provides a safe escape. And when I'm reading something wonderful (I always try to read wonderful books), I get INSPIRED. Wonderful books make me want to stretch as a writer!

Cameron is also responsible for today's longer writing exercise. I was telling the students that they should ask any older people with whom they are close, "What's the hardest thing you ever went through? And how did you get through it?" Cameron wanted to know if that's what I wanted the class to write about too -- and though I hadn't planned on it, I followed his suggestion!

The students wrote some beautiful pieces about a treasured object. For Maxime, who's a cadet, his treasured object is his beret: "My beret allows me to do many things: salute, establish who I am." I find that a strong, thought-full sentence. Jasmine wrote about her earrings: "silver, small, sparkly and round." As I told the class, Jasmine's description uses simple words, but they're just the right words! Jacob wrote about his "big red toolbox" which was given to his grandfather "by his dad when he graduated high school." And Mikelina wrote about the bookmark she received at her grandfather's funeral: "I love having it... knowing he is always there with me." 

Sometimes -- and it happened this morning at Vanguard -- I am struck by how finding the right words can bring stories to life and evoke emotions. Which is exactly what the students did in our workshop today.

I'll end today's blog entry with a sweet and creative piece written by George: "I love my shoes. I love them because they protect me. They protect me from glass, sharp objects and living bacteria on the floor." I don't know about you, but I never really thought about shoes that way before! Which shows us another thing good writing can do: teach us to look at ordinary objects or experiences in a new way.

I'm a little bad sad my workshops with the Grade Elevens at Vanguard are over. But guess what? I'll be back at the elementary school in the spring. And I'm definitely going to pop by the high school and check in on Miss Forlini's students.

Thanks to all of you for working hard and being so warm and attentive. You're a special bunch of young people! Thanks Ms. Forlini for the invite -- and for sharing your students with me!

Let me get this clear from the start: it isn't that I dislike adults. It's that I prefer kids!

I am just home after a wonderful, dazzling morning with one of Ms. Forlini's Grade 11 classes at Vanguard School. Before I can tell you what made my morning wonderful and dazzling (spoiler alert: it was the kids), I need to tell you a little about Vanguard and how I got invited there. Vanguard is a school for students with learning disabilities (if you ask me, we all have abilities and disabilities!). Another cool thing: the school used to be a hotel! Which explains the many chandeliers on the ground floor, and the reception area that looks more than a little like the check-in desk at a fancy hotel! (There's more to tell you about the building's past, but that will come later! See, you need to keep reading this blog!!) As for how I got invited to Vanguard -- get ready for a very cute story. About 20 years ago, Ms. Forlini -- at the time a gifted high school student -- was selected to attend a writing workshop offered at the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival -- and I gave the workshop. So, all these years later, Ms. Forlini, who's been teaching at Vanguard for five years, thought it was time for her students to meet me!!!! (Writers should not overuse the exclamation mark, but I just broke the rule to indicate my pleasure!!!! Oops, there I go again!)

I had the whole morning with the students -- which added to my fun (and hopefully theirs too). It meant that we had time for stories, writing tips, writing exercises, and even for the students to share and discuss their work.

I'll start with some of my initial observations. (These occurred because I was telling the class that writers need to be OBSERVANT.) I noticed that, early on, when I was trying to get the group's attention, a student named Sophia put her finger to her lips and hissed, "Shhh!" And guess what? Everyone settled down! I asked Sophia if she wants to be a teacher (she doesn't), but when I wondered outloud whether she is a natural organizer, Sophia agreed that that was true. When I asked for the name of a student, another student named Felix helped me out: "I call him Mo," Felix called out. So Felix struck me as a helper -- which prompted me to tell the students that a helper is a good character to include in a story. (I think I'll add one to the story I am working on -- and maybe I'll even name him Felix!) I also noticed that there were many curly-haired boys in the class -- in fact I don't think I've ever seen so many people with curly hair in one room. 

When we discussed the importance of doing research, I asked the students to make a short list of subjects they'd be interested in researching. Kayden said teeth (she wants to be a dental hygienist); Sophia said the ocean; Felix said the origin of Santa Claus and Alessio said space. I thought all those topics were interesting, and book-worthy!

We also played that game I like where students come up with a list of words starting with the same letter. We used the letter F today. My favourite was Luca's word: forward. That's because, as we discussed, we're all moving forward in our own ways, at our own pace. And as we agreed, moving forward can be tough. Anyway, thanks Luca, because you gave me a new appreciaton for the word forward! I think it would make a great book title!!

Next I told the students about my treasured object: the monkey man charm I wear around my neck. This led to our first longer writing exercise, in which the class wrote about their own treasured objects. Alessio wrote about "A pocket watch from World War 2 when my great-grandfather was in the 22nd Battalion for his squad in Italy and was a prisoner of war. It was given to him by a British commander." There's definitely a book in there, Alessio! Alessio went on to tell us he is very close with his nonno (Italian for grandfather) who shared the story with him. Make sure you take notes, Alessio! Theo wrote movingly about a red doll that belonged "to my bubby when she was in a displaced persons' camp." Bubby, by the way, is the Yiddish word for grandmother. Theo, I love the image of that red doll and I hope you will turn this story into a book too! Egan wrote something that made us laugh, but that was also touching: "Poutine: when I was little whenever I was sad my dad used to order me a poutine." Poutine isn't the usual treasured object (it's edible!), but I love what this simple sentence says about the bond between father and son.

Before I share a little more of the students' work, I need to tell you what else I learned about the fascinating history of the building that now houses Vanguard School. It used to be an ORPHANAGE THAT BURNT DOWN. And something else fascinating: there is a teacher at Vanguard whose uncle lived in that orphanage. If I weren't already working on two book projects, I'd be working on that story. Students at Vanguard -- get going! And start by interviewing the teacher!

We ended with a memory exercise since I believe that memories are not random, but stories asking to be told. The students produced some excellent writing and I asked Luca whether he would read his aloud. He agreed and he also agreed to let me share it with you here. Get ready for something beautiful: "After being diagnosed with a few learning disabilities, I had to transfer schools and lost all my friends. My brother and I used to share the same friends until I went to a French school without my friends." 

Let me end this blog entry by telling you all the things I love about Luca's paragraph. First and foremost, it's HONEST. Honest writing, especially about emotions, RULES! Then there's TROUBLE (we talked about how trouble brings a story to life -- here, there's trouble with the friends, and also potentially with the brother). And this story has LAYERS -- there's even a linguistic angle since Luca mentions his new school was French. Also, and perhaps best of all, I happen to know that Luca's story has HOPE -- that's because I saw firsthand how well he and his classmates are doing, how they look out for each other, and how they are thriving at Vanguard. 

Lucky me, I'll be back at Vanguard on Wednesday to work with Ms. Forlini's other Grade 11 class. But to be honest, I do not think I am capable of having as much fun as I had today. Thanks to Ms. Forlini for the invite, and to the students for being wonderful and dazzling. Now go write those stories!!

I have TOO MUCH to tell you about my visit yesterday to Franklin Hill Elementary School in Repentigny. So get ready for a fun read!

I'll start with the first creature I met when I walked into the school: Franklin the turtle. (You may know Paulette Bourgeois's Franklin the Turtle books, or the animated series which the books inspired.) Believe it or not, I was sitting in the office for about five minutes before I realized there was a turtle next to me! Check him out in today's pic! (More on Franklin later.)

Also with me in the pic is teacher Miss Linda, who invited me to Franklin Hill to work with her two Grade Five English classes. Those students were fun -- and also super well-behaved. Usually, I have to act tough when I start my workshops -- I tell the students they need to pay attention, and at least pretend to be focused! But there was no need to act tough with these kids! 

The first group told me the fascinating story of Franklin. It turns out he used to share his aquarium with a fish. Unfortunately the fish died. Because part of my workshop included a discussion about the importance of doing research (usually required for both non-fiction and fiction writing), I asked the class some questions about the deceased fish. How old was he? Was he ill? Do turtles eat the kind of fish who was Franklin's aquarium-mate? Answering these questions requires some research, but you may see where I was going -- to the story of Franklin and the unfortunate fish! As I told the students, STORIES ARE EVERYWHERE and IT'S THEIR JOB TO FIND THEM!

Also, in fiction-writing, research is often accompanied by one of my favourite questions, WHAT IF?! What if Franklin and his aquarium-mate did not get along? What if the fish ate Franklin's food? Or what if the fish didn't clean up after breakfast? I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to think this Franklin would make an interesting character for a book!

There was time for both classes to do a writing exercise -- and for me to take a peek at what they came up with. The first group wrote about their memories of being five years old. Félix-Antoine wrote, "I remember when my brother hit me with a Pokemon ball," which makes a dramatic start to a story. (Félix-Antoine also had a zillion -- well, nearly a zillion! -- questions for me!) Rafael wrote: "I kind of saw my school picture from when I was in kindergarten." Then Rafael added that the old class pictures are displayed on the school's first floor, "I pass the picture when I go to lunch." Ah ha, I thought, this could make a cool story about a kid in Grade Five who confronts his younger self and perhaps makes some important discoveries! Romy wrote something that showed me she has a poetic sensibility: "The wind was cold, the trees were covered in snow." Romy's sentence is simple, but evocative. She takes the reader into her memory! And Jayden also wrote something I loved, "I did not drop one watery tear." Don't you just love how he used the adjective watery there?

The first class was super lively. The second class was super focused! (I loved both!) When I talked about the importance of reading (it's a great way to improve our writing!) Lucas and Natanael showed me the mangas they are reading. Lucas is reading My Hero Academy by Kohei Horikoshi ("for the eleventh time!" Lucas told me) and Natanael is reading Koyoharu Gotouge's Demon Slayer (for the tenth time). 

There was a recess break during the second class (that's when Miss Linda and I went to pose with Franklin), and when we got back, a student named Matteo was surprised to see me. "Yay!" Matteo said, "we don't have to have to continue our math test!!"

I was pleased to learn I am more fun than a math test!!!

I don't know how we got to talking about this next subject, but Matteo told me, "My nanna and my gramma say if someone bothers me they'll bring the wooden spoon!" Matteo, if you don't write about your nanna and gramma and how much they love you, and their wooden spoon, well, I'll have to write about it!

This class wrote about a treasured object. Since this blog entry is getting kind of long, I'll only quote one excerpt. It comes from Natanael (one of the manga readers). Natanael wrote about his stuffed monkey: "To me he is human and I sleep with him.... In the future if I am a writer I would keep him with me on my desk." 

Oh that made me happy! In fact, all the students I met yesterday -- and Miss Linda and also Mr. Daniel, the resource teacher replacing Miss Ria -- made me happy! I told the students how my Grade Five teacher Mrs. Browman was the first person to tell me, "You're a writer." And those words changed my life! Maybe that's why I enjoy working with Grade Fives so much. And something tells me there were many writers in the room with us yesterday! 

Thanks to all the kids for being wonderful, thanks to Miss Linda for the invite, and to Miss Linda and Mr. Daniel for sharing your students with me!

I think you will agree that today's pic is my best school visit pic EVER! This morning, TD banker and HEC professor Yacine Abou and I were at St. Monica Elementary School in NDG to give a workshop on financial literacy. These workshops are part of a pilot project, offered thanks to a unique collaboration between the Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation and TD Bank. At the end of this morning's workshop, a student named Asthwi showed us the sheet of paper she'd used for taking notes -- as you will see, it also includes a rather lifelike drawing of me and Yacine! But if you look at the notes, you'll see some of the rather serious topics we covered -- including compound interest, security, saving and even credit scores!

Today we worked with a group of students from Grades 3, 4 and 6, and what amazed us was how interested the kids were in talking about -- and learning about -- the world of finance!

The students did three short writing exercises. In one, they made a list of things they'd like to buy, in other words, how they might spend money. Here are some of the answers: mansion (Daniel); a Ferrari (Mujtaba), a light blue convertible (Rachelle); and my favourite from Luca, "infinite Hubba Bubba and an amusement park."

In another writing exercise, we asked the students to come up with a list of ideas for how they could SHARE their money, because as we discussed, a person doesn't need to be rich to be able to share. Daniel wrote, "I want to donate to cancer research" (he explained that his friend's mom is battling cancer, but thank goodness, doing well); and Shaleena wrote, "I'd share my money with the homeless." Which led us to a discussion about how the weather here in Montreal is getting colder, and how we can all help the homeless in our city by donating warm socks to shelters for the homeless.

My favorite writing exercise was the one in which we asked students to share their memories of when they first learned about money. Because we were working with a large group of nearly forty students, there wasn't time to hear all of the paragraphs they came up with. But I'll share Dario's: "One time I lost my snow hat. That led to my mom giving me a thirty minute to one hour lecture about money." I like that story a lot! I'll bet that even when Dario is much older he'll be careful not to lose valuable things. That's because research indicates the experiences we have with money when we are kids influence our later attitudes towards spending and saving.

The students were keen to meet Yacine. "Are you a trillionaire?" Ethan asked him. And Luca wanted to know, "How much money do you have?" Yacine answered, "My customers have the money!"

When we talked about the importance of saving, we asked the students, "Why save?" We were impressed when Dana answered: "to buy things and for college funds." 

Yacine left the students with some practical advice: "Start with good habits. I tell my customers, 'When you get your paycheque, pay yourself first!'"

Thanks to teachers Miss Alison and Miss Lara for sharing your students with us this morning. And hey, Miss Alison taught me something! When we were discussing old fashioned piggy banks (the kind that don't open, Rachelle said she has one), Miss Alison called out, "So that's where the expression 'break the bank' comes from!" As a word person, that made me super happy!

We hope the students at Roslyn School, where we did a similar workshop two weeks ago, and those we met today at St. Monica Elementary learned some interesting stuff from us. We also hope they'll go home and talk about some of the financial concepts that came up in our workshop. Here's to financial literacy -- and using money wisely to help make ours a better world!

Today's blog entry has a much longer title than usual: "And now for something entirely new: Blue Metropolis Offers New Workshop for Kids on Financial Literacy! And I'm Helping!" But I think the long title is appropriate because THIS IS AN EXCITING NEW PROJECT and I'm deeeelighted to be involved (as you can see from my grin in today's pic!!)

Here's what you need to do. The Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation runs an annual international literary festival here in Montreal. It also offers an amazing variety of educational programs, many of which I've been lucky enough to be involved with. So when Blue Met's president and artistic director  William St-Hilaire contacted me this summer to tell me about a new project aimed at making youngsters more financially literate I was eager to get involved. I got even more excited when she told me I would be teamed up with Yacine Abou, an up-and-coming banker with the TD Bank who's also a professor at the Université de Montréal's HEC! 

When Yacine and I met in person I knew right away that the kids in our workshops would be in for fun -- and a lot of learning! The first story Yacine told me was how, when he was growing up, his grandfather gave him a wooden cigar box that Yacine used for collecting money! I don't suppose that his grandfather could have imagined that that little boy would one day become a banker.

Before I tell you about our visit today to Roslyn Elementary School where we went to do a test run of our presentation with Mr. Noah's Grade Six class, I need to tell you a little about finanical literacy. For most of us, literacy means being able to read and write. But research indicates that many grownups have little background or training when it comes to handling money. We also know that money is often a taboo subject. So Blue Met, in cooperation with the TD Bank, is working to help improve financial literacy. And what better place to begin than with the next generation?!

I have LOTS to tell you about today's workshop with Mr. Noah's students. Here are just some of the things we discussed: values, spending, saving, the role of banks, entrepreneurship, sharing, crypto currency and even scams. Yacine handled the big explanations. My job was to get the students writing! 

Their first task was to write about what they VALUED. (We had discussed how we spend money as well as time on things and activities we value.) A student named Lou came up with "dance and skating." Rocky's list included "video games, hockey and eating!" Michael wrote: "Education, supplies I need, time with family, friends, and sports."

The second writing task -- in preparation for our unit on entrepreneurship -- was for the students to write about ways in which they could earn money. Here's a list of their answers. I've included their names after their ideas: Reading books to kids at the library (Stefanos); allowance, lemonade stand (Kevin); city work such as cleaning trash (Kaie); entrepreneur (Eniko); and doing chores (London). Maddox impressed us when he revealed he is already an entrepreneur: "I do this personally. In winter, I shovel people's driveways. I suggest a price. Last year, I made three hundred dollars."

Yacine captured the students' attention when he showed them a chart to explain how compound interest works. He used Maddox's three hundred dollars as an example. If Maddox invests $300 at a rate of seven per cent, in 30 years from now, he will have over $31,000! Which, as we discussed, is a lot more than what happens when you keep your money under your mattress or in a piggy bank!

The last writing exercise was about sharing. I explained that a person doesn't have to be rich to share. We can share some of what we have even if we don't have a lot, and we can always share our time. Here are some of the beautiful sharing ideas the class came up with. Michael wrote: "I would use my money and time to clean up the streets and give a bigger tip at restaurants." Lou wrote: "If I had a little extra money, I would donate it to an animal shelter." And Eniko wrote: "I'd buy fresh clothes, toys and food for families who are struggling in war."

Can you see why being with Mr. Noah's Grade Sixes this morning made me feel hopeful about our world? When I asked the students if they learned anything from us today the answer was a LOUD CHEER!

But I'm going to end today's rather long blog entry with the most amazing quote from Yacine. Are you ready because it's truly amazing?

Here it comes!

"I teach Microeconomics in a big ampitheater at HEC. But can I say something?" That's when Yacine looked up at the class: "I love you!"

Let me start by saying: this is the worst photograph I have ever used to illustrate a blog entry! (It's just a copy of my notes!) But let me explain: I was so busy this morning working with Ms. Lawrence's Secondary IV English class at Rosemere High School THAT I FORGOT ALL ABOUT TAKING A PHOTO FOR YOU!

So there's lots to tell. I had met most of Ms. Lawrence's students three years ago when I did one of my more usual writing workshops. But this year, Ms. Lawrence made me an interesting offer: to come back and give the students an advanced workshop. And I can tell you that I had them work just as hard as I made my CEGEP students work for me when I was teaching at Marianopolis College!

I started with a mini (very mini) pep talk. Basically I reminded the students that writing is difficult and that it takes a lot a lot a lot of hard work! But that there's a great satisfaction in writing -- maybe because it takes so much work!

All the students in Ms. Lawrence's class have been working on short stories, which many of them are planning to submit to a writing contest. So I spent the rest of my visit doing my best to work one-on-one with every single student. (Confession: I ran out of time and missed one student, but after she had to leave for her next class, I managed to make some notes on her story too! Phew!)

Here are just a few of the interesting things that came up when I was responding to the students' writing.   

I had shared my opinion that ADVERBS MUST BE KILLED OFF! So while reading one student's story, I came across a line explaining that her character, Paloma (great name for a character!) was "mindlessly scrolling on her phone." I killed off the word mindlessly and then we discussed how the word scrolling is perfect in this sentence because it suggests mindlessness! Which let me share another pointer with the students: STRONG VERBS MUST LIVE ON!

Speaking of strong verbs, I liked how a student named Damon described his character "slamming the snooze button." Can't you just see that happening? 

And I need to tell you about a student named Juliette, who, in a separate exercise in which the students had their characters write them a letter, wrote: "I've come to learn that positivity has been my only personality trait for far too long and I want to change." I just love the honesty of that line. What a beautiful thing for your character to share with you, Juliette!

Thanks to all the students for working hard -- our time together felt like ten minutes, not nearly three hours! Thanks also to student teacher Miss Alyssa for being a big help and putting so many writing tips on the board. (That would have made a better photograph for today's blog entry, especially with a few students in the pic too.) And thanks to Ms. Lawrence -- I always love coming to work with your students who are so very lucky to have you! (Hey, so and very are also two word on my MURDER list, but I decided to give myself permission to use them here!)

Happy new school year to all of you! I feel so lucky that I was back in the classroom today! Keep writing, keep re-writing, and let me know when you win that writing contest!!

There’s a story behind every book. It’s sometimes called the back story or origin story. So it’s basically the story of how the book came to be. The stories behind my stories have always been deeply personal. That’s especially true about my upcoming YA novel Christmas Weekend, scheduled for release this August by Linda Leith Publishing.

The story’s narrator is Geoffrey and it’s set at a cottage in Quebec’s Laurentian Mountains. Geoffrey and his kid sister Angela aren’t too thrilled about having to spend Christmas Weekend at their dad’s cottage – with Rebekah, their dad’s latest girlfriend. Things get even worse when a freak storm hits and the family finds themselves trapped, with no way of getting back to the city.

So, here’s a little hint about the back story: I dedicated Christmas Weekend to my two step-kids and to their (now our) dog Pepper.   

I got the idea for the book nearly six years ago – when I spent Christmas weekend with my then boyfriend (he’s now my husband), his two teenagers and their dog at the family cottage. Let’s just say the kids weren’t exactly overjoyed. Not only was the Internet lousy, but even I’ll admit that I can be a lot. (I’m noisier and more energetic than the average person!)  It didn’t help that on the drive to the Laurentians, the dog came to sit on my lap. (It was much easier to win over the dog than it was to win over the kids!!) Anyway, there really was a freak storm and we really did get trapped in the cottage.

You may be thinking that I don’t have much of an imagination – that all I do is borrow real-life events and turn them into books! But there’s a game I like to play in my head that is also an essential part of my writing process. I call it WHAT IF?

So when, on one of the nights we were trapped in the cottage, I noticed a deep fryer (perfect for making French fries) on the kitchen counter. I’d heard deep fryers are a common cause of kitchen fires – so I started wondering WHAT IF while Guy and I were asleep, the kids decided to make French fries and the house caught on fire?

Of course, all this happened strictly in my IMAGINATION. But it was the magical combination of real events and imagined ones that led me to begin work on Christmas Weekend.  

It also helped that my (now) step kids are both very funny – in very different ways. My stepson (the inspiration behind Geoffrey) has his dad’s deadpan or dry sense of humour. My stepdaughter (the inspiration behind Angela) has a sense of humour that’s more like mine – let’s call it silly and fun. Paprika, the dog in the story, didn’t need much disguising. Our real-life dog is named Pepper (so you can see I had fun changing his name to Paprika.)

For me, writing is about working hard, but also having fun. (I did both while I was working on this book.) Writing is also a way for me to address subjects that are close to my heart – such as what it means to be a family, and the challenges of reconstituted or blended families. I’m still learning as I go along (both about writing and living). But it seems to me that going through challenging times together helps build enduring bonds. And that laughter makes everything better.   

I’m writing today’s blog entry from VIA Rail Train 29, heading back from Quebec City to Montreal. I spent the day in Beauport, doing writing workshops with students at Ecole Secondaire de la Seigneurie.

I’ve entitled today’s blog Write MORE. It’s part of the writing advice teacher Miss Rodrigue printed up on the back of her students’ writing notebooks. And of course, I love it! I was telling Ms. Rodrigue’s students that, when I was growing up, teachers used to tell us, “It’s quality – not quantity!” (I think it was because they didn’t want to correct long stories – and later, when I became a teacher, I understood the sentiment.) But you know what? Those teachers were WRONG. In order to develop as writers, we need to write A LOT. And we definitely need to write MORE!!

I worked with two of Miss Rodrigue’s classes (first the Sec 2’s, then her Sec 3’s), and I ended the day with Ms. Jennifer’s Sec. 3 class. In addition to sharing the writing tips I wish someone had shared with me when I was dreaming of becoming a published author, there was time for the students to do a writing exercise and for them to ask me questions they had prepared in anticipation of my visit.

One of my favourite questions came from a student named Thomas-Alexandre: “If the writing profession didn’t exist, what would you be?” I actually HAD NO ANSWER. (Which is unusual for me since I love talking about writing!) But I came up with an answer just now on the train! Thomas-Alexandre, I’d be LOST and MISERABLE if the writing profession didn’t exist. But I think you were really asking which other job I might have done and I think it would be teacher, which, by the way, I did do – and enjoyed for nearly every single day of my 35-year career!

Some other interesting and/or sweet moments from today:

A student named Blanche – love the name and may need to steal (okay borrow!) it for a future book project. Also Blanche was wearing a chemise blanche. WHAT IF (I was telling the students how writers love to ask WHAT IF?!) my character named Blanche always wears white?

During the writing exercise, Romie described a friend she made through Instagram. Romie gave me permission to quote the following beautiful line: “I became a better version of myself because of her.” Ahh, don’t you just love that – the writing, and of course, the feeling behind it? All our friends should make us better versions of ourselves!

When we were discussing the importance of doing research for our stories, a student named Eunice told us she has hardly any memory of growing up on the Ivory Coast, where she lived until the age of four. Luckily, she has her parents as well as cousins, whom she plans to ask about what living there was like. I’m betting that by interviewing those relatives, Eunice will reawaken some of her own childhood memories. And I’m hoping those – in combination with her research – will lead to an important story.

I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE. I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME FIND THE NOTES I TOOK IN THE AFTERNOON! SO IF SOMEONE AT SCHOOL FINDS THEM TOMORROW (THEY MIGHT BE IN MS. JENNIFER’S CLASSROOM), CAN YOU TAKE A PIC OF THEM AND SEND THEM TO ME??)

I am going to tell you a little about my work with the students this afternoon, but it’s less fun without my NOTES! Okay … here goes – and if I don’t have the right spellings for your names, can you let me know in the comments section and I’ll fix them!

When I walked into Miss Rodrigue’s second class, a student said ,“Hello Monique.” I asked him his name and he told me it was Shawn. (Did I spell that right?) Then a moment later, he asked me, “What’s your name?” – which cracked me up since he already knew it! But I must say that Shawn stole my heart because I know he was trying to be super polite and friendly with me.

I also met a student named Lorianne (Lorianne, I bet you’re reading this blog, so send me the correct spelling, okay?!). I could feel that like many of the other students, Lorianne is FULL OF STORIES. She stayed after class to chat with me about stories – and hair. Not only are we both extroverted, but we also both have curly hair!

Last class of the day, I worked with Ms. Jennifer’s students. Ms. Jennifer had told me they were a quiet group, but that they had worked hard preparing questions for me. The questions were anonymous, but every time I read one, I couldn’t resist asking, “Who came up with this question?” A student named Michael made me laugh because he claimed to have written all the best questions.

But it turns out that he did come up with the question, “What is the greatest challenge you ever faced as a writer?” I thought that was BRILLIANT and I’ve certainly never been asked it before. I told the students that the hardest part was the period at the beginning of my career when I could not sell a manuscript – and I also told them how, at the time, my dad advised me to give up on writing books for kids. BUT I DIDN’T LISTEN, DID I? Which prompted me to add a new writing tip to my list: “Even if someone tells you to, never give up on something that really matters to you.”

Well, I suppose I managed to write this blog entry even without the notes I scribbled this afternoon. Which teaches us another lesson: ALWAYS TAKE NOTES and DO NOT LOSE THEM!

Special thanks to Miss Rodrigue for arranging my visit to Ecole Secondaire de la Seigneurie, and to Ms. Jennifer for having me come to work with your students too. And an extra special thanks to the students – I had so much fun being with you all today. Thanks for being good listeners, good participants, hardworking writers – and coming up with so many great questions!

Have you ever noticed how EVERYTHING IS A STORY? (It's one of the things I love most about being alive!)

So, here's the story behind my visit this morning to Westmount Park Elementary School where I worked with Ms. Kiley's Grades 3 and 4 class, and Miss Katrina's Grade 6's. That's Ms. Kiley at the top, left hand-corner of today's pic. And Mr. David is at the top right-hand corner. (You'll see that he is part of my story too -- and so his dog Maddie!!).

About three years ago, I was at Westmount Park Elementary to read from my picture book The Brass Charm and do writing workshops with the students. At the time, I got into a super interesting conversation with some of the kids -- and it has stayed with me ever since. I knew I needed to return to Westmount Park and spend more time with the students, some of whom were born in faraway places, but now call Montreal home.

Fast forward to last month when I was walking our dog Pepper. Pepper is super cute, but not that well-behaved around other dogs. So I was rather astonished when Pepper behaved himself and actually made friends with a lovely dog named Maddie. And to add to my happiness, I knew Maddie's owner! It's Mr. David, with whom I sometimes worked when he was the World editor at the Montreal Gazette. (As you can imagine, Mr. David knows a lot about writing -- and also about the world.) Mr. David told me he volunteers twice a week at Westmount Park Elementary, where he works with Ms. Kiley's kids. Anyway, he put in a good word for me -- which is how I got to spend this morning at the school!

I did a mini-writing workshop with both classes. With the younger students, I focused on creative writing. But because Ms. Katrina's students are preparing for their final exam in which they'll also have to write an essay, I also covered some essay-writing tips. I explained that for most writers writing is our way of thinking. And I emphasized the importance of ORGANIZING their thoughts. We even looked at a few organizational strategies such as going from simple to complex ideas, or from most obvious to least obvious ones.

And I also got to pick the students' brains about my latest research OBSESSION. Let's just say the kids had so many interesting things to tell me I nearly ran out of paper!

And to make you laugh, I thought I'd include Archer's answer when I asked the students what they think I do every single morning when I wake up. (I was about to tell the students that I write in my journal.) But Archer had a better answer -- he said, "You have a coffee!" Which, in fact, I do!!

So special thanks to Mr. David, Ms. Kiley, Miss Katrina and childcare worker Fayth, for your warm welcome today, and thanks of course to all the students. I hope I inspired you to write stories (and essays). What I know for sure is YOU INSPIRED ME. Big hug to all of you from Monique

It’s my second week as writer-in-residence at Collège Reine-Marie in Saint-Michel. And you know when I REALLY felt like the writer-in-residence? When I got on the jampacked city bus today after school and a student named Rafael waved me over because there was an empty seat next to him!

Funny how small things can make us so happy! (I was happy with the seat, but even happier with Rafael’s excellent company – especially because he told me an interesting story about how well his two cats get along with his bird!)

Also, I didn’t even work with Rafael yet this week. (He’s in one of the classes I’ll see tomorrow.) So it was extra-fun that he even remembered me! (On the other hand, a curly-haired 64-year-old woman may have stood out on that busy bus full of teenagers today!)

A month ago, I did my first week at Reine-Marie as writer-in-residence. At that time, I concentrated on reading. This week, I’m focusing on writing. I’ve been sharing tips, and getting the students to do some writing exercises. For most of them, English is their second (and sometimes third) language, and I must say they are doing great – they’re participating both out loud and through the writing exercises, and they’re not afraid to make mistakes. Today, we were talking about the need for courage. I told the students that if I could wish them one thing as they grow up, it’s that they have courage. We all need it – and rather frequently if you ask me!

By the end of this week, I’ll have worked with all the Sec. I students. It was English teacher Mr. Crooks who came up with the idea of inviting me, so I’ve been working with his students and also those of Ms. Mooney and Ms. Mollas.

I was also telling the students they need to be on the hunt for interesting details that will help bring their stories to life. Just as I was telling them that, I spotted an interesting detail – I had put my pen on a student named Reda’s desk. Unbeknownst to me (isn’t unbeknownst a fun word? I don’t think I’ve ever used it before in all my life!), the pen started rolling off the desk, and Reda caught it. But all I saw was Reda grabbing my pen! So I teased him and asked, “Are you trying to steal my pen?”  Anyway, the look on Reda’s face was so kind that I understood right away that he’d been doing me a favour. (I do love my pens and as I told the class, if Reda hadn’t caught it, it might have rolled all the way to Toronto!!) Anyway, this little story (with its details) lets you see what a good guy Reda is.

We also talked about precious objects – and how they also “tell” stories. A student named Miguel wrote about the gold cross he always wears, and that was a gift from his much-loved grandmother. Marguerite wrote about the stuffed animal he received for his tenth birthday – and here comes a great detail that brought Marguerite’s story to life: “I washed it in the bath and it became skinny?” (Can’t you just see that?) William’s precious object is an unusual and unforgettable one – some hair from his deceased guinea pig named Chloē.

When I told the student that they should interview their grandparents (or if they don’t have grandparents, some other old people) about their precious objects and find out those stories too. That’s when a student named William told me one of my favourite things of the day: “My grandparents always tell me stories about their lives. My mother is like that too. But I think there are things they don’t tell me.” Well, William, it might just be your job to keep uncovering stories in your family!

Other great moments were when two students – Stella and Laurent (that's Laurent with Ms. Mollas and me in today's pic) – stopped to chat with me a little more on their way out of the classroom. Stella shared a beautiful story about her own necklace. Laurent had pointed out earlier in class that learning from trouble makes trouble worthwhile. That’s pretty deep for a student in Sec. 1!!

There are two more days to go in my writer-in-residency at Reine-Marie. I hope they don’t pass too quickly – because I want to enjoy every single second. Thanks to the kids, thanks to the teachers. I’ve been smiling the whole time I wrote today’s blog entry!

I spent two happy, busy afternoons this week at the Cote Saint-Luc Eleanor London Public Library. Thanks to the Quebec Writers’ Federation and to children’s librarian Bronwen Cathey, who organized the event, I was at the library to offer a writing clinic to help youngsters prepare their entries for the upcoming Roslyn & Max Margles Young Writers' Contest.

As my friend, kids’ author Rina Singh wrote to me yesterday when I told her about the CLINIC: “Writing is healing!” I could not agree more!

Before I tell you a little about the kids I worked with I need to tell you something about the Côte Saint-Luc Eleanor London Public Library – it’s the first library I ever went to! I remember when, in the 1970s, it was housed upstairs in the Côte Saint-Luc Shopping Centre. I also remember the librarian who used to check out our books – her name was Eleanor London!

I must say I had many patients at my clinic!!

They included Nechama, who’s in Grade Five at Azrieli Talmud Torah School, and whose MUM Judi Freedman was once my student at Marianopolis College! Nechama is working on an interesting story about a class about to put on a play. I also worked with a girl named Lily, who's almost 11, goes to JPPS (Jewish Peoples and Peretz School) and has an amazing imagination; and with a boy named Adam, who’s almost ten and goes to Ecole les Amis du Monde. Adam told me he writes ten pages a day! WOW-ZA! And when I shared a few of my best writing tips with him, Adam told me, “I learned those already at school – and a bit more!” (Which made me laugh and also made me happy.) Adam got right to work at the back of the room – and within about twenty minutes he had produced the start of a fascinating story about a magician who does a trick involving his own son!

I also worked with Nona, who’s 11 and goes to Académie St-Clément. She is working on a beautiful poem that is set in a swimming pool – that’s because Nona feels most at peace when she is swimming. What impressed me about Nona was her fascination with words – and her ability to concentrate deeply. It turns out that Nona’s mom Ensiyeh (who was watching us work together) is a translator – so maybe Nona inherited those wonderful traits from her mom.

As I told the kids, it’s not easy getting edited – and it’s not easy to revise our work. But if you’re expecting writing to be easy, and for things to come out perfectly on your first draft, well then, you’re probably not going to win the Roslyn and Max Margles Young Writers’ Contest!

Oh, something funny I nearly forgot to tell you: I met a seven-year-old girl named Zoë, who didn’t come to my clinic, but who was happily following around Bronwen, the children’s librarian. Zoě told me: “I don’t like writing.” That cracked me up – I told her I don’t like writing that much either. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I LOVE? HAVING WRITTEN!! I asked Zoẽ, “Can I mention in my blog that you do like hanging out in the library?” To which she replied, “Yes – and chewing gum!” (What I just gave you here is an example of how details -- and also dialogue -- make a story fun and memorable!!)

Today, Nechama, Adam, Lily and Nona were all back to work on their stories! Yay to you four for your persistence. Another fun surprise today was that a family came all the way from Brossard, on Montreal's South Shore, so their daughter Marina could get some advice on her story -- and guess what? Marina's mom, Li Li, WAS ALSO ONCE MY STUDENT. (You can imagine how happy that makes me!!!)

Marina's story -- about a runaway cat -- was super imaginative. But I did have a few tips for how she could tighten it up -- for example, there's no need to keep repeating "a répondu" (that's French for "answered.") (Hey, I forget to mention that it was a BILINGUAL clinic.) And because Adam's French is so good, I asked for his advice when I was working on Nona's poem, which also happens to be in French. See that's what happens on a good day -- writers work TOGETHER!

Yet another fun part about today was that last year's second-place winner of the Roslyn & Max Margles Young Writers' Contest, Izzie, came by to show me her story too. She's written a biography about her great uncle -- so her essay definitely stands out as different from the rest.

A big thank you to all the kids who showed up for the clinics and to the parents who brought them to the library! If there's one thing I LOVE to see it's kids with books and notepaper in their hands! Good luck to all of you who will be competing in this year's edition of the Roslyn & Max Margles Young Writers' Contest. I feel honoured that I had the chance to meet you and provide a little writing advice. I look foward to following your writing careers! Thanks to the library and the QWF for making my week so fun!

In the breathtaking novel, Pax, by Sarah Pennypacker, a woman named Vola tells young Peter: “I am exactly where I should be, doing exactly what I should be doing. That is peace.”

I read that line today to three groups of Sec. 1 students at College Reine-Marie in St. Michel. I told the students I hoped they could take that line with them as they grow up, and that maybe it will help them find where they should be, and what they should be doing.

It’s my first day of an eight day writer-in-residency project at the school. And though I had to trudge through the snow and just just miss a bus on my way here, I do feel like I’m exactly where I should be, doing exactly what I should be doing – in my case talking about books and writing with bright young people.

I’ve done hundreds (maybe more!) of writing workshops, but this is the first time I’ve been asked to focus on both reading and writing. The idea came from Reine-Marie teacher Mr. Crooks, who asked me to choose ten books for the students to choose from (full disclosure – I ended up choosing eleven, and two are mine!). This week, I’m meeting the Sec. 1’s, and speaking about each of the eleven books; next month I’ll be back to do writing workshops. Besides Mr. Crooks’s students, I’m also working with Ms. Mooney’s and Ms. Mollas’s Sec. 1’s. (That's Ms. Mooney with me in today's picture, together with a student named Dali, whom I'll tell you about later.)

So – because I know you’re curious, here’s my list of recommendations, broken down by category.

CONTEMPORARY FICTION

Weird Rules to Follow by Kim Spencer

For the Record by MOI

Outta Here by Lea Beddia

FANTASY & DYSTOPIAN

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

Pax by Sarah Pennypacker

NOVEL IN VERSE

The Crazy Man by Pamela Porter

HISTORICAL

Plague Thieves by Caroline Fernandez

The Ribbon Leaf by Lori Weber

What World Is Left, also by MOI

CLASSICS

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Besides talking about the books, I also talked about what reading means to me, and how to choose the right book. I told the students I felt like a server at a fancy restaurant, telling customers what was on the menu!

I told the students how reading has saved and continues to save my life. That’s because when I am feeling distressed (it happens to all of us sometimes) I can take solace in a book. In a weird way, I feel a similar sense of solace when I am writing, except that I find writing is a lot harder work than reading!

As for choosing books, I talked about getting recommendations from people we admire and trust. It was Westmount Library’s children’s librarian Wendy Wayling who told me about Impossible Creature, which I am nearly finished reading and which I ADORE!

I just realize something I forgot to tell the students – but maybe they’ll read it here in this blog entry. It’s good to read outside of our usual genres. For instance, I love contemporary and historical fiction, but I seldom read fantasy – and how glad am I that I was open to reading Impossible Creatures.

I also read, I told the kids, so that I continue to develop as a writer. When I read something wonderful, I ask myself, “How can I do that in my own work?” And when I read something I don’t like so much, I wonder, “Have I ever done that in my own writing? I hope not!”

Research shows that reading fiction builds EMPATHY – which means we can forget about ourselves and really step into another person (or character)’s life.

Something I haven’t told you about today is that I have a BLACK EYE. (It’s awfully ugly! You can only see a bit of it in today's pic.) It happened when I was shoveling snow on Saturday morning and the shovel flew out of my hands and hit the side of my head. The reason I’m telling you is so you’ll understand why I was touched when I told Ms. Mooney’s students about what happened and a student named Allyson said, “I was worried about you.” See! Allyson, that’s proof of your powers of empathy!

I’ll end today’s blog entry with another lovely example of empathy. When I was telling the students about the tragic story that starts Pamela Porter’s verse novel, The Crazy Man, Dali (see her pic at the top of this entry) looked visibly upset. Afterwards, Dali told me, “I even feel sorry for people I don’t know.” Ahh, I thought to myself, that sounds like a writer-in-the-making!

Here’s to reading and writing, both activities that “grow” our hearts. Thanks to my friends at Reine-Marie for the invite, and to the kids for being so attentive and open. I’ll do another blog about Reine-Marie when I finish up my writer-in-residency towards the end of March.

In today's pic, I am showing some of Ms. Julie's Grade Two students at Roslyn Elementary School the little brass monkey charm I wear around my neck -- and telling them the story of the little monkey, which was given to my mum when, as a child, she was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. The monkey was a gift given to my mum on her thirteenth birthday by a stranger.

During Part Two of my workshops with Ms. Julie's students, I started by telling them this story, and then we spent the rest of our time together working on the students' own stories. This morning, I asked the kids, "What do you do when you find a story that feels very special?" Laurence said: "You spread it out!" I love that answer! Then Nora added, "Make a book!" (which is exactly what I did with the brass monkey --  I turned his story into The Brass Charm, a picture book illustrated by Marie Lafrance).

Mostly I do writing workshops with older students, but there's a special joy for me in working with younger ones. That's because students in Grade Two tend to have a wonderful sense of confidence in their storytelling abilities. Older kids are more worried about whether their story is "good" and of course, they are often focused on grades.

So today I'll share some of my favourite lines from the students' stories. (Don't worry! I asked for their permission to do so!)

I loved Rory's description of a family member: "She never likes anything." Rory's words are simple, but we readers know exactly the kind of person she is describing. Benjamin's opening line made me laugh (it's great -- and challenging -- to make a reader laugh): "I had a dream, in it I was just born and the next day I turned into a billionaire." That was quick, Benjamin, but in stories and imagination, anything is possible! Vivian wrote about her first birthday party during which the chocolate on her face "turned into a chocolate monster"! Very fun and playful, Vivian! Graydon used the word "tangled" in his story about a magic tree. Don't you find the word tangled even sounds tangled when you say it?! And Dominique came up with my favourite title: "The Walking Oreo." In Domionique's story the walking Oreo befriends an ice cream.

See what I mean about kids in Grade Two's having confidence in their storytelling abilities?

Last week, a student named Gabriel cracked me up when he put down his pencil and called out, "Finished!" I called back, "No, you're NOT!" Then I went on to explain that writing is a lot about REwriting. Just because you finished your first draft (though admittedly that does feel good) you are NOT DONE. Next up is the REwriting. Which is why, this morning, when Mehria showed me her work and explained, "I'm not done!" I nearly hugged her!!

So if you're a slightly older writer like me (haha), I think we can find excellent role models in Ms. Julie's students. We all need to keep a little of that Grade Two spirit with us -- no matter our age.

Thanks to Ms. Julie for inviting me to work with her students, and thanks to the kids for being so fun, creative and hardworking. Ms. Julie has an amazing plan -- when her students have finished REwriting their stories they are going to read them to the Grade Three students at Roslyn. They'll be, to borrow Laurence's words, "spreading it out"! How great is that?!

Today's blog entry comes to you from Christmas Park Elementary School in Beaconsfield. Grade Five teacher Mrs. Barbara (that's her standing two over from me in today's pic) invited me to Christmas Park to do writing workshops with her students. I worked with two classes -- and they had very different "personalities."

The first class was super lively. They had so many questions I had to ask them to hold off for a bit so I could get through my writing tips! Aleisia, who is sitting at the front of the pic, wearing a pink hat (Happy Birthday, Aleisia, had I known sooner I'd have sung Happy Birthday to you in Dutch) told me: "You got me interested in pursuing writing every day." I must say I was wow-ed by Aleisia's use of the word pursuing. We discussed how police officers pursue a felon, and I like the idea of running after writing! Writing every day (or even writing regularly) requires energy -- a little like chasing down a felon!!

When I explained that even after so many years of writing I still need to keep REwriting, I asked the students why they think that is -- and David came up with a beautiful answer. He said, "Because you're still learning." THAT COULD NOT BE MORE TRUE, David! And isn't it cool that adults can keep learning too?

Darion made a comment I found brilliant. He said, "A lot of things you say make me think about perseverance." Well, Darion, I never thought about that before, but I think it's true -- and I like it.

And during the writing exercise, Samantha (I vote for her for future prime minister) produced the following definition of a man who worked at the daycare she attended: "He had a square face. He looked tired and bored." I love those sentences because they are direct and simple, and a square face is interesting, and because Samantha, you've made me get a picture in my mind of the man you are describing. That is good writing!

Mrs. Barbara's second class was much quieter, and several of the students said they weren't interested in becoming writers. (Hopefully I convinced them that writing is a skill worth cultivating!) But these students really shone during the writing exercise -- when I asked them to write about the hardest thing they'd ever been through and how they managed to get through the experience. These students showed me they have a lot of courage. And as I told them, writing -- especially about difficult subjects -- takes COURAGE. For that matter, living takes courage too!

Some high moments from my work with the second group: Beatrix said rewrites are important because "You don't have all the punctuation correct and not everything is perfect yet!" How lovely! Perfection is a lofty goal -- I don't think I'll ever get there with my writing, but I think that's also why I'm so hooked on writing... because I want to keep improving! Tianna told us she is "super curious," which I explained is a vital skill for an author. And at the end of class, Lukas made me laugh when he waved his paper with notes and his writing work in the air and asked me, "What do I do with it?" MY ANSWER: KEEP IT FOREVER! REMEMBER ALL THE STUFF I TAUGHT YOU ABOUT WRITING AND WORK ON YOUR STORIES!

Oh... before I forget... another funny thing. Mrs. Barbara told me that at recess, she asked two students from the first group what they thought of me and my presentation. Their answers: INSPIRING and DIFFERENT. I'll take that!!

Special thanks to Mrs. Barbara for the invite to Christmas Park; thanks also to librarian Ms. Meehan for being such a keen librarian -- we had met before and I was happy to see her again! (I had met Mrs. Barbara before too!) Thanks especially to the kids -- for sharing your stories, and for being such lovely, kind and smart young people.

What, you must be wondering, would cause me to describe an afternoon as "double happy"? Even a writer like me who lives in a world of words finds it hard to tell you why I had so much fun today at Allion Elementary School. So how about I make a list of the various things that contributed to make me double happy?!

I met a student whose hair grows in what is called a widow's peak. The peak has a distinct V shape -- and I just looked it up and apparently it runs in families. Anyway, I've always liked widow's peaks and I think I'd better include a character who has one in my next book. The student with this unique trait is named Jamie-Lee and she's next to me in today's pic.

Also in the photo is a student named Harmony. I told the kids that I "steal" children (not to keep them, just to borrow them for my stories!!) -- and I also collect names for my future characters. I think the world needs some stories with HARMONY in them, don't you agree?

I worked with two groups from Grades Five and Six, and when I asked for two notetakers in each group, I had many volunteers (this rarely happens, and shows the positive spirit in the crowd today). So special shout out to my notetakers: Lea, Celia, and Ozias and Austin.

When I told the students how I sometimes get good story ideas in the shower, a student named Myles told me he recently got a great idea when he was in the shower too: "My ideas was what if I mixed all the soaps and shampoos together to make a secret potion." I like that Myles, but you should probably keep that for a book because in real life, your parents might get annoyed if you did that!

One of my favourite questions ever came from Luca, who wanted to know, "Did any of your books ever flop?" The answer: of course! I wrote three or four manuscripts before I sold my first one in 2004. Making flops is part of how we learn and get better at what we do!!

Another great question -- after I told the students how a big part of my writing life has been inspired by my mum's childhood experience as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp -- a student named Nathan raised his hand to ask me, "What about the dad?" And so I told the students one of my big regrets: that I was unable to get my dad to really tell me about what happened to him during the war. Because he was half-Jewish, he was not sent to a concentration camp. Instead he lived on a farm away from the rest of his family.

Something else: THE PRINCIPAL CAME TO HEAR MY TALK! Let me tell you that I have done hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of school visits and this has only happened to me three or four times. So big shout-out to Ms. D'Adamo. And guess what? When I last visited Allion Elementary, she also came to hear my talk -- so she accounts for two of the four principals who have attended my presentations! It's a big compliment to the author, but also an amazing example to the students of an adult who is still open to learning.

I think you now understand what made my afternoon double happy. I need to thank librarian Ms. Tiffany for inviting me to her school and for being a #1 librarian. Thanks also to the teachers for sharing their kids with me today: Ms. Tanya, Ms. Gabriella, Ms. Tracey, Ms. Lobna, Mr. B, Ms. Sheilagh, Mme Sarah and Ms. Cameron. Thanks most of all to the students who dazzled me with their kindness, intelligence and sense of fun. May you all have many double-fun afternoons in your lives ahead!

In today's pic you will see something that makes me super happy: WRITERS WRITING! And especially YOUNG WRITERS WRITING!

I have kicked off my 2025 school visits with two mornings of writing workshops at Roslyn Elementary School. I will be there for two more mornings this month. What makes the visits extra-special for me is that I'm working with Grade Two students and that their teacher Ms. Marcus used to be MY STUDENT when she went to Marianopolis College here in Montreal. Ms. Marcus's students were WOW-ed when I told them that. A few nearly fell off their chairs!

I'll be seeing each of Ms. Marcus's Grade Two classes twice. In my first workshop, I share writing tips and try to get the kids working on their own stories. In the second workshops, I'll be helping the students develop their ideas and edit their work.

I told the student I'm a little like a bird building a nest -- always looking for stuff to include in my stories. I told them how, in particular, I look for things that are funny, odd, sad or deep. And of course, I explained how stories need trouble to give them energy.

I took a page-and-a-half of notes during my time with the kids, so I'm going to go ahead and share some of my favourite moments.

When I showed the students the journal I keep every day, I explained how it's my way of keeping my writing muscles in good shape. This prompted a student named Filip to say: ""You have to practice. I had a hockey game yesterday, and I'll practice before the next game." Exactly, Filip!

I asked the students to do a mini-writing exercise at the start of my workshops. I had them finish the sentence that begins "I like...." Some of the answers were: pizza, hockey games, and you! (You, in case you need me to explain it, was ME!! haha)

Rory told me, "I have about one hundred books in my house." Graydon said, "I love writing" and later Graydon used the word "vengeance," which is pretty impressive for a student in Grade Two!

When I introduced the subject of revision and how it could be the most important part of writing, Mosi knew what the word revise meant: "When you look back at what you already did and it makes sense." Correct! Although sometimes what you already did doesn't make sense! (That happens to me quite a lot!)

Arya had a great question: "How do you know when you write a book that somebody else didn't already write it?" I explained that when an author gets an idea for a book, it's usually wise to do an Internet search and make sure there is nothing too similar already on the market.

I also explained that details help bring a story to life. That's why I loved when Tilia told us, "I practice gymnastics every day on my mother's bed." Can't you just see Tilia bouncing on the bed and hear the bed springs creaking? And I loved when Vivian wrote how she "had a dog who ate flies." A fly-eating dog is another unforgetable detail for a story.

In my last workshop today, I asked the students to remember something weird that happened to them. (I had explained that memories can sometimes provide the seeds for a story.) I'll end today's blog entry with my two favourite opening sentences that came from the exercise. Ready?

Magalie started her story like this: "My cat's head was in a Cheetos bag."

See why I like that so much? It makes me laugh and also want to keep reading! Super work, Magalie!

And Laurence, who happens to sit next to Magalie and be her friend, wrote: "I never know why almost every dog hates my dad."

I chuckled just typing that line for you! I'm looking forward to the rest of your story, Laurence!

So thanks to the second graders I met at Roslyn Elementary School, my 2025 is off to a great start. I hope yours is too. Thanks to Ms. Marcus for the invite, and to the kids for being deeeelightful. Now work on those stories, so I can give you some feedback during my next visit!

I literally BOUNCED out of bed this morning -- that's because I knew I'd be TEACHING A CLASS today. If you know me, or read this blog, you will know that for 35 years, I taught at Marianopolis College. Even before that, I played school and taught all the kids on my street (and when they refused to come to class, I taught the stuffed animals in our house!!).

Today, in honour of the Westmount Public Library's 125th anniversary, I was invited to do an inter-generational writing workshop about memory -- in particular our earliest memories of going to a library! Cool topic, no? It was Westmount Library's children's librarian Wendy Wayling, and the library's head of programming Daniel Miguez de Luca, who helped me come up with that excellent plan. I say excellent because IT WORKED!

I had about 30 "students" of all ages -- including several students from Westmount Park School and their moms; Hank, a grampa who attended with his three year old granddaughter; and Mi Hye and her five year old daughter Hyunsuh, who recently moved to Canada from South Korea (that's them with me in the second pic).

I talked a little about my latest book Remember This: The Fascinating World of Memory (Orca, 2024) and I shared my theory -- that memories are stories asking to be told! And as usual, I also shared some writing tips. I told the group how when I was in Grade Three, I was determined to write a book -- but that everything I wrote turned out badly. If only, I explained, the grown-up me could have told the nine-year-old me, "Kid, you're on the right track! First drafts are always terrible. You just have to keep rewriting!"

Mikel is a student in GRADE THREE at Westmount Park -- so he's exactly the age I was when I decided I wanted to be an author. (I'll tell you more about Mikel in a minute!)

As I explained before, for our writing exercise, I asked everyone to return in their memories to their first visit to a library. Mikel wrote about his memory of a story his mom Beth told him -- about her "Abuelo Chucho" (Abuelo is the Spanish word for grampa) and how he encouraged her to read when she was a little girl. What I LOVE about Mikel's story is that it has so many layers -- it's a story inside a story, about his great-grandfather, a man Mikel never met, but with whom he feels close.

Mi Hye wrote about the first book she ever read -- Sleeping Beauty: "I loved this book so much I read it countless times." Lily, who grew up in Hong Kong, wrote about a book called Water, a non-fiction book she discovered in the library during her first year of high school. "I still have it on the shelf," Lily told us, "but it's not the same book!" That made us laugh -- and also came as a relief because Lily would have had to pay a hefty late penalty. Hey, something else amazing about Lily -- she told me I taught her son Edmund at Marianopolis, and that he now has a seven year old daughter and a five year old son. Edmund, if you are reading this blog, I still remember you -- and hope to meet your kids at the library!!

Sylvie, who is a poet, described her school library as being like "Ali Baba's cave." Angelina remembered being four years old and running from Greene Avenue all the way to the Westmount Library: "A four year old could run rampant in those days." So interesting!! Hank came up with a great memory that smells to me like a book -- about the bookmobile that visited his school in Scarborough: "Once a week, always at the same time, the bookmobile would park in front of our school." Don't you want to know more?! And Caitlin, who grew up in Stratford, wrote about her memories of the Hamlet Library, where a stuffed owl hung on the wall: "I saw it; it saw me." Another excellent and atmospheric start to a story!

I don't know about my "students," but I was very very sad when our class ended! But hopefully I transmitted a little of my love for stories -- and inspired some budding authors. Thanks to Wendy and Daniel for having me. Thanks to the workshop participants for BEING STRAIGHT A STUDENTS!

Ça fait déjà plus que deux semaines que j'ai offert un atélier d'écriture multi-generationel å Austin, dans les Cantons de l'est.

Every once in a while, I write a blog in both official languages. This is one of those occasions. Two weekends ago, I was invited by the town of Austin's development agent Renaud Payant-Hébert to do a multi-generational writing workshop at the Carrefour d'Austin.

Cette invitation m'a beaucoup plaît parce que je suis une nouvelle résidente d'Austin! Cet été j'ai vendu ma maison à Montréal, et j'ai acheté une petite maison sur un très beau lac en Austin.

C'était un samedi matin. Et il y avait du monde! J'ai même rencontré le fils de Renaud, et quelques voisines du lac.

Community means a lot to me. I have always relied a lot on my friends and neighbours. In fact, two of my best friends were once my neighbours. So doing the writing workshop made me feel more part of the local community. 

The workshop was based on my latest book Remember This: The Fascinating World of Memory. Les participants ont écrit (ou pour les très petits, déssiné) quelques paragraphes inspirés par un souvenir.

Julie wrote a beautiful piece about her childhood memory of moving day: "Il faisait chaud, le métal du camion était froid." I find Julie's language is simple, but so evocative. She uses the sense of touch to allow us to travel back in time with her -- it was a hot day, but the metal of the truck was cold.

Martine used the phrase, "Il faisait déjà nuit noire." I told her I loved "nuit noire," which, in case you don't speak French, means "night black." Martine explained that "nuit noire" is simply a common French phrase -- mais moi, je l'adore! Also, it sounds much more beautiful than "night black" -- though we do say "black as night" in English. Je crois que j'aime le double n ("nuit noire")! Martine a aussi décrit  son expérience de jeune fille quand, de l'auto de ses parents, elle a vu une ambulance sur l'autoroute: "un immense sapin de Noël en pleine route." For Martine, the bright lights looked like a giant Christmas tree -- not something scary. Some adults, like Martine, are able to return to the world of childhood in their writing. I consider it a great gift.

Alors, je ne sais pas si vous allez aimer ce blogue bilingue. J'ai fait de mon mieux! Plus tard dans la journée, je vais demander å ma belle fille de corriger mes erreurs de français. J'ai donné l'atélier en français, et je n'ai pas fait trop d'erreurs. Mais comme j'ai expliqué à mes élèves, sans erreurs on ne peut pas apprendre! Merci, quand même å Anne, une de mes nouvelles voisines, qui m'a aidé quand je cherchais un mot particulier!

Merci aussi à tous ceux qui ont participé å l'atélier. Et merci à Renaud pour cette belle invitation! See you in Austin. On se reverra au lac!

Perhaps no one ever called you "delicious"! But that's the term I used when I told Ms. Lawrence's Sec. I English students how much I enjoyed their company today. They were a little embarrassed when I called them "delicious"!

I only use the word "delicious" for special occasions, and as you may have guessed, those special occasions usually have to do with food! But these students, who are in Enriched English dazzled me with their focus, creativity and overall great spirits. Also, they had to deal with me for nearly three hours straight! We had a little break for recess, but several of them stuck around to show me the writing they did during our writing exercise.

Here are some of my favourite moments from today. They'll help you to understand why I enjoyed Ms. Lawrence's students so much. I should also mention we had a few visitors -- Juliette, an older student who love to write, as well as Martin, a counselor at the school. Yay to both of you for being there of your own free will!

I was impressed when a student named William knew how to spell the word "segue" (it's pronounced "seg-way" and it means a transition between two random subjects; it's also sometimes used to describe a movement in music from one piece to another. Not too many people know how to spell it!)

I also had a soft spot for a student named Fox. (We writers are always collecting names for our future characters.) I told the students that last Friday, driving in the Laurentians, I saw a red FOX. I pointed out that the fox's colour was similar to the colour of Fox's hoodie. This observation led to a lively conversation about the right word to describe the colour of said hoodie. We debated the merits of rust, bronze, and mustard. The average person might not consider this an important debate, but as a writer I LOVED IT. That's because WRITING IS ALL ABOUT FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS.

I had to laugh when at 10:30, a student named Rodrigo announced, "I just woke up!"

I also loved when I was talking about the importance and absolute necessity of rewriting, and I asked the class, "So, now that I'm writing my 30-something-th book, shouldn't the first draft come out perfectly?" -- and a student named Adriana, said -- simply, but emphatically -- "No!" Quite right, Adriana! I have found that writing does not get easier; you just get to be more comfortable with the process, which includes many (many) drafts.

Here come a few of my favourite lines from the students' writing. Emma included this sentence in her paragraph: "I was a menace growing up and I still am." WE ALL LOVED THAT LINE! Mackenzie had the following opening line: "I often pick fights with my parents." Doesn't that line make you want to keep reading?

In today's picture, you will see me and Ms. Lawrence at the back, and some of the delicious kids in front of us. In the middle, you'll see Hannah. I just loved how she raised her hand when she asked me a question. Her arm was so straight and confident! And Hannah kindly agreed to raise her hand again for today's photo.

We talked about courage -- how writers need to be courageous. We also talked about feeling discouraged -- which happens sometimes, and which we shouldn't be afraid to write about. Afterall, stories need trouble to give them energy. And we also talked about feeling encouraged -- which I guess could be seen as meaning helping to give someone else courage. So I hope I en-couraged Ms. Lawrence's students. They certainly en-couraged me. And a special shout out to Ms. Lawrence, who, over the many years I've been visiting her class, has become my friend. Thanks, Ms. Lawrence, for sharing your wonderful class with me today (and also for the coffee and apple turnover!).

"Sometimes people think we can’t do much,

But over time, we can.

Like everyone on Earth,

We need to feel LOVED and respected."

This is the first time I've ever started a blog entry with a quote. That's because I love this quote sooo much. It comes from a group poem Grade Six students at Mackay Centre School wrote last Friday. Most of the students who attend Mackay have special needs, including language, communication and hearing impairments, and physical disabilities. For artist-photographer Thomas Kneubühler and me, this was our second time working with the group. We're helping the students produce a chapter for a real live book called Quebec Roots: Strengthening Communities, part of an amazing Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation educational program.

Seven classes from seven schools across Quebec are taking part this year -- and each participating class chooses its own topic. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll already know that the Mackay kids voted to write and take photographs connected to the topic of Love and Kindness. How beautiful is that?

On Friday, I arrived a little earlier than Thomas -- that's because the students always seem to prefer taking photographs to writing! (I think it's because writing feels more like homework to most students.) But I think that even if I made them work on their writing, they had fun and hopefully learned some useful writing lessons -- such as that dialogue adds drama, and that interesting, relevant details bring stories to life. And the students worked together to produce their wonderful introductory poem (I only included a bit of it here because I want you to read the book when it comes out in spring 2025, in time for the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival!)

One thing I've noticed about the Mackay students is they are very funny and love to laugh. The same is true of their teachers, Mikaela, Georgia and Bronwyn. That made our visit extra fun. While Thomas took groups of students out of the classroom to take photos, I worked individually with other students on their writing. This also gave me a chance to chat with the kids one-on-one. A student named Seerat told me, "I love to take a lot of pictures!"

Now I'm going to tell you about my favourite moment -- the one that made me laugh the hardest. When the students were all together towards the end of our visit, I asked them, "Who was it said I had too much energy?" There was a moment or two of silence, and then they all called out, "YOU DID!" Did that make you laugh too? I hope so!

Laughter, courage, love and kindess, words and photos -- those are just some of the things we need to bring us together and make this complicated world a better place.

Thanks to the students at Mackay for INSPIRING US. Thanks to your teachers and all the helpers at your school for sharing you with the Quebec Roots team. Blog readers, you will love the 2025 edition of Quebec Roots -- and especially this chapter!

Artist-photographer Thomas Kneubuhler and I spent most of today at Mackay Centre School, where we met the Grade Six students who'll be producing a chapter in this year's edition of Quebec Roots, a real book produced through a Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation educational program.

Every school is special, but what makes Mackay extra-special is that most of the students who go here have special needs, including language, communication and hearing impairments, and physical disabilities. Despite their disabilities, the kids we met have too many wonderful abilities for me to name here -- though I'll mention just a few: they are funny, smart, kind, attentive, creative and JUST PLAIN FUN.

I gave a mini-writing workshop and in the afternoon, Thomas gave a photography workshop.  I took today's photo when Thomas took the kids to a nearby park for some hands-on photo training. Though I don't like to admit this part -- most students generally seem to prefer learning about taking photos over learning about writing. (Which is why we always keep Thomas's session for later in the day -- he's like a dessert after a sensible meal!!)

Perhaps the most important thing we did today was help the students come up with a topic for the chapter they'll be producing. Usually, a class brainstorms and comes up with four or five possible topics. But these students came up with NINE topics. The topics were so good I'm going to list them for you: BFF's; windows; disabilities/abilities; kindness; love; being a new student; clowning around; mornings; and the new bike path across from the school.

A vote (yay for democracy!) led us to a choice which involved combining two of the topics: kindness and love. I've been working on Quebec Roots for nearly 20 years and I've seen a lot of wonderful topics, but no class ever came up with this one before and I LOVE IT.

I explained during my writing workshop that good stories need to include TROUBLE, so the students' chapter can't just be about the upside of kindness and love. The students will also need to write about moments when they or others were unkind, and when they felt unloved or behaved in ways that were not loving to others. That way our chapter will feel WHOLE and REAL.

Here come my two favourite quotes of the day. When we were getting started this morning, Thomas told the students: "Art has to come from you." YES! Also that helps explain why it's so important to Quebec Roots that each class comes up with its own topic. My other favourite quote came from a student named Atlas (great name, no?) who said, "Regular people don't know what having a disability is like. Maybe it would be a good thing if we gave them an experience of what it's like." You know what my reaction is to that? WOW!

We're working with three Grade Six teachers -- Mikaela, Georgia and Bronwyn -- as well as an interpreter named Melanie. Thanks to all of them. Oh I forgot to tell you the school's amazing principal Ms. Margetis USED TO BE MY STUDENT WHEN I TAUGHT AT MARIANOPOLIS COLLEGE. I know what you're thinking: WOW!

WOW seems to be the word for this day -- thanks to the students for WOW-ing us. We look so so forward to reading your texts and seeing your photographs. Thanks for being you!

For me, the real work of writing isn’t coming up with ideas or even writing the early drafts of a new manuscript. It’s the rewriting. Today was my last of three days of writing workshops at Laval Senior Academy, where we worked on rewrites.  Ms. Gosdanian and Ms. Lambropoulos’s students are writing memoir pieces – and many of them brought in draft work to share with me. YAY!

I say YAY for two reasons. Number one: the students shared some amazing stories. Number two: I think the pointers I offered were useful. (So YAY for all of us!)

Some of the amazing stories:

A student named Mustafa wrote about his memory of being 12, his grandmother was close to death and too weak to move around on her own: “she was too tired to walk upstairs so my dad and uncle put her in a chair and carried her upstairs.” So beautiful, no? Mustafa’s memoir is about family, and deep abiding love.

A student named Bianca wrote about her memory of being nine and being told by her parents: “Your great uncle might not stay with us forever.” What I love about that example of dialogue is it shows us how Bianca’s parents found gentle words to help her prepare for her great uncle’s death.

A student named Menelaos (that's him with me in today's pic) came up with a great topic – how his sense of humour got him into trouble, and how that led to a lesson in humility.

And a student named Juliano wrote about sharing his home with his grandma, whom he described as “only 13 steps away.” I so love those four simple words, and how much they tell us about Juliano’s love for his grandma. Only 13 steps away!

Here’s a bit of the advice I offered today. Memoirs – like all writing – need to start strong. The students need to come up with “a hook” – perhaps a strong scene to make their readers want to keep reading. It helps to think in scenes – and not to try to describe too many different scenes in an assignment of about 1,000 words. Use the senses – not all at once, mind you! Writing is sometimes like cooking. Don’t go overboard with the spices! Consider ending your piece with some reflection. Try asking yourselves, “What’s the ‘So what?’ behind what I wrote?” Once you’ve got all that figured out and on the page REWRITE REWRITE REWRITE! Don’t be afraid to move chunks of text around, to delete anything that doesn’t add to your piece, and to get rid of adverbs, such as the words “very” and “extremely.” Also, don’t start by telling us the date! (That’s kind of an inside joke since so many of the pieces I looked at today started with a date.)

I’m in an excellent mood. I think it’s because I like to feel USEFUL. I may not be saving the world, but I like to think I’m helping wonderful young people find their voices, tell their stories, and learn to become better communicators.

Now guess what I’m going to do next?

Get back to my own REWRITING!!

Big thanks to Ms. Gosdanian and Ms. Lambropoulos for bringing me to LSA, and to the kids for making me so happy! I hope there’ll be a lot of A’s on your upcoming memoir assignment!

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know all about Quebec Roots, a Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation educational program. Teams composed of a writer and a photographer visit English-language schools across the province of Quebec, and help a group of students at each school produce a chapter for a REAL book that will be published. Along the way, students learn a lot (hopefully) both about writing and photography.

So today, artist-photographer Thomas Kneubuhler and I visited Mr. Saragosti's Grade 8 English class at Herzliah High School, a private parochial school in Montreal. We were accompanied by our friend videographer Alaric Boyle -- he's going to be Thomas's assistant and mentee (in case you don't know that word, it means he will be mentored or trained by Thomas).

We only had an hour with the students, but Thomas will return to do a photography workshop with the class in early November. Today, I did a short introduction to writing -- taking the students through the process, which for me goes from coming up with an idea, researching my subject, doing a draft outline, writing, writing, then rewriting, rewriting and more rewriting!

But the main goal of our work today was to get the students excited about the project, and also to come up with a topic for their chapter. One of the best parts about Quebec Roots is that it isn't our job, or the teacher's, to come up with a topic -- it has to come from the students.

Today is October 8, 2024, the day after the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel. And though we tossed around several topics (including lunch-hour detentions, and joking around), the students, all of whom are Jewish, voted by an overwhelming majority to focus their chapter on October 7 and its impact on their own lives as students at Herzliah and young people in our world.

When class ended, Thomas, Alaric and I went to the school's rooftop garden with Mr. Saragosti for a debrief -- so we could discuss some of the unique challenges of the work we will have ahead.

One challenge is that though we know the chapter is bound to contain some difficult material, we hope the students will find ways to bring light to a dark topic. Have the events of October 7 brought them closer? Altered or perhaps deepened their relationship with religion in general and Judaism in particular? Can they imagine a world where there could be peace in the Middle East? What would it take? And how can young people like them help? 

I've been working on Quebec Roots since the project was launched more than 15 years ago. I've seen students tackle many difficult subjects, but I think this one will be the most difficult. They'll be using words and photographs to share their thoughts and feelings about events that changed the course of their lives and of world history.

Thomas had a suggestion that really touched me: "Why don't we ask the students to focus on October 8th instead of October 7th?" What I think Thomas was trying to say is that, in some ways, the "story" begins on the day after October 7th. What do we do in the aftermath of horror? How do we begin to repair the world?

By the time Thomas asked this question the students were already in French class. But I think Mr. Saragosti will raise the possibility in class with them later this week. And you know what? Today IS OCTOBER 8. I'm going to take that as a sign! I already look forward to hearing what Mr. Saragosti will tell us about the stuents' reaction to this latest idea.

I nearly forgot to tell you about today's pic -- I think because I've been super focused on the seriousness of our project. It's of me with two students -- Toby and Yael, both of whom had excellent body language. (Regular blog readers will know about my obsession with body language.) Toby made consistent eye contact and had turned his chair towards me, and Yael stole my heart because I noticed that she scrunches up her eyes when she's thinking. And I was pleased to see that she was thinking a lot this afternoon! So, if I may say, were all (okay most!!) of her classmates!

In a few weeks, the students will begin submitting their writing for the chapter and Mr. Saragosti and I will provide feedback. And Thomas will coach them about photographs that could work with their topic. When we were walking out of the building together, Thomas suggested that maybe portraits of themselves would work to help the students tell their stories. An interesting approach, don't you agree?

I like to think that art -- which of course includes writing and photography -- helps us discover who we are and also who we want to be, and that in some ways, art can help repair the world. As I think you can tell from today's blog entry, I'm hopeful that this chapter in the 2025 edition of Quebec Roots will do just that.

Thanks to Blue Met for another year of Quebec Roots, to Herzliah for joining the Quebec Roots project, to Mr. Saragosti for taking on the challenge -- and especially to the students for your courage and your hopefulness. I speak for Thomas and Alaric too when I tell you we feel privileged to be embarking on this creative journey with you.

It probably shouldn't matter when an author has fun during an author visit... but this author had SO MUCH FUN today working with the Grades Five and Six classes at Children's World Academy in Lasalle! You'll have to search for me in today's pics, but that's me grinning at the back of both photos.

The students were A-MAZING! In fact, there wasn't time to answer all their questions -- which is why I suggested that if they want to, they can post more questions in the comment section of this blog entry and I promise to get to them before the end of the week.

I have A LOT of favourite moments to share.

When I was talking about the importance of observation (ie. using the five senses) both in writing and in life, a student named Himmat (sitting quite close to me) raised his hand to say: "You have a cut on your leg." This comment (excellent observation, Himmat!) led us to discuss the difference between the words cut, scrape, scar and bruise. That kind of connversation might not mean much to some people, but if you're a writer it makes you HAPPY because writing is all about finding the right words. We agreed the word "cut" best describes the thingamajig on my right leg. (Don't worry, it's not serious.)

When I discussed a book I'd read where one of the characters (a mom) struck me as too stereotypically nasty (I used the word "witchy" to describe her), a student named Tristan nodded his head. I loved that because it showed Tristan understands how characters work -- people are never all bad or all good, but a mix.

Elisabeth wanted to know, "Do you ever NOT know what to write in your journal?" The answer was no -- that's because as many people have pointed out before me, writing is thinking -- and I'm one of those people (you probably are too!) who is always thinking.

A student named Zahara asked me, "Have you ever thought writing a book was difficult?" I answered, "Yes, all the time!" For me, writing is always difficult, but I think that's one of the reasons I can't stop!!

I had a short, but stimulating conversation with a student named Claire, who commented, "I don't think you should be grateful for or thank bad things that happened to you." I told Claire this was a super profound and mature comment for someone her age -- and that I do have a habit of turning bad stuff into stories, which I find makes the bad stuff more bearable. But that's a deeply personal choice, and not one that everyone wouold make.

I'll end with my favourite moment. At the end of my first session, I was telling the students I'd recently gotten married, and they burst into applause. I laughed and asked, "Are you clapping because I got married or because I reached the end of my talk?" -- and a student named Joshua made my day by calling out, "BOTH!"

Thanks to librarian Tiffany Clarke for inviting me to Children's World; thanks to teachers Ms. Reid (she was my student at Marianopolis! How proud am I? VERY!), Ms. Valerie, M. Lavallée, Ms. Eleni, Ms. Rebecca, Ms. Kimberley and Ms. Lim for sharing your students with me this afternoon. And thanks to the students for being so SMART and FUN and well... AMAZING!

It may be October, but you can see from today's pic that I'm still wearing my hot pink Birkenstocks! That's me with teacher Ms. Gosdanian and three of her Sec. IV students at Laval Senior Academy. They were part of the first group I worked with today and I think I may have traumatized the students with all my energy. That energy's not only because I'm a morning person, but also because I haven't been in a classroom since June and I LOVE SCHOOL. And unlike many other people my age, I also LOVE TEENAGERS!

So I worked with three groups -- Ms. Gosdanian's and also Ms. Lambropoulos's two Sec. IV groups. All of the students will be writing a short memoir for an upcoming assignment and my job was to inspire them, and get them started on the task. Of course the word memoir is connected to the word memory. Though I hadn't planned this part, I mentioned that my latest book is Remember This: The Fascinating World of Memory -- and that I first got interested in memory because for me, as for many writers, memory has been an important source of inspiration!

I'll share a few of my favourite moments from today's workshops, which I'd say went well -- except that I ran out of time with the first group. (Bad Monique -- too much storytelling!!) But not to worry too much since I'll be back at LSA next week for a second visit to each ot the classes.

Okay -- favourite moments:

A student named Minas asked what kind of books I write, when I answered, "all kinds," Minas said: "That means you're a genre hopper." Hey, nobody ever called me a genre hopper before and I like it!!

We were discussing truth and lies, non-fiction and fiction -- and creative non-fiction, and how important truth is in today's world. And yet, fictional stories are often a way to get at difficult truths. We also talked about lies -- I pointed out that in a certain way fiction writers tell lies when they invent stories. When I asked the students if any of them could lie while looking someone in the eye, a student named Luka said he could. Then Luka added, "I'm good at making things up off the bat." Here's my view -- Luka, I think you should tell the truth in real life, but that you might also have the makings of a fiction writer.

Meet Gabriella -- she's the student standing at the back in today's pic. When I asked the students if any of them still read blogs, Gabriella said she's probably read this blog entry. So in a way, Gabriella, this blog is dedicated to you! Some of the students thought I should try making Instagram reels about my school visits -- and I might just try it!

During today's second class, I talked to the students about making writing a habit. I suggested they might try to write in a journal even a few times a week. Sam, who was sitting near the front, looked up at me when I made that suggestion. So I asked him whether he was going to try making writing a habit. I liked when Sam answered: "I'll try, but it might stop by the middle of the week." First, I love the idea of TRYING and also I like that Sam was honest when he added the part about possibly stopping. (Also, Sam, if you stop, you can always start AGAIN!)

Ms. Lambropoulos made us all laugh when she told her class, "Bonus points if what you write makes me cry." That comment prompted me to tell the class that I've heard it's harder to make a reader laugh than to make him or her cry. Some really great writers manage to do both -- even on the same page. Think John Green and his YA novel The Fault in Our Stars.

My second and third classes had moe time to write today -- and we did a memory exercise in which I asked them to write about a moment in their lives where they felt they were leaving childhood behind. (Thanks, Ms. Gosdanian, for coming up with that excellent topic.) I read a number of strong pieces, which I'm hoping the students will develop before I return next week so I can help them one-on-one. A piece of writing that has stayed with me was by Bianca, who gave me permission to quote a powerful line here: "I am stuck in a small room with a dying man." I told you it was powerful -- and note the simplicity of the language and the use of the present tense. Beautiful use of language, Bianca!

I had another favourite moment when a student named Massimo stopped on his way out of the classroom to say, "Thank you, Miss." I always loved when I had my own students and they'd say thanks after class. But you know what? We visiting authors and I think most teachers too need to say thanks to you young people for sharing yourselves and your work with us -- and for giving us hope for the future. So thanks to the students I worked with at LSA today and to Ms. Gosdanian and Ms. Lambropoulos for having me! See you all next week! Get working on those memoirs!

I’m moving house, which means I’ve been packing boxes. And packing boxes! But today, I took a short break from – you guessed it, packing boxes! – to have a Zoom visit with grade three students at Park Avenue Public School, in Holland Landing, Ontario. A few weeks ago, their teacher, Miss Abalos (a writer herself -- that's her face that's visible at the top of today's pic), read the kids my picture book The Brass Charm, illustrated by Marie Lafrance (Scholastic). The book is based on an experience my mum had when, as a child, she was imprisoned in Theresienstadt, a Nazi concentration camp. It was my mum’s fourteenth birthday and a stranger, also a prisoner, gave my mum a brass monkey man charm.

So the first thing I did in this afternoon’s Zoom was show the students the charm – which I wear every day around my neck. I also told them it isn’t just people who have stories, it’s objects too. And I encouraged the kids to ask their friends and relatives about the objects they treasure. What are the stories behind these objects?

We also talked about the value of curiosity – and how it leads to learning and stories! So I was very pleased that the students had prepared excellent questions for me. I’m going to share a few of them in today’s blog entry.

Violet (I love the name, I must steal it for a book, and also Violet’s wonderful braids!) asked me, “Are you still in touch with Elodie?” I loved that question because I MADE ELODIE UP! I took that as a great compliment because every author wants their characters to feel real!

Jacob wanted to know how old I was when I wrote my first book. I explained that I published my first book at age 44, but I wrote my first book when I was eleven. Jacob told me, “I’m also a book maker!” I told him to keep at it, and to continue writing. I stopped writing for a while when I was a grownup – and I told Jacob never to let that happen to him.

Tefenet (another great name!) asked me, “Will you pass on the brass charm to your kid?” I explained that I already made silver replicas of the charm, and have given them to my daughter and soon-to-be-stepdaughter (which explains the moving houses!). When I asked Tefenet about her name, I learned something super interesting. She told me, “I’m named after the Egyptian goddess of moisture.” I told Tefenet she needs to write that story – about a modern-day Tefenet and the ancient goddess whose name she shares!

And now to end with something funny … Mosawer announced he had two questions. “Was it true you lost your house?” (That’s something that happens in the book.) I told him no, I never lost my house, but when I was around his age, there was a terrible storm in Montreal and two houses on the street where I lived lost their roofs. That memory stayed with me for over fifty years and found its way into my story…. Okay, now to get to the funny part. I heard Mosawer ask Miss Abalos, “Can I use the bathroom now?” so I called out, “Was that your second question?!!”

It does feel good to laugh. Especially after a day of packing boxes! But it especially feels good to hang around with kind, smart young people! Thanks to all of you for our time together, and to Miss Abalos for setting up today’s visit!

And now for something completely different -- I gave a writing workshop to neuroscientists (and their families)! That's because this weekend is the Neuro retreat -- an annual event which brings together employees of the Neuro (Montreal Neurological Hospital and Institute). My partner Guy works there and because I was coming along, I offered to give a writing workshop -- and to tie it in to my new book Remember This: The Fascinating World of Memory (Orca).

Ten people -- of all ages -- attended yesterday's workshop. And I must say there was a very special atmosphere in the room. I started by sharing some writing tips, then talking briefly about the Memory book... and then we did a writing exercise based on a memory. I asked the participants to remember a moment when they learned something important -- a moment of change. And oh, they wrote such beautiful stuff!

Sabrina, the librarian at the Neuro, wrote about the moment she learned to ride a bike: "I heard the sound of my wheels on the gravel.... I felt like I was flying." One of the wonderful things about memories and stories is they lead to MORE memories and stories! Reading Sabrina's piece reminded me of my old blue bicycle -- the one I was on when I first learned to ride a bike. David, who is eight, wrote something wonderful about learning to play football: "I heard the football flying through the air." Don't you love how sensory details (the sound of the bike wheels, the sound of the football) take us into a story? Mayra, a young neuroscientist who works in Guy's lab, wrote about learning to ride a horse when she was living in Argentina -- and she was only three years old at the time! There's a book in there, Mayra. Joanne and I both wrote about learning to swim, and Stephanie wrote about the pride she felt when she first learned to make a fire. There's a book in there too, Stephanie!

I can't finish today's blog entry without mentioning Yang Zhou's memory. First I should tell you I know Yang Zhou, a star neuroscientist. Well it turns out he is also a star writer. He wrote about his memory of learning to pick green tea. I didn't take any notes -- because I was trying not to cry! Yang Zhou, WRITE THAT STORY!!

We head back to Montreal this afternoon. I've been at three other Neuro retreats -- but this was my favourite. It helped that our hotel has an awesome pool. But best of all, I feel like I was able to make my own small contribution. And I got to talk about my favourite subject -- writing -- and see writers in action. Thanks to my friends at the Neuro for making this weekend possible. And thanks to everyone who came to the workshop. I won't forget our afternoon together!

I quite like today's pic because it shows you one of my favourite scenes: WRITERS WRITING! I was back at Mackay Centre & Philip E. Layton School this morning for Part 2 of my writing workshop for students in Grades 3 and 4. Many of the kids at Mackay are deaf, blind or visually impaired -- but all I noticed were KIDS! Fun kids who were eager to work on their stories!

Last week, we discussed basics such as including a complication (AKA trouble!) in every story. Teachers Ms. Melissa, Ms. Anna and Ms. Glenna have been doing a great job teaching their students the elements of story including character and setting. The kids are also learning how important it is to start their stories in an interesting way and to work towards a resolution.

I asked the kids, "Who wants a boring story?" (unless you have insomnia and need help falling asleep!). I was delighted when a student named John called out, "No one!!" I was also happy when Ms. Anna used the word "trickle" (she was talking about a couple of students who might be late coming to our class). I told the kids that we writers are WORD COLLECTORS and that I definitely want to use the word trickle in my own stories. It's so much more interesting and nicer-sounding than walk in or arrive!

When I told the students the story of the monkey man charm I wear around my neck, a student named Liam remarked, "Wow!" It is very motivating for a storyteller (or author) when someone enjoys their story!! Thanks for that, Liam!

Some of the students worked on stories about their own precious objects. Liam got busy writing about his blue hat. Avi wrote an amazing story about his stuffed animal Goofy coming to life. Avi gave me permission to quote my favourite line: "Goofy never came to life again at least while I was around." I really love the at least when I was around part!!

I only spent two mornings at Mackay this month, but I have to say that I felt right at home. Special thanks to the teachers for sharing your kids with me, to the kids for making me happy, and to the Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation for making possible my visits to Mackay. And now I'm off to the Blue Metropolis literary festival to learn and have fun!! Maybe I'll see you there this weekend!

I'm just back from a stimulating morning in Morin Heights, a lovely little town about an hour's drive north of Montreal. Stimulating because my brain was working non-stop in Canada's two official languages! I was reading from my work to local youngsters at the Morin Heights Public Library. Though most of the kids were aged three and four -- there were a few, such as Chloé, who were younger -- they were able to switch easily from French to English -- sometimes even in the space of a sentence!

I read from my picture book The Brass Charm (Scholastic Canada), illustrated by Marie Lafrance -- luckily, there's also a French version of the book called Le Trésor d'Oma. Anyway, I don't think I've ever gone so often from French to English and back again in one reading ... so it was good exercise for my brain!!

I explained to the kids -- and to the adults who were with them -- that the story of The Brass Charm is inspired by a real life incident. As a child, my mother was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp and she was given the brass charm on her birthday by a kind stranger.

I like my audience to be comfortable, so when I heard Kyanne complaining about not having a pillow, I offered her the pillow from the rocking chair on which I was sitting. Problem solved! I should mention too that Kyanne was wearing a ballet dress. When I was a kid, my favourite part of ballet class was wearing the dress! When I inquired whether Kyanne does ballet, she answered proudly, "I do!"

Let me tell you about a few other fun moments. A student named Wesley dazzled me with his questions -- and Wesley is only FOUR. He wanted to know about my mother. "How did she survive?" (I explained that she was lucky and that there were good people who helped her.) Later, when I couldn't find my note paper and I said out loud, "I can't live without my notes," Wesley had another question: "Why can't you live without notes?" And the answer to that is BECAUSE I'M A WRITER! WE'RE ALWAYS TAKING NOTES!

We also talked a little about writing stories. I explained that all my stories grow out of questions. When my mother passed the monkey man charm onto me, I asked, "What's the story?" In French, that's "C'est quoi, l'histoire?"

The kids who came to my reading today may be little, but as I told them, they're not too little to begin working on their own stories. Some of them are only beginning to learn to write, but they can always make drawings to tell their stories. I suggested they try writing (or drawing) about an object that is precious to them. Kyanne said her precious object is a rainbow necklace.

Another thing that made me happy was that when my reading was over, the kids wanted to show me library books they liked. Camille brought me the book l'Oeuf by Kevin Henkes and we read it together.

Special thanks to the Writers' Union of Canada for sponsoring my visit today to the Morin Heights Public Library, and to librarian Sandrine Gamache for getting things organized. Thanks to library volunteer Louise Cossette, who is also a city councillor for Morin Heights. Thanks to Catherine and Anne-Cécile from the local daycare, and to the parents (and grandparents) who brought their kids to the library to meet me and hear me read my stories. One day, I hope to be sitting in the audience when you kids are reading your own stories!
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To celebrate the launch of this year's TD-Blue Metropolis Children's Literary Festival, I got to spend the morning at Mackay Centre & Philip E. Layton School, where some students are deaf, blind or visually impaired. I worked with a group of wonderful students who are in grades three and four. Today, my goal was to share some writing tips, and get the kids thinking about their own stories. I'll be back for another session next week, and hopefully, we'll be able to get their stories underway!

Usually, I post a pic of me and some students. In today's pic, though, I am with the PRINCIPAL, Ms. Margetis. But guess what? She USED TO BE MY STUDENT AT MARIANOPOLIS COLLEGE. (Which explains my giant smile.)

So -- back to my work with the kids! I covered some basic writing tips, including the importance of TROUBLE. All three teachers whose students were in my group -- Ms. Melissa, Ms. Glenna and Ms. Anna -- had already taught the students about complications (which is perhaps a nicer word than trouble!!). As Ms. Anna explained, "Complications make a story more interesting." Exaxtly!!

I also explained to the students that I collect cool names to use in my books. And several of the kids had cool names -- including Xander (with an X! how distinctive!), Devontae (you have to be a star with that name!) and Kahmar. Then I explained that I also collect cool hair (not specimens! just descriptions). That way I can give cool hair to the characters in my books. Coolest hair today belonged to Kahmar, who has dreadlocks and who explained to me, "They grow like that."

I learned from Ms. Melissa that Xander, Samuel (AKA Sam) and Kahmar work on books in their spare time! Apparently they are also talented illustrators. I was most impressed!

But I'll end today's blog entry with my favourite favourite favourite (that's a lot of favourites!) moment. After I told the students how readers are interested in reading about trouble -- or complication --  a student named Aiden looked at me and asked, "Can we start now?"

THAT MADE ME SO HAPPY. As I told the students, even with 34 published books to my name, writing continues to be difficult for me. But like Aiden, I'm also eager to get started on every new story. (Or in my case, to get back to work on a story I've already begun.) That feeling of excitement, of eagerness, well... it's what's behind every story, and every creation.

I'm already looking forward to next week's session. Can we start now?

Thanks to Blue Met for sending me to Mackay today -- and to Ms. Margetis, the teachers and all the helpers for sharing your kids with me. And a special thanks to Leyla, who was my scribe. See you all same time next Friday!

It's been many years since I was in a classroom at McGill University, where I got my BA degree in English Literature about forty years ago! But I was there this morning to speak with Professor Emily Kopley's "Holocaust Memoirs" class. I had about an hour-and-a-half with the students (that's Professor Kopley to the right of me in today's pic) and let's just say that when class was over, I didn't want to leave. School visits -- whether to elementary or high schools, and now to a university -- make me realize how much I miss having a class of my own!

The class is exploring some very complex questions -- can a subject as serious as the Holocaust be approached through fiction? And if so, how? How can books for children address the subject of the Holocaust? What is the role of survivors in passing on their stories -- and what about their children and even their grandchildren?

The students had read two of my books: What World Is Left, a novel based on my mother's childhood experience in Theresienstadt, a Nazi concentration camp; and The Brass Charm, a picture book inspired by a touching incident at the camp.

Basically, I talked about how the stories came to be -- and how I feel as if my role on Earth was to write What World Is Left. Some of the students were, like me, related to Holocaust survivors, but I had the impression that they all got it when I spoke about family secrets, and the power and importance of sharing difficult stories.

Sometimes, I instantly like a class -- which is what happened for me today. The first student I met, Matthew, spotted me wandering in the hallway of the Education Building, and led me into the classroom. I told the students they could interrupt with questions at any time during my talk, but they waited till I was done. And their questions really got me thinking -- in fact, I couldn't answer some of them! A student named Alice asked, "Why did you write your book [What World Is Left] for that demographic?" To be honest, I don't really know why I did. It just felt right to me. And I explained, I seem somehow to have remained fifteen years old (in my head anyway!!). A student named Eden asked me a similar question: "How can you tell if it's a children's book?" I explained that some books are what are known as crossovers -- meaning they cross over into different markets (so,, for example they become popular with kids and adults). But I shared one observation -- if your narrator is a kid (and not an adult looking back at being a kid), there is a good chance you are writing a kids' story.

A student named Shay (pronounced Shy) wanted to know about my relationship with Marie Lafrance, the illustrator of The Brass Charm -- and whether we worked together on the project. I explained that I didn't meet Marie (who has since become a friend) until after our book came out, but that I did see her sketches while she was working on her illustrations for the book. And as I told Shay, unless you are an amazing artist, it's generally wiser to try to sell an unillustrated manuscript.

I had a few lovely moments in the hallway after class. A student named Michelle asked me whether I was interested in writing about inter-generational trauma. I told her, "I've been waiting for a sign" -- to which she responded, "Maybe I'm your sign." And before Professor Kopley and I walked home together from McGill, a student named Milica told me a little about her background and that she wants to be a writer too. Go, Milica, go!

I should have mentioned that it was Total Eclipse Day here in Montreal -- and so it seems as if all Montrealers were united in our excitement. Class ended in time for us all to get to our viewing spots -- with our eclipse glasses for protection. But even before the eclipse, my day was already a wonderful gift. Thanks to Professor Kopley for the invite, and to every student in your class for your gentle, wise attention today.

I'm back from what was probably my biggest teaching day ever -- and I was a full-time teacher for 35 years! Today, thanks to the English Language Arts Network's ArtistsInspire program, I had a chance to work with nearly every student at Kingsdale Academy, an elementary school in Pierrefonds. I had seven sessions with different groups of students -- and though the day was a bit of a whirlwind, I had non-stop fun. And I took four pages of notes for this blog entry, but don't worry I'll try to limit myself to just a few of the highlights!

I'll start by telling you about Odean because he's in today's pic. Though Odean is only in Grade Two, he's already a star. You can tell from all the notes he took. I especially like note #!: "She likes notes.' I do. That's because, as I was telling the students, I only remember interesting things if I WRITE THEM DOWN! By the way, I'm also partial to Odean's note #8: "She funny."

I've been to Kingsdale several times, and have come to know some of the teachers, including Ms. Lara, who teaches Grade 6, and with whom I started the day. This is how she described her class to me: "These students are sparkling all the time." And you know what? Sparkling was indeed the perfect word for them! When I told the students I write three pages in a journal every morning, a student named Ava asked: "Let's say I start doing pages, what would I write about?" What I like so much about the way Ava phrased her question is that it suggests SHE MIGHT ACTUALLY START WRITING PAGES TOO! YAY! Anyway, I shared my strategies: to write about observations, feelings, thoughts and to include intuitive work too. After we discussed the link between writing and reading, a student named Milan asked, "How do you find a book you actually like to read?" I had lots of answers for Milan. First, start in the library with your librarian Ms. Ferstman (Ms. Ferstman happens to be the person who invited me to Kingsdale today), then ask your teacher and friends for their book recommendations. And also browse! Spend some time in the library, check out the back covers of books (they often include an excerpt) till you find the one that "speaks" to you. And here's the best advice of all: IF YOU CAN'T FIND THE BOOK YOU REALLY WANT TO READ, THEN WRITE IT!

My second group were Grade 4's, who were with their student teacher Ms. Jenna. When I told them writers need to practice and I compared us to hockey great Wayne Gretzky (whom I happened to see last weekend at the funeral for Prime Minister Brian Mulroney -- I told the students that part too) who had to practice a lot to become a superstar, a student named Alexia said, "The same happens for me when I do dance. Sometimes, I don't want to do it, but I do." Exactly, Alexia! In this group, I also met Nathan who liked what I had to say about the importance of including trouble in a story. "Trouble is basically my life," Nathan told me, "Wherever I go, trouble happens. It's mostly because of my younger brother."

At recess, some students came to hang out with me in the library. I was impressed by Giordano who showed me the book he's working on. Giordano's story is set in Japan, and his main character has a pet Tsushima leopard. Giordano learned about these leopards when he was doing RESEARCH for his book. (We had already discussed the importance of research even in fictional stories.)

Next, I was with Ms. Oles's Grade 4's. For some reason I cannot explain, we talked a lot about death and grandparents. Ms. Oles's students have A LOT OF STORIES. Audrey told us, "I have a box full of memories, including a bracelet from my great gramma." I loved that and you know what Audrey? A Box Full of Memories would make a great book title! I was pleased when Aiden told me he is working on a chapter book, and that "Every time I finish a chapter, I edit it." Super, Aiden! As I told the kids, rewriting is as important as coming up with the first draft -- and maybe even more important!

I met another Aiden in Ms. MacLean's Grade 6 group. This one greeted me with the following unforgettable words: "Want a cupcake?" (To which I obviously replied YES). Then Aiden went on to explain that today was his birthday. For fun, I told him I'd sing him Happy Birthday in Dutch -- and then another remarkable thing happened, there was a Dutch student in the class named Juliette -- and she came up to the front of the classroom and sang it with me. Juliette only arrived in Canada last July -- she comes from a town called Tienen, which I had never heard of before. (I plan to look it up after I finish this blog entry.)

After salad lunch in the teachers' room -- KIngsdale teachers bring salad fixings once a week, so today was my lucky day since I love salad. (It's especially nice after a cupcake!), I worked with Ms. Andrea's Grade 2's, Ms. Galang's Gr. 3's and Ms. Suzanne's Grade 3's.

Odean, whom I already told you about, is in Ms. Andrea's class. Ms. Galang's student Anysia wanted to know, "How do you even make a book?" I hope some of my writing advice helped answer that question.

I finished the day with Ms. Suzanne's kids. We actually did some writing exercises together. I asked them to come up with a word to describe how they hope tomorrow will be. Mehtaab said "epic" and Saabjit said, "be the smartest boy around the world!"

Just two more things before I end this blog entry. Ms. Galang's students had to leave for recess before I could read them one of my stories, but six students stayed behind. First, I read a little bit to them from Princess Angelica: Camp Catastrophe, and then I let them read Chapter 2 to me -- and it was beautiful. Thanks, girls, for that gift!

I'll end with some wise words from Shailyn, who's in Ms. Suzanne's class: "I think being an author is hard and easy. Hard because you have to think of the words and lines to put in the book. And easy because it's easy to be happy when you get published." And you know what else is easy, Shailyn? Getting to spend a day with wonderful, smart, fun kids like you -- and all the other kids I met today at Kingsdale.

Thanks to Ms. Ferstman for organizing my visit; to ELAN's ArtistsInspire program for your support; to Principal Ms. Byrne for coming to listen and for being such a great role model to the faculty and students; to all the teachers and support staff for being A+ and to the kids for stealing my heart today.

It's pretty normal to be relieved at the end of a workday, to want to go home and veg on the sofa! But that isn't at all how I feel today after my last session on the Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation project Looking Back for a Better Future. I don't feel relieved (more like sad it's over); I didn't want to go home, nor am I vegging on the sofa!

In today's photo, you can see teacher Annie Ogle (pretty much in the middle of the photo); Fréderick Gaudin-Lorin who coordinates educational programs for Blue Met (he's in the blue shirt at the front of our photo); Claire O'Brien who coordinates the Eva Marsden Centre's seniors' programs (she's next to me); at least one of the seniors who took part in the program; and some of the wonderful wonderful kids from Programme Mile End High School.

This was the second time the students met with "their" seniors. Videographer Alaric Boyle-Poirier caught some of their interactions on film -- because he's making a documentary film about the project. Very cool, no?!

So I'm going to go ahead and share a few of my favourite moments (and I had A LOT of them today!).

When I walked into the meeting room at the Montreal West United Church where the Eva Marsden program takes place, students Addison and Avery looked like they were still a little sleepy! But because I know and already like them, I joined them at their table. But when "their" senior walked into the room, Addison and Avery were suddenly wide-awake, calling out in unison, "Bill!" (You might have had to be there to see how cute this was.)

Addison and Avery asked Bill a tough question -- what was the hardest thing he'd ever been through -- and Bill told them it was the death eleven years ago of his "ladyfriend." This story led him to share some valuable life advice with the teens (and me too, since I was still sitting there). Bill said, "Cherish what's good. Always stress the positive." He added that if two good things and eight bad things happen, focus on the two good ones! You could tell that Bill really wanted to help make Addison and Avery's lives a little easier as they grow up.

A student named Andy wasn't there for last week's session and she was paired up with a senior who preferred not to tell us his name. "Call me Anonymous," he said. And you know what? Andy turned out to be a way better interviewer than me (even though I've done hundreds of interviews in my work as a freelance reporter). That's because Andy was PATIENT. I put the word in capitals because patience is a skill I lack. Anyway, I watched as Andy waited Anonymous out -- and listened to what he told her. "I was expelled from school. Within two weeks the police wanted to send me to reform school. Instead my parents sent me to a hospital," he told Andy. My heart felt like it was going to break when he added, "It was hell." But together with a friend, an older boy who was also hospitalized, they managed to escape through a bathroom window and set off to eventually find work in a nickel mine. I could not help thinking that that story would make an amazing novel or screenplay. Andy, you may want to consider writing it! If you do, I promise to provide some coaching from the sidelines!

I also caught a bit of Hurya and KR's conversation with a lovely woman named Eleanor. Eleanor told them: "Never is not in my vocabulary" -- which I thought was brilliant advice. Sitting with Eleanor and Hurya and KR gave me the odd feeling that I was in a fairy tale -- and that Eleanor was one of the magical good fairies I've always loved to read about. Eleanor had this to say about KR: "I like his insight. He's introspective like my nephew" and this to say about Hurya: "She's a real grownup. She's going to be successful because she's very focused." I felt like Eleanor was giving KR and Hurya each a blessing by putting into words the strengths she observed in them.

Now you can understand why I'm a little sad this beautiful project is nearly over. Looking Back for a Better Future has really made me see not just the importance, but the vital need for inter-generational connections. Thanks to Canadian Heritage for believing in our project, to Blue Met for making it happen, to Annie for sharing your students with us; to the seniors for opening up and sharing your stories, and to the kids for being AMAZING! Love to all of you from Monique

So the Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation team behind the educational project Looking Back for a Better Future spent the morning at Montreal West United Church, where students from Programme Mile End High School got to hang out with seniors in the Eva Marsden seniors' club.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll have already heard about the students I met last week at Programme Mile End and their wonderful teacher Annie Ogle. And if you need evidence that our project is working, and that the kids are deeeelightful, take at look at today's pic. That's Henry sitting across from a senior named Al, and that's Aiden sitting to Al's left. I love the way Henry and Aiden are focused on Al, and listening so thoughtfully to his story. YAY!

The whole point of Looking Back for a Better Future is to let young people learn from seniors in their communities, and to build inter-generational links. Well that's exactly what we witnessed this morning. And to be honest, I didn't need to work very hard. Annie and I had helped the students prepare questions, but when we walked around the room every single conversation seemed to be a good one -- and they were all happening quite naturally.

Okay, here come a few delicious tidbits for your enjoyment -- and to give you hope for our world. Because you can't hang around with wonderful teenagers and wise seniors and NOT feel hopeful. So... here we go....

Ryan looked around the room where we were and told me, "I've been here a million times" -- that's because Ryan used to attend Sparks in the same church.I love the circularity of that!

KR was excited to share the wisdom he and his partner (the kids are working in small groups to do their interviews) Hurria learned from their senior, Jamie. It's a piece of wisdom Jamie told them he'd learned from a friend: "Clear your path." I was so impressed I used that line for the title of today's blog entry. It's true, we all need to clear our paths in order to do what we were meant to do, what we need to do, what makes us happy -- and allows us to make the world a little better too.

Lana was being interviewed by Ryan, Emily and Roxanne. Lana told them she comes to the group for company, "Most of my friends are dead." That made the three friends reflect on how lucky they are to be young and to have each other. (They made sure to tell me they have a fourth close friend, but she wasn't present today.)

Angelita, who's 81 and from the Philippines told "her" kids, Ray, Rylee and Emilie, "I just don't like reading. I feel sleepy when I read." Of course, when I heard this, I had to intervene -- I am a writer afterall, and I need readers to stay in business!! But I had to laugh when Ray told Angelita, "Me too!" (Just writing this makes me chuckle.) Look Angelita and Ray, we'll be back together next Monday, so I figure I still have a chance to talk you into becoming readers! Maybe you just haven't found the right book yet!

Addison and Avery were interviewing a senior named Bill. But Addison explained she and Avery were not yet taking notes -- and I could see why. Because they were too busy just plain conversing! At one point, the three were discussing places they had visited. Then, when Avery told us he was at last year's Super Bowl game, Bill responded: "That's not fair!" Which cracked us up, and made us reflect a little on whether life is fair. (We decided "not always"!!)

Oh, here's another beautiful moment for you. On our way out, Hurya told me, "I don't want to leave!"

I'll end today's blog entry with a comment from Claire O'Brien, who is the on-site coordinator for the Eva Marsden Centre. I asked Claire why she agreed to take part in the project and her answer, well it was PERFECT: "I love the idea of inter-generational projects. This is a way for young people and old people to find out how alike they are." EXACTLY!!! And guess what? We'll be back next Monday, and we're invited for lunch afterwards!

Huge thanks to Blue Met; to our coordinator Fréderick Gaudin-Laurin; to Annie and Claire, to videographer Alaric Boyle-Poirier who is making a movie about the project, and especially to the students and the seniors. Thanks for the gift of sharing your stories, and listening to stories, and being open to new friends of all ages. See you next Monday, gang!

I am just home after such a happy morning at Programme Mile End High School here in Montreal. I was at the school -- an alternative school that's part of the English Montreal School Board's Outreach Network --  to introduce students to a Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation educational project called Looking Back for a Better Future. The project, funded by Canadian Heritage, brings Quebec teens together with seniors so the students can interview "their" seniors to learn life lessons about getting through challenging times. In today's pic, I am with my friend, teacher Annie Ogle and my new friend -- a student named Alex, who I observed has an amazing smile. (He kindly agreed to demonstrate that smile for this pic.)

The students will be journaling about their experience, so I covered some journaling strategies, then moved on to interviewing tips. The students can choose to take part in the Blue Met project -- and my feeling is that many of them want to be involved. YAY! Also, there's going to be a documentary film made about the project!

I worked with three groups of students. After my session with the first group, Roxanne and Ryan stayed behind to tell me they both enjoy writing and they want to be part of the project. Ryan said, "I always try to start a journal and then I lose it. I don't have a pretty book." So I was delighted when Roxanne turned to Ryan and said, "I'll get you one." (Just telling you that little story makes me laugh -- and smile.)

At recess, a student named Zoie became my instant favourite when she asked me, "Are you the girl who's doing the writing thing?" I had to laugh because as I told Zoie, no one's called me a girl in at least 50 years!!

The second group was full of fun characters. Aiden is eager to be in the documentary. "It'd be cool to be an actor," he told us, "but for the documentary I'm not going to act, I'm going to tell the truth." I thought that was a beautifully-expressed understanding of the difference between say a feature film and a documentary. Avery told us, "I write poetry when I'm bored or when I'm mad." You know what Avery? I think you should use that line for the first line of your next poem! And Alex told us that a social worker told him to write in a journal when something good happens, "so I can remember it." I totally agree! Journals are for all our feelings -- the sad ones, the happy ones, and everything else in between.

Addison and Lily are excited about interviewing seniors. Addison told us, "I've been practicing all my life for this. There are so many old people in my family." Lily said, "I'm really good at talking to old people because I'm so curious." CURIOUS might just be my word for today. As I was telling the students, if they are curious they will learn a lot -- and they will also be giving a huge gift to the seniors. Because we all need to feel others are curious to learn more about us.

My last group was wonderful too. Shout-out to Steven who didn't need to be persuaded to be my notetaker! KR and Sadi had such interesting reactions when I explained the goal of the project is to learn what challenges the seniors faced, and how they overcame those challenges. Sadi said, "It sounds like a therapy session" and KR said, "It sounds like journalism." Those two responses really got me thinking -- maybe a really successful interview does a little of both those things. KR also said something that made me so happy: "What's the point of life if you don't have a story to tell?" EXACTLY! We all have stories to tell, and hopefully the students will be inspired by the stories they hear when we go to meet their seniors next week at the Eva Marsden Centre in Montreal West. I know the seniors are going to love these kids -- and get energized by their company (that's what happened to be me this morning!!). We'll be at the Eva Marsden Centre on March 18th and back again on the 25th. If you're CURIOUS to learn how things go, head right back here to find out!

Thanks to Annie and to Colin Throness who does creative writing workshops with the kids and who also popped by to say hello. And a huge thank you to the kids. You know the expression You made my day? Well, you did!

Like many of us, I am concerned about the future of our world. Will the wars currently being fought ever come to a peaceful end? Is it possible to put an end to hatred? What about climate change? Will we ever be able to stop it? When we ask ourselves these questions, it's easy to feel discouraged and overwhelmed.

So -- I have an antidote for you. Look -- really look -- at the faces in today's photo. On the left you'll see a row of teenagers. Look also at their body language, the way they are leaning in to listen and learn. These are just some of Ms. Brown's Grade Ten students from Herzliah High School and they're at the Cummings Centre, where they've been interviewing Holocaust survivors in order to learn their stories -- and to learn how these remarkable people managed to carry on in the face of terrible, agonizing losses.

Here's something else that may help you feel less discouraged: The students and the survivors met through a Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation project called Looking Back for a Better Future. The program, which brings teens and seniors together, is taking place in several communities across the province and will be the subject of an upcoming documentary film. The program, which is funded by Canadian Heritage, made possible two visits to the Cummings Centre, but guess what? Ms. Brown's students wanted more. As she told me today, "They kept asking, 'When are we going back?'"

During their initial visits, the students -- with Ms. Brown's guidance -- prepared questions. But today, they just came into the room and got to work. Only I can't really call it work. And you kind of had to be there to see what happened. The kids just sat down with "their" seniors and started talking. And even if they were sometimes discussing difficult things, the atmosphere was HAPPY and HOPEFUL!

My plan was to move around the room and take notes. But I got so involved in listening I could hardly move. I heard Ted Bolgar (he's extending his hand in today's pic, who's 99, speaking with Elie, Eli and Jeremy. They were fascinated to learn that when Bolgar came to Montreal in 1948, he earned 49 cents an hour working as an electrician. I teased the boys about whether they listen so attentively in English class. They said they do! But then Elie looked over at Ted and told me, "We're like the last generation that's going to hear these stories." That's exactly right, Elie, and it will be your responsibility to pass them on.

I asked Ted whether he had any advice for the students as they grow older and encounter difficulties of their own. And I loved his answer: "There is no such thing as 'something is impossible.' Just try your best." Ted told us that before the Holocaust, his dream was to become a teacher -- but that as a Jew living in Hungary in the late 1930's, he was not allowed to attend university. We pointed out to Ted that in many ways he has become a teacher. He told us he'd never thought of that before.

Gundie Robertson, who volunteers at the Cummings Centre, was also sitting with us. I'll finish today's blog entry with what Gundrie had to say: "The way these students are listening, taking in the information, it gives me hope during all these challenging times in our world."

So I hope I have passed on some of that hope we found today. Wherever we are, let's take the time to really listen to others -- in the beautiful openhearted way these students were doing today. To their parents and teachers, thank you for raising such good people. To the Holocaust survivors, thanks for your courage and your commitment to telling your stories so that we can all learn from the past to create a better future.

Okay, so I didn't really WAKE UP in Bavaria -- but I woke up TO Bavaria. That's because I had a Zoom meeting with Isabella and Sophie, two grade eleven students at Albert-Schweitzer-Gymasium in Erlangen, Germany. That's them in today's photo (Isabella is on the left; Sophie is on the right) with their teacher Vanessa (she's in the middle).

So it's true that writing is HARD WORK and that we writers often feel discouraged and overwhelmed! BUT and here comes a VERY NICE BUT, there are lovely surprises along the way!! So let me explain to you why I was Zooming with Isabella, Sophie and Vanessa this morning.

The English textbook used by Bavarian students includes a chapter from my YA novel The Middle of Everywhere (Orca). That novel is set in Kangiqsualujjuaq in Nunavik, a town commonly known as George River, and which I had the amazing privilege to visit for the first time in 2008. The grade elevens at Albert-Schweitzer-Gymasium are doing a unit on Life in the 21st Century --  and are looking at parts of the world they knew little about. Which brings them to George River!

Anyway, Isabella and Sophie had many questions for me about life in the North. I have been back to Nunavik more than ten times since 2008 -- even so, I feel I am only beginning to learn about the region and its people, most of whom are Inuit. I did my best to answer the girls' questions. But what I'm really hoping is they'll be able to connect with some students in Nunavik -- maybe they could do a Zoom in which the Nunavik students could ask questions about life in Bavaria, and Isabella and Sophie (and their classmates!!) could get far better answers to their questions about Nunavik than I could provide!!

Neither Isabella nor Sophie visited Canada. Both are especially curious of course about Nunavik. But Sophie admitted, "It seems lonely and far away." Isabella is especially interested in seeing a lot of snow, "We don't get snow all that often here."

That's one of the things I love about stories -- they help us to connect with others. And even when my work on a book is over, the book continues to create connections. SO maybe I shouldn't complain that writing is such hard work. Because you know what? IT'S WORTH IT!!

I'm not usually DAZZLED, but that is the right word to describe my reaction today to working with the Grades Two and Three students at Solomon Schechter Academy. I was invited to SSA by principal Ms. Doughan to discuss my latest non-fiction book, Open Science: Knowledge for Everyone (Orca). Though the book has been out since the fall and I've done a number of school visits since then, this was the first time my talk focused exclusively on the new book. And the timing was right because these students had just taken part in a giant science fair.

I had a lot to say about Open Science, which is an important new trend in science -- for scientists to openly share data and reagents (an example of a reagent is a blood sample) to speed up the discovery process. I asked the kids which word they thought was more positive -- open or closed? And they all called out together: "Open!" Then a student named Mia raised her hand and added the term "open-minded" to our discussion -- and I told Mia I wish I'd used that in my book too!

We talked about how everyone can do science -- kids included! And we discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic did a lot to promote Open Science. That's because by openly sharing their findings, scientists were able to come up with the first COVID-19 vaccinations in just eight months. Before then, on average, it had taken scientists an average of TEN YEARS to develop a vaccination!

Before I mention some of the kids' great comments and questions, I want to say a special thank you to a student named Oliver who took notes for us. I found Oliver when I asked "Who has note paper with them?" And Oliver was the only one who did! Oliver, that could be a sign that you will be a writer. (We writers never go anywhere without paper -- and a pen!)

Okay -- so why was I dazzled? It's because of the kids' reaction when I read from the book -- they were totally STILL and FOCUSED and because they had so many comments and questions. I had told the kids that I got interested in Open Science because my boyfriend (hey, he's now my fiancé, I nearly forgot!!)  is a scientist and a champion of Open Science. A student named Gaby raised her hand and said, "Maybe you should tell this to your boyfriend: I think I know how COVID started." Pretty impressive,no? Mia asked, "Why did scientists [in the past] have to be secretive?" (I explained how the focus used to be on getting famous and being promoted, and not so much on working together in teams.) Mia also told me something interesting when I talked about the difference between fiction and non-fiction books and how I write both. She said, "I have a book in my desk about Ruth Bader-Ginsburg." Since I'm a fan of Ruth Bader-Ginsburg's (she was a judge in the US Supreme Court) I made sure to write that comment down! Atara told me she writes fiction and non-fiction, and then Ms. Doughan added that Atara also illustrates her books. And finally, as Class 2A was filing out of the room, the students told me, "We are writing a book on our way to recess!"

So... if it sounds like I had fun at SSA today it's because I did! Special thanks to the awesome Ms. Doughan for the invite (I will never say no to Ms. Doughan!); to the school's marketing and communications director Nick Frai for taking pics (including the one in today's post); and to teacher Ms. Perez for also taking a great set of notes. And to all the students for DAZZLING me. Here's to being open-minded, and doing Open Science, and sharing knowledge and discoveries of every kind!

I'm just getting home after my last day of writing workshops with Ms. Julie's Grade Two students at Roslyn Elementary School. I spent four days with these kids -- working with each of Ms. Julie's classes twice. In our first sessions (which I blogged about last week), we covered writing tips. In this week's sessions, I read the students my picture book The Brass Charm and then we got to work! Some of the students were just getting started on their next assignment -- writing their own stories. Others already had work to show me. Though I wasn't wearing rollerskates I felt as if I was skating around Ms. Julie's classroom because my goal was to look at the work of every single student and try to give some feedback and suggestions.

So for today's blog entry I'm going to share some of my favourite writing from the kids. I actually have two full pages of notes, which would make for a very long blog entry, so I'll choose a few to share with you here.

I had told the kids their stories needed a beginning, middle and end. I also stressed the need to include TROUBLE. And of course, I told the students to do their best to develop the main characters in their stories and if possible, to include humour.

Wesley demonstrated a lot of creativity when he decided to write about condiments. Also, how many Grade 2's do you know who even know the word condiment? Wesley decided the condiment character he wants to focus on is Mayo -- and that Mayo's flaw will be that he is shy. (I suggested the students make their characters flawed since we're all flawed, right? Besides, no one wants to read about a perfect person -- or condiment!!)

Elorm wrote a powerful piece about a girl named Pala who lives with her grandmother. Pala has undergone a great deal of loss, including the fact that (I'm quoting Elorm here) "Even her four ducks died." An excellent detail, Elorm. Eloise came up with a great title (and idea) for her story: "Big Ben's Destruction." Romi wrote about a monster's cave. When I suggested Romi include some sensory details (such as what the cave smells like), she came up with something super: "it smells like dirty socks and a toilet bowl." That is some bad smelling cave, Romi!

At first Jack complained that he couldn't come up with a story idea. But then, towards the end of our time together, he popped by to announce, "I got one!" Yay! Jack is writing about a basketball player who gets injured. When I looked at his WIP (that's author-speak for work-in-progress) I suggested Jack write about the basketball player's feelings. Jack looked at me and said, "I don't want to. I don't feel like working on it anymore." I have to admit that cracked me up because I'm a professional writer and well... I sometimes feel that way too! But Jack and all the other Grade Two's, you will need to get back to work on your stories if you want them to get really good!

Today, I worked with the last two classes -- and I was impressed by these kids' imaginations and writing too. Alessia created great suspense in her story: "It came and tried to bite us. What was that?" I love the What was that? question, don't you? Sharon wrote a remarkably grown-up piece for someone in Grade Two -- and I didn't find a single writing error. Here's an excerpt I liked a lot: "Elion lived in a poor part of England and his dream was to become a soccer player.... He was the man of the match." Eloise used the word "rustling" in her story about two tigers and a bear. I had to help with the spelling of rustling, but like I told the students, spelling is no big deal and can easily be corrected. But not just anybody thinks of using the word rustling! Elizabeth came up with a great idea for a story she's calling "Someone Stole Valentine's Day." And Sienna demonstrated a lot of creativity when she invented a "unicorn bunny" for her story.

Writers need great imaginations. And sometimes grown-up writers like me can get inspired by hanging out with imaginative kids. Writers also need to work hard and stick with their stories even when they aren't always in the mood for sticking with their stories! Hopefully I inspired Ms. Julie's students too!

Thanks to Ms. Julie and her students for making my four visits so much fun. Look for me in the neighbourhood. (I often jog by your school.) And keep working on those stories. If you work hard the stories will continue to improve -- and you might want to enter them in the Westmount Library writing contest that we chatted about. I'm rooting for you guys!

Today’s blog entry comes to you from the ViaRail train. I’m heading home from Beauport, just outside of Quebec City, where I was working with Sec. 3 students at Ecole Secondaire de la Seigneurie. Some of the students there are reading my YA novel What World Is Left, based on my mother’s childhood experience in a Nazi concentration camp. Others are learning about the kind of work that goes into writing a book.

I started my day with Mr. Lord’s Enriched ESL class. Mr. Lord, who is teaching my book to his students, warned me that first period might require me to “tire les vers du nez!” Which, if you need help with your French, means I’d have to pull worms out of noses!! Indeed the students were a quiet group, but I managed to pull some worms from their noses!

A student named Alexandre (I started calling him Alexandre the First after I met another Alexandre in the same class) told me his dream is to become a lawyer, which as I pointed out, is a career that requires a lot of writing and reading – proving my point that everyone can benefit from improving those skills.

Alexandre the Second had prepared several questions in advance of my visit. My favourite was, “Where do your ideas come from?” My answer was EVERYWHERE! I explained how I keep an ideas file on my laptop, and that I often write about conversations I overhear, and also about issues or subjects I can’t get out of my mind.

Alexandre the Second also gave me a moment of hope when, after he told me he’s never enjoyed writing or reading and I said, “Maybe that will change now that you’ve met me” –  he replied: “YOU NEVER KNOW!” You will agree that “You never know” is way better than a straight “Never!”

Second period I had a special opportunity to work with four foreign-language students who have recently come to the school. That’s when I met Cheikh who cracked me up when I told the group I write three pages every morning and he called out, “M’am, you have too much time!”

With this group, I covered a few basic writing tips and then I read them Le Trésor d’Oma, the French translation of my picture book, The Brass Charm, illustrated by Marie Lafrance. Anyway, the students listened so attentively, and I translated into English as I went along, and well… it felt magical to share this story with them. Like What World Is Left, The Brass Charm was also inspired by my mother’s wartime experience, and though the story is sad, I think it manages to be hopeful too. Some of the students who were with me have also lived through great challenges, which I think made them extra-sensitive to the story of a child’s suffering.

I finished my day with Ms. Salomon’s Enriched ESL group. This was a lively group. One thing I like to do during school visits is collect interesting names for my future characters. I found two cool names in this class: Nessy and Esteban. Hey, in case you’re wondering what’s going on in today’s pic – that’s Esteban inspecting my boxing skills. When I told the students how I took up boxing as part of my research for the book Straight Punch, Esteban offered to come to the front of the room to show me his boxing moves -- and check out mine! Let’s just say there was a lot of laughter in the classroom!

Another highlight for me was when a student named Maxime told us, “I play basketball three or four times a week. I play at school and everywhere.” His comment helped me explain that writers, like basketball players, need to practise a lot. And when Maxime said he plays “everywhere,” I understood exactly how much he loves his sport – because it’s how I feel about writing. Even though I continue to find writing hard, I can’t seem to stop. I do it everywhere – even on the train!

Like me, a student named Alyssane enjoys asking “What if?” And when I told the class that I wrote three or four manuscripts before I sold my first book, a student named William had a great question: “Why was your fifth manuscript chosen?” You know, William, I had never stopped to ask myself this question before. I’m not even positive about the answer – except that I hope that as I continue to write, my writing improves -- that I keep learning as I go along.

That’s what I wish for my new friends at Ecole Secondaire de la Seigneurie – that you keep growing and that you find the things you love to do, like Maxime’s passion for basketball and mine for writing.

Special thanks to Mr. Lord for arranging today’s visit, and to Ms. Salomon for sharing her class with me. And to the Culture in the Schools programs for bringing authors into classrooms across the province.

 I could've posted the pic of three boys balancing white boards on their heads, but I decided to start my first blog of 2024 with a more customary pic! That's me with teacher Ms. Julie and one of her four Grade Two English classes at Roslyn Elementary School here in Montreal.

I should tell you first that Ms. Julie was one of MY students when I taught at Marianopolis College. If I sound proud, it's because I AM. She is a delightfully warm, kind, fun and smart teacher who obviously cares a lot about her students. I also loved that there was a notice on Ms. Julie's white board saying: "Let's hope we find some trouble." That's because Ms. Julie shares my view that trouble gives energy to our stories. As I told the students today, writers need to be trouble-makers!!

Over the next eight days, I'll be doing two sessions with each of Ms. Julie's four classes. Another fun thing is that I met most of the students last year when they were in Grade One and when I visited Roslyn to read them my picture book The Brass Charm and do writing workshops.

Today and tomorrow, I'm doing introductory stuff -- next week I'll be helping the students develop their own stories which they'll be working on during the days I'm not around.

Besides sharing writing tips, we did a bunch of exercises. We did the word--a-day exercise in which I asked the kids to come up with a word to describe how their yesterday was and another word for how they hope today will be. In the first group, Elorm said yesterday was "normal" and Isabel said she hopes today will be "super crazy." In the second group, Max said his yesterday was "piano" (he explained that he had played piano) and Milu hoped her today will be "awesome" (which I pointed out is not an easy word for a grade two student to spell!!).

When I discussed how even fiction writers need to do research, I asked the students what topics they might be interested in researching. Wesley told us he is interested in bananas; Keila in Star Wars; Caël in soccer, Charles in toilets (!); Alison in monsters and Max in sports. I told the students that if they research any of these topics the material could well find its way into a book!

Then, because we were talking about my picture book The Brass Charm, I asked the students to write about their most treasured object -- and the story behind it. Sophie wrote about her precious rocks; Celia wrote about her two cats; many of the students wrote about their stuffed animals; Teresa wrote about a necklace that was a gift from her parents; and Jack B made me laugh when he told us, "I was going to say my Switch, but then I thought of my dog." I told the students that I've found objects can sometimes carry important stories!

I ended both of today's sessions with an exercise about memory. That's because I believe memory is an important writing tool that helps inspire many stories. I loved Aila's memory of her fifth birthday party because the memory was so detailed: "I remember my dad's beard. It was rough." See how the language is simple, but powerful?

I'll end today's blog entry with a quote from Eisley. The quote is about his most treasured object -- a brass button bear named Taylor. Here's what Eisley told me about Taylor: "If I'm sad, I rub this brass button. It makes me happy when I need it most." Such beautiful words. I told Eisley that not all writers -- even experienced ones -- are able to describe emotions in such an honest way.

Stay posted to learn what happens next with my friends at Roslyn. I think we're all looking forward to hearing more of this story!

Do I look like a lucky woman (that's me in the stripes in today's pic)?

Because I am.

I'm lucky to have been able to get to know the Grade 10 kids in this pic -- and their English teacher Ms. Brown (she's at the front of the pic, wearing glasses and her ski jacket). And to have been involved in a -- hard to find the right adjective here -- spectacular? transformative? gorgeous? heartbreakingly beautiful? (they're all true) -- Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation project called Looking Back for a Better Future. Funded by Canadian Heritage, the program is bringing five classes from across the province together with five seniors' groups in their communities.

Ms. Brown teaches at Herzliah High School here in Montreal. The seniors her students are paired with attend a group called Café Europa that meets weekly at the Cummings Centre. The members of Café Europa have a painful shared history -- they are all survivors of the Holocaust. For this project, they are sharing their stories of survival and resilience with the young people. And though we hoped the meetings would be a success, I don't think we ever expected the kind of closeness that is developing between the kids and the seniors.

Another cool things is that Looking Back for the Future is going to be the subject of a documentary film that will be screened at this year's Blue Metropolis Literary Festival. Today, we were lucky to have filmmaker Alaric Boyle-Poirier with us to film some of the interactions that took place.

It was the second time the kids and the seniors met. There was no need to reintroduce the participants or the project. They got right back into their conversations!

Today, Ms. Brown had the great idea of getting the students to ask the seniors about their experiences of anti-Semitism. With a terrible, shocking wave of anti-Semitism currently affecting the world, this question felt more important than ever.

Survivor Svetlana Ostrovskaya shared this advice for dealing with anti-Semitism: "Be strong and be safe." And her friend and fellow survivor Rachel Neubarth added: "Don't be afraid to express yourself."

Gyorgyi Nemes explained that as a young woman in Hungary she dreamt of being a designer. But even when one of her teachers wrote her an excellent letter of recommendation, she was not accepted at the college where she could have studied design. "Only one per cent of students could be Jewish," she explained.

Bill Lewkowict told the students that when he came to Canada after the Holocaust, Canadian teenagers didn't know what the word "camp" referred to, certainly not the concentration camp where Bill had been imprisoned. "They asked me, 'At your camp, did you have horseback riding?'" What I found so remarkable was Bill's sense of humour, which as I pointed out to the students, is an important tool for resilience. Our ability to laugh can help us get us through the toughest times in our lives. (I know this trait well from my mum, who was also a Holocaust survivor -- and one of the funniest people I have ever known.)

Ted Bolgar is a survivor of Auschwitz, the notorious Nazi death camp. He told students Arielle and Abigael about the moment, after liberation, when he learned that his father had also survived. Ted showed us his humour too when he heard that he'd be filmed, and he said, "I didn't have my makeup." To which one of the girls (I think it was Arielle) replied: "I have lip gloss." So amidst all the serious, heartbreaking stories, we had moments of laughter too!

I should also mention that the gentleman at the center of today's pic is Andrew Fuchs. Andrew is 87, and was one of many Jews saved by the remarkable Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. At the time, Andrew was a child of eight. Today -- nearly 80 years later -- he turned up at the Cummings Centre with a pile of Holocaust memoirs that he wanted to share with Ms. Brown's class. Amazing, no?

There are many many people to thank in today's blog entry -- the team at Blue Met, the terrific people at Cummings Centre, Ms. Brown and her helpers from Herzliah; Canadian Heritage -- but I'm back to not finding my words. Which is something for a talkative writer like me! I can't say a big enough thank you to Ms. Brown's students and to the members of Café Europa. You have dazzled me with your kindness, your decency, your willingness to share stories and to hear stories and make them part of you.

See those ten happy faces in today's pic? That's me with nine of the eleven participants in the Quebec Writers' Federation (QWF) workshop "Solving the Picture Book Puzzle" I led yesterday. (We were just leaving the QWF office where the workshop was held -- we'd already said good-bye to the other two participants who'd been with us all day on Zoom.)

Yesterday made me realize that I do, in fact, miss teaching. (I retired 18 months ago after a happy 35-year career at Marianopolis College here in Montreal.) And though I do many school visits (popping in to classes throughout Quebec) to share writing tips and hopefully inspire young people, it isn't quite the same, I realize, as having MY OWN CLASS. Which could be why I enjoyed yesterday so much -- those eleven students were MINE (at least from 10 AM to 4 PM!!). I was telling my partner Guy that one of the reasons I think I liked teaching so much was that I got to be bossy (haha) -- and yesterday I got to direct how we spent our time (we read and analyzed several picture books; I shared writing tips; we reviewed handouts; we did several writing exercises and we critiqued four of the participants' picture books-in-progress). But the other reason I explained to Guy was the magic part -- that as a teacher, you never know what's going to happen in your class -- because a class takes on a life of its own.

Which brings me back to yesterday. I had the perfect class. My students were smart and kind and did they ever work hard! In fact, I had to tell them to stop writing during the writing exercises!!

I had seen the names of the workshop participants in advance. So I knew kids' book author Lea Beddia and author and poet Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt would both be attending on Zoom. I also recognized the names of short story authors Susi Lovell and Mark Paterson. But then came some lovely surprises. Maya had been my students more than a decade ago at Marianopolis! Tina, who teaches at an adult centre, and I had met many years ago -- and her son Eric Deguire is also a teacher and writer. Mary (I met her first because we both arrived about twenty minutes before the doors opened) was a longtime teacher and now teaches student teachers; Tania (with an i) has a background in marketing; Emily is working on her doctorate in history and is a sci-fi fan; and Antonia is a psychiatric social worker -- so you can imagine how those four, and every other one of the participants, have interesting work and life experiences they can bring to their picture book projects.

Another thing people had in common was that many had started working on picture book projects long ago -- and were all feeling it was time to come back to them.

Oh, before I tell you a little of what we covered, I have to tell you that one participant had to cancel -- but apparently there was a waiting list! Which meant my friend illustrator Diego Herrera was able to attend too. You may know him better by his artist's name Yayo. And he brought not only his gorgeous work-in-progress to show us, but also brownies. (That may also account for some of the smiles in today's pic!)

So -- you may be wondering what we had to say about solving the pic book puzzle. Here's some of what we figured out. Pic books have to be short (they are rarely more than 900 words). It helps if they are funny. They tend to use repetition. They have to appeal to both kids and parents (since parents will be reading them over and over -- as Tania pointed out, when she read pic books to her sons she sometimes found the books boring). The characters have to feel real. There has to be trouble -- and growth.

Somebody -- I forget who it was -- asked Diego why he'd bother coming to a workshop on "Solving the Picture Book Puzzle" since he's already so accomplished. I loved his answer: "It's so important to learn all the time."

The four stories we heard were excellent -- and I loved how everyone pitched in with praise and suggestions. We decided Tina's story contained at least three separate stories (a nice problem for a writer to have!); that Mark's story was super funny and well-constructed, but that maybe it could be longer and even more profound; that Tanya (with a y)'s story was wonderful and poetic, but could perhaps be told in fewer words; and that Diego's story (it's actually written by his wife Talleen Hacikyan with Diego's illustrations)... well, we thought that project was ready to go!

For me, our six hours together flew by. I was allowed to give participants up to an hour for lunch, but I was dee-lighted when they agreed to only take a half-hour.

I'm pretty sure the participants had fun and learned quite a bit. But I can tell you for sure that one person was flying by the end of the day. Me!

Thanks to Lori Schubert and Riley Palanca at the QWF for helping make the workshop happen; to the QWF, but especially to my eleven "kids." Looking forward to the picture books that will follow!

I spent yesterday afternoon at Ecole du Vieux-Chêne in Terrebonne, where I had a lot of fun working with two Grade Six English classes. They were a large group (more than 60 students in all) and I had them for a whole afternoon. It's not always easy for kids (or adults!!) to stay focused for several hours, but these kids were pretty amazing. It was only towards the very end that I got the feeling they were ready to call it a day -- and put me and my writing tips and stories behind them!!

A student named Coralie told me she wants to be a writer too! Then she asked me, "Where do you get your energy from?" I explained that I get my energy from hanging around kids!! (Look at the pic in today's blog post for proof. I don't think I smile that much around adults!!)

My adventure at Vieux-Chêne started before I even arrived. That's because I got a little lost on the drive (I missed a change of highway!!) and I emailed teacher Ms. Tirtoaca to say I'd be a few minutes late. She phoned me while I was in the car and said, "I can meet you." When I arrived -- breathless -- in the classroom, I explained how kind Ms. Tirtoaca had been and how just speaking with her had calmed me down. Then I explained that I thought Ms. Tirtoaca had been offering to drive over to the highway to find me -- what she really meant was that she'd meet me in the parking lot of the school. So, together with Ms. Tirtoaca and the kids, we invented a story by asking one of my favourite questions: WHAT IF?

What if Ms. Tirtoaca enlisted the help of local firefighters who let her borrow their firetruck? What if all the kids from Ms. Tirtoaca and Mr. Nacer's classes had piled onto the firetruck and come to rescue me and lead me back to the school? Wow, that would have been fun. Let's add some TROUBLE which is, as I told the students, an essential ingredient in a story. What if the other drivers on the highway got upset with me for stopping traffic? What if they started honking or got out of their cars to yell at all of us? What if, to calm the drivers down, the students had started to sing -- and the whole thing turned into a concert on the highway?

As I pointed out to the students, none of this happened -- but making up a story IS FUN. It's one of the reasons I love being a writer.

I asked for three students to volunteer to take notes -- Darine, Léonie and Antoine were my official notetakers. But then Coralie called out, "Can I take notes too?" Coralie's question led to Mia and Maely calling out, "Me too!" That made me laugh and made me happy -- writing notes helps us remember stuff we learn.

Also a special shoutout to Akim, who actually helped me with my own notes (I need notes so I can write my blog entries). He also helped me locate the book I wanted to show the students -- a novel I am reading by Linda Amyot. When I couldn't find the novel in my pile of books, Akim found it! Thanks for that Akim -- and also for your excellent notes.

I also explained to the students that writers need to collect interesting details to use in their stories. That's why I wrote down something Akim said to me: "When I come back home, I'm going to have grilled cheese." I may need to use that line in a book -- because it tells me not only that Akim likes grilled cheese, but also that he wanted to share that information with me!

During the second half of my presentation, I told the students the story behind my picture book, The Brass Charm -- and I read them the book and showed them the beautiful illustrations done by Marie Lafrance. I explained how the story was inspired by a gift my mother received on her fourteenth birthday when she was a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. I also showed the students the replica of the charm that I wear every day around my neck.

There was even time for two short writing exercises. This was also when some students got a bit restless. In one exercise, I had the students write about their own precious object -- in another I asked them to remember a moment from their pasts. Darine and Akim gave me permission to quote their work here. Darine wrote about a gift she received from her mother: "a pretty small trunk -- purple and gold with many seashells... I received it for my tenth birthday." Akim wrote about his memory of learning that his aunt had died: "I tasted my salty tears and it smelled pancakes that my brother made and I saw my parents' room and their sad faces." In both cases, Darine and Akim use details to take us into their worlds. Thanks for that!

Thanks to all the kids for doing your best during my visit! Thanks to Ms. Tirtoaca for the invite -- and to you and Mr. Nacer for sharing your kids with me. Oh, I forgot to explain that vieux chêne means old oak tree -- and we were trying to figure out where the oak tree after which the school is named is located. Apparently, there's an oak tree at the front of the school and another in the yard. You know what? I think the story of those two oak trees would be fun to write -- and read. Maybe next time I'm back at Ecole du Vieux-Chêne the kids might read me that story! So to the kids -- have fun, learn a lot, and don't forget to READ and WRITE!!!

This Saturday will be Remembrance Day -- a day on which Canadians remember the brave men and women who served to protect our country. Because several of my books are set during wartime, my friends at the Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation arranged for me to visit Willingdon Elementary School's junior campus today to share writing tips, read my picture book The Brass Charm, and encourage students to be kind and work for peace.

So I spent a happy morning with two grade four classes -- taught by Ms. Leckner (whom I have known for many years!) and Miss Carole (whom I met for the first time). We were assisted by Ms. Amanda, and even the school's vice-principal Mr. McKelvie (whom I've also had the pleasure of meeting before) popped by to listen to my presentation.

The students were A-MAZING!! For one thing, they had loads of questions. In fact, there were so many questions and comments I had to ask some students to jot their questions down and ask them to me later -- because I was worried I wouldn't get to teach them anything about writing!

Here come a few of the questions/comments. Emilie shared a problem she faces when she writes: "I'm really good at starting novels, but then I get stuck." I explained that this is an EXCELLENT problem that many professional writers face too. My own trick is simple: keep writing! Julianna told us, "I want to write a book, but I never know what to write a book about." So I shared my tip about doing research. What topic are you most interested in learning about? Maybe answering that question will help Julianna focus in on the kind of book she might write. Naveen told us, "I keep a journal when I go on a four or five-day trip." Excellent news, Naveen! Don't throw those journals out. They could become the basis for a book some day. Odin told us, "I sometimes write books for my brother who's six." Having a younger brother is a great source of inspiration! Many professional writers, such as A.A. Milne (author of Winnie-the-Pooh) write stories for the kids they love.

After sharing a few writing tips, I told the students the story behind my book The Brass Charm -- and of course, I showed them the brass charm I wear around my neck every single day. They were a great audience -- kind, respectful and interested in the story and also in the illustrations by Marie Lafrance.

I ended today's session with a writing exercise I invented in honour of Remembrance Day. I asked the student to remember a fight they had either witnessed or participated in -- and then to write a little about that memory. (See there's another connection to REMEMBRANCE Day -- remembering is important for so many reasons!) There was a Part 2 to the exercise. I asked the kids to add a new ending to their memory -- to imagine a solution to the conflict.

Miles gave me permission to share what he wrote. Here goes: "I had a fight with X. He threw ice at me all winter. I could just walk away, or I could talk to him. I could say, 'I don't want you to hurt me.'"

As I told the students, it sometimes takes courage to remember (especially when we're remembering difficult times), and it also takes courage to write. I told Miles that he's a courageous young man.

We are living, of course, in a time of great conflict, with war in both Ukraine and the Middle East. As I was walking in the halls of Willingdon, thinking about the students' questions, comments, their writing, and their openness and curiosity, I had the strongest sense that things are going to be okay -- that stories can help to give us hope, and to create connection with others.

Thanks to spiritual animator Ms. Wilson for helping arrange today's visit; to the teachers, and to Ms. Amanda and Mr. McKelvie for sharing your kids with me; to Blue Met for making the visit possible -- but especially to the Grade Fours I met today. You guys ROCK! Big big big thank you!

I spent two days this week working with Grade Ten students at Laval Senior Academy. That's me in today's pic with Ms. Gosdanian at the left, and two of her students: Alexia (next to me) and Alessya (at the right). (Hey, thanks to Chelsea for helping me get the names right!!)

So in all, I worked with five classes: Ms. Gosdanian's and also Ms. Lambropoulos's. As usual, I shared writing tips and got the students to do some writing. We talked about the importance of observation. That's one of the reasons I wrote the word "Snoopy" on the white board -- writers tend to be snoopy sorts. We observe, we ask questions, and sometimes, we even eavesdrop!

So, let me tell you about some of the things I observed. I observed that Alessya had a splint on her finger. So I asked her what happened, and she told me, "I broke my finger during cheer doing a back flip." Which let me learn about Alessya -- that she does cheer and that she's daring. I also observed that she likes pink lipgloss!

Speaking of pink, I observed that a student named Sarah was wearing a light pink cropped sweatshirt that matched perfectly with her water bottle. I asked whether she'd done that on purpose, but Sarah said it was a pure coincidence. When we were chatting after class, Ms. Lambropoulos also observed that Sarah's nail polish was the same shade of pale pink! Which goes to show you that the more observers you have, the more you learn!

A few other fun moments from my visits this week: I had to laugh when a student named Antonio told me, "Your hair is grabbing my attention!" (If you don't know me, you may not know that I have BIG hair!)

This afternoon, Ms. Lambropoulos's students admitted they weren't too interested in writing, and did not dream of writing their own books some day. But when I talked about keeping a journal, I asked the students, "Do you want to know what I write about? Do you even care?" At first, no one said anything -- until a student named Michelangelo (GREAT NAME! LIKE I TOLD HIM, HE HAS A LOT TO LIVE UP TO!!) raised his hand to indicate that he cared! I took this to be a moment of great triumph -- I was getting Michelangelo interested in the writing life! Except when I suggested that maybe Michelangelo was just feeling sorry for me because no one had answered my question, well he gave me a look that suggested maybe he had been feeling sorry for me!

When I taught the students about my favourite question to get the imagination going -- What if? -- a student named Joseph told us, "At night, I always ask myself 'What if I'm Batman?'" Joseph, I think that could make a cool story!

Ms. Gosdanian' students will be writing a memoir piece and Ms. Lambropoulos's will be working on a monologue, narrated by a literary character they have read about. In terms of ideas for the  memoir, I tried a couple of exercises that involved returning to old memories. As I told the students, for me, memories are stories asking to be told. Nicolas gave me permission to share a little of his memory of the first day of elementary school: "I was so used to being with my brother and now I was on my own for the first time." I love how NIcolas uses words to take us back with him into the past. And today, a student named Christopher started his memory with a gorgeous sentence guaranteed to make readers want to keep reading: "I knew there was nothing I could do." Haunting, no? And I bet you want to know what came next!

For the monologue exercise, I told the students that stepping into another character -- which is exactly what they'll be doing when they write their monologues -- is a way to build empathy. We all spend so much time being us that it can be a great relief to be someone else -- even if this only happens in our imaginations. It's one of the things I love most about writing fiction.

We talked about the terrible situation in the Middle East -- and I shared my view that if enemies could find a way to step into each other's skins and lives, well, it might gives us a better chance of having peace. I know that for me, the last few weeks have been a sad, stressful time, but the best remedy for my sad feelings has been to spend time with young people. They represent the future and they represent hope. Even if they don't all want to be writers, I know they all want to do their part to make our world a better, safer place. And for that, I'm very grateful.

I'll be back at Laval Senior in November for a Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation project. I'll ask Ms. Gosdanian and Ms. Lambropoulos to let their students know when I'll be back in the building -- just in case they want to discuss their memoirs or monologues with me. Thanks to Ms. Gosdanian for organizing this week's visits, thanks to Ms. Lambropoulos for sharing you students with me, and thanks most of all to the kids for giving me hope for the future!

Like many people around the world, I have been despairing and feeling hope-less. The October 7 brutal attacks on Israel -- and all the loss of life and suffering on both sides that has followed and which is likely still to come -- has left me practically without words.

Yet sometimes life gives you what you need most. For me, that is hope.

It came this morning when together with Herzliah High School teacher Ms. Brown, we brought one of her Grade Ten English classes to the Cummings Centre, where the students interviewed Holocaust survivors who are part of the centre's Holocaust survivors' support group. The activity, funded by Canadian Heritage, is part of a Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation educational program called Looking Back for a Better Future.

Before we left Herzliah, I told the kids they would be the recipients of a gift -- the survivors' stories, and that the students in turn would be giving a gift -- their attention, their interest, and well...  the joy they provide simply by being teenagers, full of life and possibility.

You'd have had to be in the room with all of us to understand the impact of the exchanges that took place.

When I looked around at the faces of the students and the survivors I saw goodness and connection. There were tears, but also laughter.

A few highlights --

Maya interviewed Angela, who is 78 years old, and was born in 1944 in -- and this is in itself a miracle -- the Auschwitz concentration camp. When Angela was liberated from the camp, she told Maya, "I was like a little bird without feathers." Angela also told Maya that when she was younger, she tried to remove Auschwitz as the place of birth on her passport. But it was Vera, Angela's mother, who talked her out of it: "She told me 'No!' You will have to tell the story." Which is, of course, exactly what Angela was doing today.

A student named Akiva interviewed a survivor named Andrew. Andrew is 87; both his parents died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Andrew told Akiva, "I grew up on the streets." He also told Akiva how, at the age of eight, he was tortured by the Nazis who had trapped him in a sewer. I had warned the students that their questions could upset the survivors, but Andrew said, "I feel good to tell."

A student named Adam interviewed Léon, who's 83 and spent part of the Holocaust in a French orphanage called La Colonie Scolaire. "All the children who were there came from families who had been deported," Léon told Adam. Adam has a grandfather living in Paris who was also hidden as a child from the Nazis. Because Adam wondered if it was possible that the two men had known each other, Adam phoned home and arranged for his grandfather to phone him from Paris. Again, it's a moment that's hard for me to describe -- we don't think in the end that the two men knew each other -- but Adam's openhearted interest in Léon's story and his desire to connect Léon and his grandfather... well, it moved me to tears.

Now to return to the subject of hope. One gentleman, a survivor sitting at the far end of the room, initially said he preferred not to be interviewed. But Bill, who is 88, and was born in Lithuania, changed his mind when he met the teenagers. He was interviewed by two students (hey, I didn't write their names in my notes, so if you are at Herzliah and can help me out, post the students' names in the comment section and I'll add them here). Bill's life was spared by chance -- he was visiting family in Poland when the Nazis rounded up the Jews of Vilna and forced them into a ghetto, which was liquidated in 1943. I happened to be walking by when Bill told the students who were interviewing him: "Life without hope is worthless."

Ahh. Thank you for that, Bill.

The students have only just begun their interviews with the survivors. But I think I was right -- it was a gift for the teenagers, but also for the seniors. It was certainly a gift for me. One for which I am so very grateful.

In these dark uncertain times, we need to listen to others' stories, we need to learn from the past, and we need, perhaps above all else, to continue to hope for peace and goodness.

The title of today's blog entry "Snoopy Rules at Rosemere High School" requires some explanation. This Snoopy has nothing to do with the dog from the old Peanuts cartoon. It has to do with being snoopy (another word for curious), which I consider a vital trait in a writer. I myself am extraordinarily SNOOPY! So during my visit this morning to Ms. Lawrence's Enriched Sec. I English class, I asked the students whether any of them were snoopy too. Check out the raised hands in today's pic -- those are all kids who admitted to being snoopy. YAY!

I had the best morning. I know school visits aren't supposed to be fun for me -- they're supposed to be fun and educational for the kids, but I CAN'T HELP IT. First of all, I had THREE HOURS for my workshop -- which means I got to work pretty intensively with the students. And I also got to tell a lot of stories -- and look at the writing work the students produced when we were together. Also, Ms. Lawrence and I have known each other for many years and as I was telling her, I feel like I'm part of the family. (She even made me banana muffins!)

Okay, back to the workshop -- since you're here to read about that and not banana muffins. The workshop took place in the school library (special thanks to librarian Sylvie Plante and her assistant Joanna Shields for hosting us). Also we had a lovely student teacher with us -- Jenny Novodad, whom Ms. Lawrence calls, "My Jenny." (I loved that and took note of it immediately for my blog -- details help us tell stories, and in this case, the detail shows the warm relationship between Ms. Lawrence and her Jenny! Another cool thing was that Monsieur Lalancette, a guidance counselor at the school, took part in the first half of the workshop. It's always fun when there's a surprise adult visitor -- I think it's proof for the students that you don't have to be a kid to learn! Finally, Ms. Lawrence invited some keen writers from the older grades -- some of whom I'd already met. So a special shout-out to Zack, Zed, Lily, Naoko -- there were others, but I didn't get all the names.

Now I'll move to some of my favourite moments from today's visit. Well, first of all, the moment when so many students admitted they were snoopy! Also when Naoko told me he had given himself the name Naoko. I asked whether it's Japanese (I'm going to Japan in a few weeks -- I know, lucky me!!) -- and Naoko said it is meant to sound Japanese, but it's not officially a Japanese word. "I just like the sound of it," he said. Which I love because it shows Naoko's pleasure in playing with words, which do not only carry meaning, but also sound.

I had a special bonding moment early on with a student named Sienna. That's because she was looking right at me and nodding when I said something smart (well, I don't remember what I was saying, but I hope it was smart!). I used Sienna as an example of a student with excellent body language. Then I explained that body language is another tool writers use to tell our stories.

I don't know how I found out that Lily doesn't eat breakfast. But I used this information to demonstrate curiosity and some interview techniques. Here's what I discovered: Lily went to sleep too late last night -- at 11:30 PM; she often skips breakfast; and our conversation made her hungry!

Ariana was wearing a T-shirt that said "Always joyful." (I forgot to take a picture of it.) That prompted me to ask Arianna whether she is always joyful. It turns out she is sometimes not joyful. I suggested she add the word "Almost" before "Always joyful." See, there we are playing with words again! Arianna consulted me about a writing problem she's been having. She said, "I have so many ideas in my head, but I don't know which ones to pick!" I explained that that is a GREAT writing problem -- and I suggested she write all her ideas down (I have an ideas file on my laptop) and that when she's ready to start a project, she should go through the list of ideas and choose the one calling to her the most loudly!

We did two writing exercises -- I had hoped to do three, but the second one was intense and I wanted to take the time to circulate around the library to see what the students had come up with. For the exercise, I asked the students to return in their memories to the hardest moment in their lives. I warned them in advance that if the exercise was too difficult, they could sit it out or put their heads down and take a rest instead. But they all did it! I also explained that writing is an act of courage. Not all of the students wanted me to see their work -- and I was good with that. I did suggest they could use their painful memory and rework it into fiction -- let the experience, or a similar one, happen to another kid at another school in another country.

A student I'll call J gave me permission to quote the beginning of his piece here. Get ready for some beautiful, powerful writing!

"2016, Summer, my parents separated. My house sold. My parents got two different apartments. Worst of all I had to give away my dog. His name was Pluto, like the planet. Just like Pluto is not a part of our solar system, he wasn't a part of our apartment."

See what I meant about beautiful and powerful? The part about Pluto, well it breaks my heart (because it's sad) and lifts my heart at the same time (because it's so beautifully written).

J wasn't the only student whose writing lifted my heart. There were many many other examples in the library, but I was too busy reading the writing and talking to the students that there wasn't time to write them all down. (J happened to stay after class so I had a chance to take a pic of his text and quote from it here.)

As I told the students, I am 63 years old and retired from teaching at Marianopolis, and I don't really need to keep working -- also I'm recovering from pneumonia -- but perhaps you can tell from this blog entry that working with kids, teaching them about writing, and hearing (and reading) their stories... well, I don't think there's much that makes me happier in this world.

Many thanks to Ms. Lawrence for the invite to come to RHS, thanks also to my friend teacher Lee-Ann Sacks for popping by (Vicki Fraser, you were there in spirit!!). Thanks to the students for being wonderful. I'm ENRICHED from my morning in your company!

Well hello Monday and hello blog readers! Lucky me --  I've just had the perfect start to my week, working with Ms. Farnell and Ms. Russett's Grades 7 and 8 students at Selwyn House School, a private boys' school here in Montreal.

The teachers came up with a wonderful idea -- to have their students write a picture book, which they'll be reading to Grade Two students at the school. I was invited in to give an opening workshop about writing a picture book.

Most people think picture books must be a snap to write. Order a pizza, and write your picture book before it's delivered to your door! But that's not how it works. Picture books are, in my opinion, the hardest books to write -- even though they are generally the shortest. That's because every word counts. Picture books are also the most difficult to sell -- that's because they're expensive to produce and so many people are writing them!

I had two hours with the boys -- that's us in today's pic with Ms. Farnell -- and we did A LOT. I read three picture books -- Maurice Sendak's Pierre, David A. Robertson's When We Were Alone, and my own picture book The Brass Charm. I also covered a lot of writing tips, some just for picture books, and we did THREE writing exercises.

As I often do in my blog entries, I'm going to share a few of my favourite moments from this morning. When I asked a student named Bowie to spell his name for my blog (I collect interesting names to use for characters in future books), he hesitated and explained, "I'm not used to spelling my name out loud." I wrote that line down because well... it's interesting. I explained to the kids that many picture books use dialogue, so it's important to listen for interesting dialogue -- and write it down when we hear it!

I was explaining that happy endings are out of style, but that most picture books include some... I wanted the kids to guess the word. I told them it happens when we eat. A student named Oliver made me laugh when he called out "Poop!" But then the class figured out the word I wanted was GROWTH.

A student named Aidan explained he prefers to be called Bruce. What I really liked was that Bruce TOLD US THE STORY OF HIS NAME. He said, "Bruce is my middle name. It's also the name of my grandfather who passed away two years ago."

When we were making a list of feelings that could be included in picture books, a student named Jiaang impressed me by calling out the word discombobulated. I love that word -- even though I don't love feeling discombobulated.

By the time I left, a few students had some preliminary ideas for their picture books. Bruce might write about the confrontation between a vegetarian and a carnivore. I love that idea! Make it funny! Nikolai might write about a kid who can fly, but who needs to learn humility. Very cool! And Liam might write about his dog, who sometimes sings along when someone plays harmonica. Excellent-o!

So now you know why my week is off to such a happy start. Thanks to Ms. Farnell and Ms. Russett for the invite -- and for doing all the exercises with the kids. Yay for teachers like you! Thanks to the boys for your excellent fun company. Good luck on your picture book stories. I look forward to hearing about your progress!

Today was what I'll call the "soft launch" of an amazing new Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation educational program called Looking Back For a Better Future. Students from one class at five different schools across the province will be interviewing local seniors (usually at a seniors' residence or seniors' activity centre) to learn their stories of resilience -- how they got through a tough experience in their lives. The students will write journal entries following each visit and then -- get ready for the big reveal! -- Blue Met is making a documentary film about the project. The film will be screened at the 2024 Blue Metropolis Literary Festival.

Do you love it already?

Can you tell I do?

So this morning, I biked over to Herzliah High School, a private parochial school in Montreal taking part in the project. What's extra-special is the students will work with seniors who are regulars at the Cummings Centre -- in particular we are hoping to connect the kids with a group of Holocaust survivors who meet regularly at the Cummings Centre. And I'll be offering the seniors a journal writing workshop too!

At Herzliah, I met the principal, Mr. Grintuch; the excellently-named and oh-so-kind English teacher Flannery Brown; and Ms. Brown's DELICIOUS Grade 10 English class. Well, maybe delicious is not the first word Ms. Brown or even Mr. Grintuch would use to describe the class -- but hey, I really miss teenagers and I even enjoy when they are a touch resistant (even to a brilliant idea such as ours!!). The thing that's fun about students who are a bit resistant is there is room for GROWTH and CHANGE.

Anyway, I only had an hour and even I don't know how I packed so much in! We covered journal writing approaches and interviewing tips. And there was even time for stories.

So some lovely tidbits from our hour together: A student named Maya literally shone in the classroom because of her smile! I explained that just that smile will help get her GOLD in an interview. I also explained I had a hunch she would like the Cathartic style of journal writing -- that means releasing our emotions on the page. Because a project like this one will provoke lots of feelings -- some of them, as I warned the students, might be difficult ones like sadness and fear. But I reminded them they can expect positive feelings too -- like hope, and an appreciation for all they have, and the knowledge that people have gotten through some very very tough things -- and that they (the teens) can and WILL too!

James distinguished himself by showing interest from the start (he was making such good eye contact I made all the other kids do the same! I explained that to get a good story, they'll need to look into the eyes of the person they are interviewing (and nod the right amount). And I reminded them that some well-timed nods make teachers happy too!

Abigail had a great question -- she asked, "Do we also write about the seniors' emotions?" Brilliant! And so important. In fact, I had to add the point Abigail was making to MY list of interviewing tips. The seniors' emotional reactions can be one of the most telling and meaningful parts of the story. I'm sure the documentary filmmaker will agree!

When I told the kids the story behind my book The Brass Charm, I asked them, "What did my mum give me that was more important than the charm?" Now I have to tell you something else very cool. Mr. Grintuch, the principal, attended the entire workshop. Not a lot of principals do that. Only about three in my many years of doing writing workshops. (One of them is now my friend Roger Rampersad -- in case he's reading this!!). So like I told the kids, they need to extra-appreciate Mr. Grintuch, who is obviously, like all principals, busier than most humans we know!! By being with us, he demonstrated his own and the school's commitment to the project. James was first to answer my question. He said, "Time. Your mother gave you time." I said no, that wasn't the answer I was looking for. So Mr. Grintuch ANSWERED. He got the answer I wanted -- that she gave me HER STORY. But then, a moment later, I realized JAMES WAS RIGHT TOO. She did give me her time and I was lucky to have it.

And that shows us another interviewing skill -- one that James made me realize -- DON'T DISMISS AN ANSWER BECAUSE IT WASN'T THE ONE YOU WERE EXPECTING (I had actually demonstrated the mistake). When we agree to be interviewed, we give something very precious -- our time. And when these young people go to the Cummings Centre, they will be giving something very precious in return -- their time as they listen and respond to the gift of a story.

I also told the kids I don't love the word grownups -- though I use it myself. What I don't like is that it sounds as if we are finished growing. Even the elderly people these kids will be interviewing are still growing and it's altogether possible (and I think likely) that their meetings with these young people will contribute to that growth.

Mr. Grintuch said something beautiful on his way out. He said, "This is bashert." In Yiddish, bashert can mean a soulmate, especially a marriage partner; and it is also used to mean fate or destiny -- but in a good way!

And then lots of kids said thanks (always a bonus with teenagers!!) and a student Peter, whom I somehow hadn't even noticed during the workshop (old eyes), stopped to tell me, "Have a magical day." But you know what Peter? You guys already made it magical!

Here's to all of us -- and for how lucky we were to have had such a perfect soft launch! Thanks to Herzliah, Cummings Centre, Blue Met and of course, Canadian Heritage, the project funder. But mostly to the kids. For the magic.

For today's pic, it's Ms. Brown, Mr. Grintuch and me; we wanted to get just the kids' backs since they don't all have permission to be in a pic -- but I said give a thumbs up if you learned something or had fun. Even my bad eyes can spot one thumb. Pretty sure it belongs to James! I'll take it!!

I am always on the lookout for funny stories because well, I love to laugh and also because if they're really funny I can USE THEM. Which is what I'm doing with the funny story that happened to ME and all the students at Saint Bernadette School in Regina, Saskatchewan. I'm using it to entertain you guys, blog readers!

The school had set up a Zoom with me because my picture book The Brass Charm is up for the Shining Willow Award, a Saskatchewan prize. So at the end of morning announcements, which included the Bobcat Creed (students who go to Saint Bernadette are called Bobcats), the vice-principal, a lovely person (I'd been listening to him during announcements), started to introduce the special guest (ME!). Here's where things get funny! Now picture me, relaxing at my laptop, expecting to see a picture of me on screen or maybe a picture of the book... when instead of any of that, I see a picture of author Monique Grey Smith and her book I Hope, which is up for the same award!!!

Which is when I realized: YOU GOT THE WRONG MONIQUE! (or maybe just the wrong picture and book cover)!! I should add that I didn't just think the words "You got the wrong Monique!" I MAY HAVE SHOUTED THEM!! (I have a very excitable personality!!)

You will, however, be relieved to know that in the end, THINGS WENT SUPER RIGHT!!

I read The Brass Charm to 400 students who were watching the Zoom from their classrooms, including the little gang in today's pic, who were together somewhere near the vice-principal's office. I also told the kids the story behind the book -- that the brass charm was given to my mom (a child at the time) by a stranger when they were imprisoned at Terezin, a Nazi concentration camp and that my mom entrusted me with the brass charm and also ITS STORY. Are you beginning to see that I'm really into stories here? ;)

A little later, I got a beautiful email from Grade Five teacher Angie Sazynski -- I had explained to the kids that the brass charm I now wear is replica -- and they were curious to know the story behind the replica. What happened, they wondered, to the original charm? So you see, there are stories inside and behind stories, and our stories can inspire even more stories. Wow, this thought is making me very happy today.

Now for a PERFECT HAPPY ENDING TO MY FUNNY STORY: Ms. Sazynski came up with a great writing assigment -- for the kids to write about what could have happened to the original charm (FYI -- I lost him last summer on a trip to the US.) So I'm dee-lighted to report that my story is working the right kind of magic -- it's leading to new stories. Which is why I think that the end, in my own way, I was the right Monique.

I'm not one to complain (certainly not here on my blog!), but I've been feeling a little under the weather. I have been fighting asthma for several weeks. But something finally lifted my spirits today -- a visit to Eric Rowles's Grade Three class at Saint Monica Elementary School! Mr. Rowles and his kids had me smiling in minutes!

Quebec Roots is a project sponsored by the Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation here in Montreal. Teams composed of a writer and a photographer will be visiting seven schools across the province. The photographer I'm paired with is my friend Pierre Charbonneau, who's not only a talented artist, but also has a great mellow vibe (let's say mellow isn't my strength, even with asthma).

The kis had to come up with a topic they be producing text and photos about -- they chose a fabulous topic. I've been doing Quebec Roots for 16 years and on my way home, I thought, "How come no other kids ever chose this topic?" The topic is: Friends: Real and Imaginary.

I gave the kids some basic writing tips -- such as trouble makes a good story (so they shouldn't only write about happy friendships. Perhaps they have felt disappointed by a friend, or perhaps a friend moved away.) We also discussed the importance of including SENSORY DETAILS -- which means stuff that has to do with the five senses. Is there a food you associate with a friend? Or a place you could describe -- such as two students Bill and M who met at the Benny Pool a few weeks before school started.

II loved what the kids had to say about imaginary friends. Chesrey has an imaginary friend named Stacey: "Every time," Chesrey told us, "I think of her I feel better." One student (I thought I wrote down his name, but I didn't -- send it to me in the comments and I'll add it to his blog post later) told us his imaginary friend is a golden retriever whose favourite movie is 101 Dalmations!

During Pierre's photography workshop, he helped the kids find ways to take some super pics. And this was only Day 1! He taught them about the importance of action photos -- and he gave us a useful tip that I can definitely use myself. If, when you take a pic with a telephone and it comes out blurry, use BOTH HANDS TO HOLD THE TELEPHONE. We tried it and it works!

We'll be back at St. Monica in three weeks from today. Kids, I need you to start writing some texts about friends -- real and imaginary. PS: Thanks for making me feel better and for coming up with a great topic.

Just want to add that I have a REAL friend named Stacey. One interesting thing (a sign of trouble!) is that we didn't hit if off at first!!), but especially this summer, we became very good friends. And it's good she's not imaginary, because though I told her NOT to do this, she just showed up at my door with a CARE PACKAGE. Which goes to prove that friendship (real or imaginary) can be very comforting!!

Okay, time for me to eat Stacey's soup. Here's to the new school year, Quebec Roots, and friendship of every kind!

Ecris! Lis! Vis!

Last week, I was one more than 100 Québécois authors lucky enough to take part in the Salon du Livre d’Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

If you read the blog entries I wrote while I was there, you’ll know it was a meaningful week for me. I did many school visits, speaking to elementary school students about Le trésor d’Oma, the French translation of my picture book The Brass Charm, illustrated by Marie Lafrance and published by Scholastic. Though the story is written for young readers, it deals with a serious subject – the Holocaust – and was inspired by an experience my mom had when she was imprisoned as a child in a Nazi concentration camp. So I had the very good feeling that I was doing important work – speaking about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust to children who knew little, if anything, about these subjects.

I was one of the few anglophone writers at SLAT. In fact, I may have been the only one! So that made the week more interesting too. I felt like I exercised my brain! My French is good, but I’m not used to living entirely in French. And I did! I also made some new friends. They included Patrick Isabelle and Samuel Larochelle, both of whose kids’ book I had read, enjoyed and reviewed when I was a columnist for the ICI Radio-Canada show, Plus on est de fous, plus on lit! I also hit it off with Dominique de Loppinot, a children’s author whose work I am planning to dive into this summer.

Which brings me to the subject of today’s blog.

Last Sunday night, there was a barbecue for the SLAT authors who were still in Rouyn-Noranda. Many had left on Saturday – including Samuel and Dominique. It was a hot day, and I was feeling uncharacteristically lazy…. also we knew we had to be up at 3:30 AM to catch our flight back to Montreal. All this to tell you I was thinking about skipping the barbecue, and just having a sandwich in my hotel room.

BUT AM I EVER GLAD I WENT! (And not just because the salads and sausages and plum cake and grapefruit cake were way better than any sandwich! And not just because the barbecue took place at Livresse, a really cozy bar-bookstore in Noranda!) I was glad because I had an unforgettable conversation with my tablemates! And though I decided NOT to bring the notebook I bring ALMOST everywhere, I ended up taking notes in my agenda book. Because I didn’t want to forget the things I learned over dinner, and I also wanted to be able to share them with you, dear blog reader.

Perhaps you know the feeling of being at a party with mostly strangers, having a plate full of food, and looking for a table – anywhere! -- to sit down at?

That’s the feeling I had last Sunday night.     

As fate would have it, I spotted a friendly looking young man sitting alone at a nearby table. This turned out to be Jonathan Harnois, an author and part-time mariner, whose books include Je voudrais me deposer la tête. After I sat down, we were joined by two more authors: Richard Ste-Marie, a visual artist, musician and author of many books including L’Inaveu; and Jocelyne Saucier, a native of the Abitibi region, whose books include Il pleuvait des oiseaux, which in 2019 was made into a film. (I have to admit I went a little crazy when Jocelyne told me who she was – a friend recently gave me a copy of Il pleuvait… which happens to be at the top of my must-read pile next to my bed!)

Because I love asking questions, I asked my tablemates many questions, such as what advice they would give to aspiring authors. Which helps explain the title of today’s blog entry: Ecris! Lis! Vis!

Jonathan advised, “Ecris!” (For those of you who don’t speak French, that means “Write!”) He added, “Il faut écrire pour écrire” (which means “You have to write to write.”)

Richard advised, “Lire pour comprendre comment ça se fait” (“Read to learn how it’s done.”) He explained that as a musician, he often improvised – and to improvise well he needed to really listen to other musicians. Reading the work of other authors works in a similar way for him.

I asked a slightly different question to Jocelyne. Because she’s about a decade older than me, I asked, “What advice would you have given to yourself ten years ago?” And Jocelyne told me something beautiful. She said, “Vis” (which means live). She went on to explain that sometimes, she has been so involved in her writing that she has missed out a little on life. 

I left Livresse feeling very happy. I think I even sang on the walk back to the hotel. I’m left – nearly a week later -- feeling a little like a character from a fairy tale – the character who receives magical gifts from three fairies. In my case, those gifts were the words Lis! Ecris! And Vis! And now I have passed them on to you!

Ça se peut que vous vous demandez ce qui se passe dans ma photo d'aujourd'hui! J'ai pris cette photo ce matin pendant que je donnais un atélier d'écriture virtuel -- les élèves étaient en première et deuxième année et je me suis dit qu'ils avaient besoin d'une pause avant que je leurs ai lu mon album Le trésor d'Oma. J'ai suggéré qu'ils fassent des étirements! Puis mon idée a bien fonctionnée, parce que les élèves n'ont pas seulement fait leurs étirements (regarde la photo pour voir la preuve!), après ils écoutaient mon histoire comme des anges!

J'ai donné deux atéliers virtuels aujourd'hui -- en après-midi, j'ai travaillé avec les élèves de troisième et cinquième années. D'habitude, je dois admettre que les atéliers virtuels sont un peu moins fun pour moi, mais aujourd'hui c'est bien allé et c'était pas mal FUN. Les élèves, mêmes les plus jeunes, étaient super bons. Et comme je leurs ai expliqué, quand on a une histoire à partager, ils nous faut des amis qui s'intéressent!

"Mes" élèves aujourd'hui venaient de loin -- d'Amos, de Val d'Or et de La Sarre. Mais grace à Teams, ils sont venus me voir dans ma chambre d'hotel ici à Rouyn! Je dois remercier Isabelle Bolduc, Marie-Pier Boisvert-Baril et Richard Martin pour leur support technique!

Je dois aussi aussi remercier tous les profs -- Mme. Rebeka, Mme. Caroline, Mme. Elizabeth, Mme. Marie-Eve, Mme. Cynthia, Mme. Amélie et Mme. Manon (si j'ai oublié un prof, envoie-moi un message dans la section de commentaires et je ferais la correction!) -- merci pour avoir partagé vos élèves avec moi aujourd'hui! Je me sens gâtée! (Envoie-moi aussi tes corrections -- je n'ai pas l'habitude d'écrire en français. C'est mon défi de la semaine!)

Je n'ai pas pas beacoup de temps pour mon blog aujourd'hui parce que je m'en vais bientôt au Salon du Livre d'Abitibi-Témiscamingue! Mais avant de partir, je veux partager quelques beaux moments de ma journée!

Quand j'ai demandé aux élèves ce matin s'ils voulaient avoir quelques conseils au sujet de comment devenir écrivain/e, un élève qui s'appelle Gabriel a secoué sa tête. C'était un petit geste, mais ça ma beaucoup plait! Il me semble que, si on veut apprendre, on apprendra beaucoup!

Même å l'age de 63, moi aussi je continue à apprendre! Grand merci à Mme.Caroline qui m'a appris le mot péripéties. Quel beau mot! J'expliquais aux élèves que les histoires ont besoin de "trouble" -- mais Mme. Caroline  avait raision -- le mot péripéties est beacoup mieux! Dans la vrai vie, nous préfèrons éviter ces péripéties, mais s'ils arrivent -- il faut les utiliser dans nos histoires!

Après avoir lu les élèves Le trésor d'Oma, une élève qui s'appelle Charlotte voulait me demander une question -- sauf c'était un commentaire et pas une question! Charlotte m'a dit: "C'est cool ton histoire!" Merci merci, Charlotte!

L'histoire que j'ai lu aux élèves est pas mal triste, mais c'est aussi plein d'espoir. L'album est inspiré par l'éxpérience de ma mère qui était emprisonnée pendant l'Holocauste à Terezin, un camp de concentration. Malgré tout ce que ma mère a vu et vécu, ma mère avait toujours beacoup d'espoir. Elle avait aussi un merveilleux sens d'humour. Ma mère est décédée en 2017 à l'age de 86 ans! Quand elle était en vivant, elle rejoignanit de temps en temps mes atéliers virtuels avec les jeunes élèves. Elle aurait eu beaucoup de plaisir avec vous autres aujour'dhui. Et d'une certaine façon, parce que je vous ai raconté son histoire et l'histoire de son petit homme-singe, elle était avec nous aujourd'hui!

Merci à tous! Quelle belle journée j'ai passé avec vous tous!

Ce matin, quand je me suis levée à Rouyn-Noranda, je me suis dit que ce n'était pas seulement le 24 mai -- mais aussi le 80ième anniversaire du jour que ma mère a reçu le petit homme-singe en laiton qui a inspiré mon album, Le Trésor d'Oma, illustré par Marie Lafrance (Scholastic). J'ai marqué cette journée avec les élèves d'Ecole Notre-Dame-de-Grace å Rouyn.

J'ai travaillé avec trois groupes, tous des élèves de première et deuxième année. Leurs profs étaient M. Félix, Mme. Véronique, Mme. Valérie, Mme. Karine, Mme. Audrey-Alexandra et Madane Samantha. J'ai aussi rencontré Mme. Sophie Rivard, la directrice-adjointe de l'école, qui est venue me chercher et aussi la merveilleuse écrivaine Dominique de Loppinot qui donnait des atéliers aux élèves plus agés.

Okay, je retourne pour un moment à l'histoire de ma mère. Le 24 mai, 1943, le jour de son 14ième anniversaire, ma mère était imprisonné à Terezin, un camp de concentration en ce qui est maintenant la République tchèque. Ce jour là, une autre prisonnière qui ne connaissait pas de tout ma mère, lui a donné le seul cadeau que ma mère a reçu -- le petit homme-singe.

Alors, je rancontais tout ça aux élèves aujourd'hui -- et je crois que c'était un jour émouvant pour nous tous. Maintenant, je vais partager mes moments préfèrés!

1. Quand, avant de commencer à 8h45, je parlais avec les élèves de M. Félix au sujet de mon accent anglais quand je parle français, et Sam m'a dit, "C'est un bel accent."

2. Quand, après avoir entendu l'histoire de mon homme-singe, Ethan m'a demandé, "Vas-tu le donner à tes enfants?" (La réponse est oui.)

3. Quand, après que j'ai expliqué aux élèves que les histoires ont besoin de TROUBLE, Benjamin nous a expliqué pourquoi son ami Cristiano avait deux pansements sur son front: "La porte lui a cognée." (Ça fait mal, mais ça fait aussi une bonne histoire!)

4. Quand, en partant sa salle de classe, Sam m'a demandé, "Je peux vous texter?" (La réponse est non, mais tu peux toujours m'écrire ici dans la section pour commentaires!)

5. Quand, dans la deuxième classe, Clara nous a dit: "avant sa mort, mon grand-père a donné un collier avec la croix de Jésus à mon père" (Ça fera aussi une belle histoire, Clara.)

6. Quand Annabel a demandé, "Pourquoi ils font la guerre?" (On a parlé de pleins de raisons...)

7. Quand Charlie's m'a dit qu'il est nommé pour Charlie de Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, et que sa soeur Alice est nommé pour Alice au Pays de Merveilles (Alice au Pays de Merveilles est mon livre préfèré et je portais un t-shirt avec Alice!!)

8. Quand Thalia m'a demandé, "A quel age as tu commencé à ecrire?" (Neuf ans!)

9. Quand j'ai expliqué que je viens d'avoir 63 ans, et Clara m'a dit, "On n'est jamais trop vieux pour écrire les livres." (Je lui ai répondu: "On n'est jamais trop jeune pour écrire les livres.")

10. Quand j'ai souhaité aux élèves dans le troisième groupe qu'ils pourront élèver leurs enfants dans un monde en paix, et Jeanne a ajouté "et un monde avec de la liberté!" (Wow!)

11. Quand Mme. Audrey-Alexandra m'a raconté que, en quittant la salle de classe, son élève Ella lui a dit, "On est chanceux d'habiter dans un pays qui n'a pas de guerre."

J'écris ce blog depuis des années, mais c'est la première fois que j'utilise une liste. En relisant, je crois que cette liste vous explique pourquoi j'ai un coeur rempli. Merci aux profs, à la directrice-adjointe, au Salon du Livre de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue, mais surtout aux élèves. Je me sens qu'avec vous autres, il y a de l'espoir pour notre monde. (Hey, je suis sûr que j'ai fait beaucoup d'erreurs de français dans ce blog. Envoie-moi tes corrections dans la section pour commentaires). XO DE MONIQUE

Aujourd'hui je me donne un grand défi! Je vais tenter d'écrire ce blog en français. Je me débrouille assez bien en français, et aujourd'hui j'ai donné mes trois atéliers d'écriture aux élèves à l'Ecole Le Prélude entièrement en français... mais je n'écris pas souvent en français (parce que je fais trop d'erreurs). Mais comme j'ai expliqué aux éleves, il faut faire des erreurs pour apprendre!  Puis les élèves m'ont promis qu'ils corrigeront mes erreurs! Merci en avance, les amis!

J'ai commencé ma journée avec Madame Stéphanie et sa classe des élèves de sixième année. D'habitude je suis la seule "morning person" dans une chambre, mais aujourd'hui j'ai rencontré plein d'autres! Quand je suis entrée dans la salle, Maddox avait son bras élèvé. Est-ce-qu'il avait déja une question pour moi? Non, il voulait me souhaiter une bonne anniversaire (c'était mon anniversaire samedi). "Comment as-tu su?" j'ai démandé à Maddox, puis il m'a répondu, "J'ai fait des recherches." Impressionant, non?!

J'expliquais aux élèves que souvent les secrets intéressent les auteurs. Je parlais des histoires que les gens ne veulent pas partager. Madame Stéphanie m'a appris une belle expression: "tirer les verres du nez."

Adam, Ezéchiel et Samuel m'ont aidé avec ma prononciation ("C'est obServer, pas obZerver"). Et c'est Ezéchiel qui m'a emmené dans la classe de Madame Geneviève oü j'ai travaille avec des élèves en troisième année. Même si ces élèves sont jeunes, ils avaient des bonnes questions. Surtout, il voulait apprendre plus au sujet de l'Holocauste -- une terrible évènement historique que je traite dans mon nouveau album Le trésor d'Oma (Scholastic). Jean-Sébastien avait aussi une très bonne question: "Comment on fait pour bien écrire un livre?" J'ai adoré que Jean-Sébastien a inclut le mot bien!! Pour répondre à sa question, j'ai partagé mes meilleurs conseils!

Charlie m'a observé et m'a demandé, "Est-ce-que c'est le même collier qui est dans le livre?" Ma réponse était OUI!! Et Gabriel ne m'a pas seulement aidé avec mon français, en partant de la salle de classe, il m'a donné une roche avec or de fous. Gabriel, je garderais toujours ton cadeau!

Je dois remercier Isabelle Bolduc, bibliothèquaire responsable pour les écoles primaires ici. C'est Isabelle qui est venue me chercher tôt ce matin, et qui m'a rammené cet après-midi. Puis Isabelle a même assisté à mon dernier atélier. Nous étions avec Madame Sandra et ses élèves de troisième année. Ces jeunes avaient tant de bonnes questions! Logan G voulait savoir, "C'est quoi qui t'a inspiré à faire tes histoires?"

Dans la photo d'aujourd'hui, je suis avec la classe de Madame Sandra. Madame Sandra est cachée parmis les élèves à droit; Isabelle est en haut, dans le coin gauche.

Alors, Logan G -- ce que m'inspire le plus c'est les jeunes comme toi et les autres élèves qui j'ai recontré aujourd'hui -- des jeunes qui sont curieux, intelligents et doux.

Merci à tous pour la belle journée, et au SLAT (Salon du Livre d'Abitibi-Témiscamingue) pour avoir organisé mes visites aux écoles cette semaine. Quel plaisir pour moi d'être avec vous tous. Okay les amis, j'attends tes corrections dans la section pour commentaires!!

You may be wondering why John, the student you can see smiling under his hand in today's pic, is smiling. Well I caught that smile after I told the students that I find a person who knows his or her way around a semi-colon SEXY!

This was my last virtual workshop with Ms. Webb's student at G. Theberge School. This morning before the workshop, I told my running buddy that I didn't expect the kids would have any writing to show me -- because when you give workshops you can't really assign homework. So, as I told my buddy, I had a Plan B in mind. But guess what? There was plenty of writing for me to listen and respond to! Yay for Ms. Webb's students!!

John started us off with a memory of a daring adventure. I was impressed by his use of strong verbs -- he included "launching," "blasting," and "sliced" in his piece. He also used a beautiful simile "like a shark through water." And I only caught one adverb ("instantly") which I suggested he nix. Thanks for being my first "victim" today, John!

Next up was Carter, who read us a short, but powerful piece about a man who wakes up in "dark, cold elevator." Cool start, Carter! Carter admitted he hasn't figured out what happened to the guy -- but as I said, some writers (I'm one of them) only figure out their plots as they write!

Corbin read the start of his piece which takes place in his grandparents' basement. He describes his popa's workshop, "it smelled like oil." I like that! I told Corbin I have a hunch he should write more about his family, and that he should try to find out his nana and popa's stories! The older I get, Corbin, the more I trust my hunches.

Hunter was my last "victim." He had said he had only written forty words, but this turned out to be a joke. So instead I asked Hunter a question I love asking, "What matters to you?" He answered straightaway: "My dogs." Well then, Hunter, I think you have the topic for a story!

I'll actually be in the Temiscaming region at the end of May for the Salon du Livre Abitibi-Témiscamingue (the city's name is spelled differently in French). And it turns out I'll have some free time on May 25th. I'm hoping to find a way to make the trip from Val d'Or to Temiscaming and meet Ms. Webb and her wonderful students in person.

Thanks to Mrs. Webb and the students for making my visits interesting and fun. Thanks to ELAN's ArtistsInspire program for making these workshops possible.

Many people dislike Monday mornings. But my own own morning -- and week -- got off to splendid start. (I have always loved the word splendid, but I seldom get to use it!) Mrs. Byrne, principal of Kingsdale Academy in Pierrefonds, had invited me to speak to the school's students in honour of I Love to Read Week. It turns out the students I met really do love to read -- and also ask loads of great questions (which is a big part of learning, and also comes in handy if you are doing book research).

I started the day in the gym with kids in Grades One to Four. There were a lot of them, but I must say I never had to shush a single one! I have a whole page of notes I took with comments from this group, but because I don't want this blog entry to go on forever, I'll just share a few. When I told the kids that I am curious, a student named Austin commented, "So you're Curious George." I liked this comment because it is LITERARY and shows me that Austin has good taste in books. A student named Hannah said, "I'm like you because I take notes and I'm almost finished making my first book." I told Hannah that her name is a palindrome -- meaning if you spell it backwards it's still the same word. Hannah knew that about spelling her name backwards, but she didn't know the word palindrome. So I'm super proud that I was the one who taught it to her. This discussion prompted a student named Lana to tell us, "Tacocat is a palindrome too." I immediately tested Tacocat by writing it out on my sheet -- and yup, Lana's right. FUN! And when I read the students my new picture book, The Brass Charm, a student named Layla commented that the character in Marie Lafrance's illustrations looks like me! (No one had ever told me that before, but I think it's true!)

Next I worked with the kindergarten classes -- they were fun and unusually attentive for such young kids. Oh, I forgot to tell you that it was Rainbow dressup day at Kingsdale, so I loved all the colours and also that Madame Yara (whom I had already met when I was parking my car) was wearing two different coloured sandals!! Special call out to teacher Ms. Talia who enjoyed that the narrator of The Brass Charm is named Tali. "I spent my life when I was growing up," Ms. Talia told me, "looking for another Talia."

After recess, it was on to the Grades Five and Six classes. These kids were wonderful! Again, I never really had to shush a single one of them. Whatever you teachers are doing at Kingsdale, it seems to be working! A student named Giordano had brought a copy of my book Princess Angelica, Camp Catastrophe with him -- so I ended up telling the students a little about how that story came about. And a student named Zeiler demonstrated his good sense of humour. When I mentioned that life gets easier as you grow up (you get to be more in charge of your own destiny), but in some ways it's also challenging, Zeiler commented, "Like you have to pay taxes." Not only did this comment make me laugh, but it reminded me I have to call the accountant and see if my tax papers are ready to submit! Later, when Ms. Irene brought over an extra chair for me to put my books on, Zeiler said, "The chair is for Non-Existy." I found that funny too, and I like how Zeiler used his imagination to invent the name Non-Existy. By the way, Zeiler, an invented word is called a neologism.

I read these kids The Brass Charm too (okay I did give them a minute to stretch and talk before) and they were my ideal audience -- focused and attentive and well... INTO IT! I know you guys clapped for me, but I feel like you deserved the applause for being so terrific.

I had several notetakers to assist me today. Thanks to Aleeza and Eliana in the first group, and Jackson and Ben in the last. The kindergarteners are a little young for taking notes! Thanks to the teachers for sharing your lovely students with me; a special thank you to Ms. Byrne, who is on my list of favourite principals ever. She stayed for all my talks, and she even led the Grades Five and Sixes in a proper stretch. I seldom get to meet the principal when I do a school visit, and Mrs. Byrne is smart and FUN. (My favourite combination in a person.) Thanks especially to the students. You were just what this writer needed on a Monday morning!

It was pouring rain in Montreal today, making it the perfect day for my Selfie Poetry workshop at the Dorval Library. The workshop was moved from the library to the community centre next door, where every Sunday from 1:30 to 4:30 PM Dorval residents (and others too) can take drop by to take part in what's called an art hive. There are art hives all over Montreal, and they allow people to come and do art -- supplies are provided, and there are also artist supervisors on hand to give advice and encouragement. Dorval's art hive is run by Wendy Bayer and Laurence Laplante.

I have to give reference librarian Gail Warren credit for coming up with the idea of a selfie poetry workshop. We were tossing around ideas last year when Gail suggested this one -- so we decided I'd show participants how to make a selfie using words!

I think there were ten of us around the table today (I was too happy to count!) and judging from the laughter, it seems we all had a lot of fun. I did a super quick talk about writing, and then we started to discuss self-portraits. Artists (and many of today's participants are already artists themselves) say that the self-portrait genre affords the most freedom because the artist is his or her own model.

We had 90 minutes together, so we started with a warm-up exercise in which participants made a list of words that start with n. I said the words could be in any language. Diane came up with 24 words, including her favourite New Zealand! (the exclamation mark was included in what Diane wrote). Diane told us she recently spent a whole month in New Zealand. No wonder it was on her list. I had the word "nombril," which is French for bellybutton. When I told the group, Karine called out, "Oh je ne l'avais pas" -- meaning she wished she had the word nombril on her own list. This comment proved the point I wanted to make -- that words are FUN and WORTH GETTING EXCITED ABOUT.

After that, we moved onto our selfies. First, we used our cellphones to take pictures of ourselves, then we made simple sketches based on those photos -- and then we began to add words. Lots and lots of words! We were all astonished at how much Sarah-Alexia's word portrait looked like her! Nadine (who happens to be my boyrfriend's daughter and who came along for fun, but also because she loves art and is an excellent artist... shhh, don't tell her I said that!) included punctuation in her self-portait. Also, Nadine linked all her words so that the effect was somehow a little like knitting. Very cool! Diane added antennae to her portrait -- how creative is that?!! Diane explained that, "I added my own lines." Everyone teased me that I had a favourite (a chou-chou in French) -- Karine, who did an amazing self-portrait and who was filling her background with words. It's clear that Karine has a strong background in art -- she is studying visual arts at UQAM. But I'm the kind of teacher who likes to have lots and lots of favourites. Nikki Squiggly (her artist's name) likes to include snails in her artwork. Nikki told us why: "The snail is like me wanting to go quickly. But I'm slow and that's who I am." And another participant Martha McLean -- who did a beautifully detailed self-portrait on a smaller scale than the others had been my typing teacher in high school!! Finally, a shout-out to Kate -- we loved the mouth you created using words. And thanks also for being good company for sitting-next-to!

Be sure to check out today's pic! In it, you'll see most of the workshop participants and our selfie creations. And if you weren't there, try the exercise out for yourselves. Let me know what you discover along the way!

Thanks to Gail Warren for dreaming up the workshop, to librarian Maude for bringing Nadine and me over to the art hive, to Wendy and Laurence for hosting the hive, and especially to all the participants for making a rainy day feel positively SUNNY!

I'm calling today's blog entry "Happiest Morning at Riverview Elementary School" -- and if you need proof that I'm telling the truth, check out today's pic. It's true that I'm a big smiler, but hey, that's an even bigger smile than usual on my face!!

I was invited to Riverview by teacher Amanda Tulli, who wanted me to read and discuss my new picture book The Brass Charm with Grades Five and Six students. I had 50 minutes with the students -- and I think Ms. Tulli may have gotten a touch worried when I started giving writing tips. My plan was to only give a few, but I kept thinking of more! Anyway, I did manage to read and discuss the book too -- so I think I'm still in Ms. Tulli's GOOD BOOKS. (Haha to my own joke!)

Oh were the kids ever wonderful! Though I did have to beg to get a volunteer to take notes -- but Robyn (with a Y!) finally agreed and I let her keep the blue pen I lent her (it's from the Montreal Neurological Hospital and Institute, where my boyfriend works). Thanks for taking notes, Robyn! The students had lots of interesting comments and questions. Luka did a great job describing writer's block: "It's when you're writing a small paragraph and nothing comes to your mind." I told the students that my solution for writer's block is to keep writing (even if I write mean things to myself) until I get unblocked. (Just be sure to delete the mean parts afterwards!)

Emory had a great question about doing research: "How does it work if you're writing a fictional story?" I explained that even fiction requires research, and I gave the example of my novel Straight Punch, which required me to learn a lot about boxing (I even took up boxing!).

I explained to the students that even if they wanted to write a novel set at Riverview, they'd probably need to do research. "Was a teacher ever fired from this school? Or was there ever a fire here?" I asked the students. My question prompted a teacher, Ms. Illya, to tell us: "There was once a flood here." Hey, that would make a cool story! Find out more about what happened!

After my talk, a student same Sarah Rose told me, "I had a question, but I was too shy to ask." So I got Sarah Rose to tell me her question. Also, I should explain that I adore shy kids -- maybe because they are so different from me. One day, I want to write a book about a shy kid! Maybe I'll name her Sarah Rose!! Anyway, Sarah Rose asked: "How did your mother survive the Holocaust?" I told her that that's a sophisticated question, and that to find out, she'll need to read my novel What World Is Left. But I also explained that my mum survived because of my grandfather, an artist who was forced by the Nazis to create propaganda art.

If you know me well, you will know that I am a huge fan of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Well, it turns out that yesterday was dress-up day at Riverview, but a student named Evelyn was absent -- so she wore her dress-up outfit today. And it was Alice!! That's Evelyn-Alice next to me in today's pic. And that helps explain PART of the reason for my giant smile!

Thanks to Ms. Tulli for inviting me to Riverview. Thanks to the kids for being A-MAZING. Read a lot, learn a lot, interview the old people who love you, and WRITE WRITE WRITE. Thanks for making me so happy today!

Okay, I wasn't really IN Temiscaming today. Besides, if I had been, I would definitely have taken a picture for you. But I did do my second virtual writing workshop with Mrs. Webb's Grade Eight English class at G. Theberge School. Only Mrs. Webb is away at a teachers' conference, so I have to thank Mr. Rowell, who was substituting for her. Thanks for handling the tech end of things, Mr. Rowell, and for keeping an eye on the class! Alas, we got cut off during the last five minutes -- which was when I was planning to take a photo -- so I've got no photo to go with today's blog entry.

Today, we talked about the stories we need to tell. My goal is to help the students find theirs! I explained that for me, those stories have a lot to do with the Holocaust and my relationship with my mum, who kept her childhood experience in a Nazi concentration camp a secret for more than 60 years. Until I pried the secret out of her, and used it to inspire my YA novel What World Is Left. I also told the class about the story behind the story of The Brass Charm, my new picture book, which is also connected to my mum's time in Theresienstadt.

Last class, I had the students write an imaginary blurb for the book they most want to read. Today, I had them write about an old memory. I explained my theory that memories are stories asking to be told. What I had hoped to do in the last few minutes of today's workshop was ask each of the students individually whether they had an idea for a story -- I was hoping they might have been inspired by our exercises or by my suggestion that they interview an older person (preferably someone who loves them and who might therefor be willing to share a SECRET!).

I didn't get to speak to each of the 12 students, but I did get to speak to a few of them before we got cut off. Corbin has an idea for a medieval story. He told me he was also inspired by the memory exercise. So I suggested he try combining the two sources of inspiration. When I asked Hunter if he had an idea, he said, "Yes!" Just the one word, but I have to say it made me HAPPY. John shared his memory of being at a park when he was five years old: "I propelled myself down a slide at Mach 1 speed." (I just looked up Mach 1 speed and it's super fast -- as in 1234.8 km/hr.) My favourite part of that story was John's use of the word PROPELLED. I like your voacbulary, John, and look forward to reading whatever you write for next week!

I explained that not all writers like to talk about their WIP (that stands for WORK IN PROGRESS). Some writers are more private and prefer to keep their ideas under wraps until they are more fully develooped. I'm the kind of writer who gets energy from sharing my ideas.

I'll be back "in" Temiscaming next Friday. Mrs. Webbs's students, try to have something to show me. Ideally, we'll work on a shared screen and I'll give you some feedback on your writing. If there's any extra time left, you can count on me to tell you a story (or two) -- or give you another writing exercise (or two!!). Thanks to ELAN's ArtistsInspire for making my visits to G. Theberge School possible.

I don't know about you, but my week is off to a great start! That's because it began with a virtual visit to G. Theberge School in Témiscaming, Quebec, where I worked with Mrs. Webb's Grade Eight English class. I'll be doing two more workshops with the same students -- thanks to ELAN's (that stands for English Language Arts Network) ArtEd program. It was 9:20 when our class together started, so I got to watch the students wake up! And though only one student, Corbin, gave me a (small) wave when I asked if anyone in the room might want to write a book one day, most of them were busy writing by the end of the workshop (see today's pic for proof!). There is little I enjoy more than watching young writers writing!

We started off with some writing tips. I told the students to look out for things that are a)odd b)funny and c)tragic. Then, as if to illustrate my point that odd is good, a black dog wandered across my computer screen! This, I learned, was George -- the principal's dog. When I asked about George's story, a student named Anna explained, "He walks around looking for food -- and pats." Not a bad life, don't you agree?

When I told the students that to develop their writing skills they need to both write and read regularly, Mrs. Webb introduced me to a student named Mikayla. "I often find her with a book in her hands -- and one that's not assigned," Mrs. Webb explained. Way to go, Mikayla! As for a student named John, he told me, "I don't mind it [reading]." I loved that line and wrote it down in my notes because I think it's a great example of dialogue, another important aspect of storytelling. To me, the line shows that John DOES like reading, but he didn't want to 100 per cent admit it!!

I'll be near Témiscaming towards the end of May for the Salon du livre de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue (the French spelling has a 'ue' at the end). Though I'll be staying about an hour away, I am already trying to figure out a way to get myself over to G. Theberge School so I can meet "my" students in real life!

Special thanks to ELAN's ArtEd program for making my visits possible, to Mrs. Webb for sharing your class with me, and to the students for making me happy! Hey, don't forget to do your homework for me for Thursday!!

Today's pic was taken last Friday at Lajoie Elementary School where I did a writing workshop for one of Ms. Cristina's Grade Six classes. I was back at Lajoie today, working with two more of Ms. Cristina's classes. What all the students have in common is that they are LIVELY (which makes my days a lot more fun!!).

So let me start by telling you about Bianca. She's the student at the front of the pic with the fancy writing implements. Bianca showed me her feather pen as well as her giant pencil from Switzerland. "I got my feather pen at Salon du Livre," she told me. "It was five dollars." Bianca also told me, "I know a writer in this class." The writer turned out to be Santiago. Santiago and his family come from Colombia, and somehow I also learned that his favourite dessert is called pan de bono. I can't remember now how we got to discuss desserts -- it could be that I was comparing reading to cooking or baking. If you want to become a better writer, you need to read the work of other writers. The same goes for cooking and baking -- we get inspired by tasting others' creations! Anyway, I learned something else super interesting: that Santiago makes graphic novels and that HE SOLD ONE TO A STRANGER FOR $2! That's impressive, Santiago! And thanks, Bianca, for showing me your feather pen and giant pencil -- and for telling me about Santiago's successes!

When I walked into the school today, the kids were just coming in from lunch. One of them asked me, "Are you Monique Quelque Chose?" (For those of you who don't speak French, quelque chose means something or in this case something-or-other.) Anyway, that question made me laugh and I decided that I quite like the name Monique Quelque Chose. I think it suits me!

A student named Ishan also made me laugh when his hand was raised, but because I was in the middle of teaching a writing tip, I asked, "Is it a burning question?" When Ishan told me it was, I said go ahead. And he said, "Oops, I forgot!" But then a moment later, he remembered the question -- he wanted to know which of my books has sold the most copies, and I told him it was my novel What World Is Left, which is based on my mother';s childhood experience in a Nazi concentration camp.

I gave the first class this afternoon a writing exercise in which I asked them to remember learning something for the first time. Sepanta wrote, "I remember when I first learned the Persian alphabet." Cool, Sepanta! If you continue working on that piece, maybe you could describe how you felt the moment you realized you had learned the alphabet. Annabelle gave me permission to quote an excerpt from her piece: "I know of people who like kindergarten, but for me, it was different." Excellent start, Annabelle! As I told her in class, Annabelle has done something important -- and difficult to do -- she has hooked the reader! Keep working on that story, Annabelle! I want to know what happens next.

The last group was just as lively as my other two groups at Lajoie. A student named Mohammed told me, "We are actually writing a book ourselves. We just finished the phase of correcting the text." I love that these kids are learning firsthand about the importance of revising our work. As I told the class, writing a first draft is difficult, but the real work comes during the revisions.

We also talked about how one story leads to another. I told the students how my book 121 Express was inspired by a ride on a school bus, and Mehdi raised his hand and told us a great story about his schoolbus -- and how the driver lost his cool! My favourite part was Mehdi's use of dialogue. Mehdi said, "The driver shouted, 'Stop it, you rascals!'" I don't know about you, but I just love the word RASCALS. When I asked him if the busdriver had spoken in English or French, Mehdi explained that the whole incident happened in French and that the busdriver had said, "Arretez, les petits gamins!" So now I'm extra impressed with Mehdi for telling us a great story, for his great use of dialogue, and for his beautiful translation skills!

Thanks to Ms. Cristina Musila for inviting me to Lajoie; thanks to the kids for being so lively. When I think of you, I will use Mehdi's word: RASCALS. Now get working on those stories you need to tell!

The title of today's blog entry is "Loved My Kids at Allion Elementary School" -- so I'll begin by making clear that I know they are not MY kids. And I also want to make clear that I was only kidding about taking two of them -- Raffique and Javien - home with me!! But I had a great dose of FUN this morning working with Grades Five and Six classes at Allion. I was invited to the school by librarian Tiffany Clarke (that's Ms. Tiffany in the blue blouse to the right in today's pic). The kids were terrific -- focused and interesting and interested. Now it may have helped that school principal Ms. D'Adamo attended my workshops too (she is in today's pic too, at the far right, with blonde hair)! As I told Ms. D'Adamo, in all my years of doing writing workshops, I rarely get to even meet the principal. This was the third time ever that a prinicipal attended the writing workshop. Yay, Ms. D'Adamo, for being such a great sport and role model.And you know what else? Ms. D'Adamo made me a coffee. That's definitely the first time a principal ever made me a coffee -- and delivered it to me in the library!

By the way, I just gave you an example of how little stories and salient details can bring a story (or a blog entry) to life. Don't you love the word SALIENT? (I do.) It means NOTICEABLE. So if you've never heard of it before, you should definitely go ahead and use it!!

I worked with two groups of students -- the first was a combination of fives and sixes, the second group was all sixes. In both groups, I asked for volunteer notetakers. So shout-outs here to Anderson, Madison and Reagan, and later, Arianne, Javien and Mya for recording my writing tips. Maybe you can share the notes with your teachers and they can distribute them to the classes so you will be more likely to remember everything we discussed this morning!

One thing we talked about was the importance of rewriting. I asked the first group whether the fresh writing I plan to do at home later this afternoon will be any good. Olivia shook her head no and explained, "The first draft is never good!" Exactly, Olivia -- and that's basically the secret to all good writing. Rewrite, rewrite and then rewrite some more!

When we were discussing inspiration for stories, Amélie told us about her little sister "who hugs too much if she gets a sugar rush." I thought that that would make a funny, fun story. Get to work on it, Amélie!

One student who caught me eye during my presentation was Noemi. That's because she was sitting in an unusual way -- like she was ready to jump up. I took this sitting position to indicate that Noemi was super interested in my talk. And guess what I learned? A) She was and B) this one is really interesting and fun... NOEMI TRIED OUT FOR LONG-JUMPING YESTERDAY. So I was right to notice her prepared-to-jump-position. When my first workshop was over, Noemi stayed to tell me the following: "I've wanted to be a writer for a long time. Now you've inspired me to write one page every day. Maybe two. I'm going to work my way up." LOVE THAT, NOEMI. Maybe you will find that long-jumping and writing have some similarities such as having to work hard, having fun and keeping your eyes on your goal!

I told both groups about my novel 121 Express, which was inspired when a teacher jokingly described his students to me as "monsters." This story prompted Matesh, a student in the second group, to say, "What if the kids really turned into monsters?!" Great idea, Matesh! You should write that book. If you do, it could turn out to be even better than mine!

Another fun moment happened when I was talking about the importance of trouble in stories (that's because trouble brings life to a story), and I asked the students what they'd think if I wrote a book about a perfect kid, with a perfect family, with perfect friends and even a perfect dog. A student named Bridgid answered, "Meh!" Exactly, Bridgid, it would me MEH and we do not want to write (or read) MEH stories. So make sure your characters and their lives are IMPERFECT!

Thanks to the kids at Allion Elementary for making me so happy today; thanks to your teachers for sharing you with me; to your principal Ms. D'Adamo for EVERYTHING; and to Ms. Tiffany for the invitation and making me so welcome in your library. And hey, one more shoutout to Francesco for today's pic. We took a bunch of pics with all of us standing around, but I wanted a more fun one, and Francesco, you took it! See it's possible to tell stories in all kinds of ways -- through words, but through images too. So get to work on your stories -- and don't forget to have fun too!

I was back at Académie Saint-Clément this afternoon to do my last writing workshop with the school's Grade Six students -- and they were wonderful. Maybe it's because their English teacher, Ms. Cristina, seemed to be having what we call "a word" with them before I came into the classroom. I think this is a lively group and she wanted to make sure they were on best behavior -- and they were. They were also lively, smart and fun.

Though being observant isn't technically one of my writing tips -- I often end up talking about the powers of observation and how they can improve our writing (and our lives). When I came into the classroom, Ms. Cristina was at the new smart board. I noticed that a student named Ahoura seemed to be trying to signal Ms. Cristina. What I didn't realize at the time was that Ms. Cristina was having trouble getting the smart board going. I did figure it out however when another student, Mariame, called out to Ms. Cristina, "You have to push on the pencil." I thought it was wonderful (and also funny) that now and then we adults need kids to help us with the latest technology!

In addition to covering my usual writing tips, and telling some stories, I also demonstrated my boxing stance, and there was even time to read the class my new picture book, The Brass Charm -- and to show them the monkey man charm that inspired the book. And I'm proud to tell you I invented a new exercise about SECRETS! The exercise went better than I expected (you never  know with a new exercise!) -- the students came up with some great secrets, some real and some imagined.

I was telling the class a story about a chihuahua I met last week and later, Pablo told me he's from Mexico. When I asked him what city, he told me Chihuahua! Then he added, "It's not full of chihuahuas." That could be my favourite line of the week. I even asked him to try to introduce me to a family he knows from Chihuahua that has two chihuahuas!

Malek was a great participator from the start. It turns out he writes songs, though there was some discussion about the kind of lyrics he favours. I suggested maybe he should be writing songs that could inspire listeners to make ours a better world!

When we were talking about the importance of having trouble in stories, Ahoura (another super participant, plus the first to spot the smart board problem!) thought of adding an ice cream falling on the floor to a story of a birthday party. Excellent example of trouble, Ahoura!

Ulysse told us about his grandfather who only learned to write when he was in his 50s. As I told Ulysse, ask your grandfather to tell you more about his childhood and the struggles he faced. And also ask about the pride he must have felt when he learned to write! All that would make an AMAZING story!

Oh, I was also impressed that a student named Vincent knew the word "tabou" (in French) -- taboo in English -- this word came up when we were talking about secrets and how they often are at the center of a story.

So if I sound happy and energized, it's because I am! Thanks to Ms. Cristina Musila for the invitation to work with your Grade Six students this week. Loved the kids; loved the atmosphere at Académie Saint-Clément!

It’s lunchtime and I’m writing today’s blog entry from a bakery near Académie Saint-Clément in Town of Mount Royal, where I am doing writing workshops with three Grade Six classes. I did two this morning, and there’ll be another workshop after lunch. The thing is I already have so much to tell you I’m kind of hoping the last group will be DULL – so this blog won’t get too long for you!!

I was a little surprised to see a student wearing dark sunglasses walk into Ms. Cristina’s classroom this morning. I wondered whether Malek (learned his name afterwards) was a Hollywood star – or a gangster! But when I inquired (I am the inquiring sort), a student named Endre explained today is Wear Oversized Clothes at Académie Saint-Clément. So Malek was wearing his dad’s shirt, tie (united), and sunglasses. The things you learn if you only ask a few questions! By the way, you've probably figured out that that's Malek in today's pic.

I had 90 minutes for each workshop – which is my favourite since it gives me time to share tips, tell stories, and also get the kids to do some writing. We talked about the importance of curiosity. Some of the kids admitted they are not curious. So I asked the class, “What can you do about that?” And a student named Alexandra came up with the perfect answer: “Try to be curious.” Exactly, Alexandra!

We did a warm-up exercise in which the students all came up with words that started with the letter G. Gili Anne’s list included … you may have guessed it, her own name! Knox (who got best hair award from me today) had gorgonzola on his list. I was sorry I hadn’t thought of that one since I love gorgonzola cheese. And Nicholas had GigaChad on his list – I had never heard of GigaChad, but the class explained to me that he is a buff model.

For the longer writing exercise, the students wrote a book blurb for a book they want to read. I loved Dina’s blurb and she gave me permission to share part of it here: “Claire… is walking to the library to write her book she’s planning to release in a couple of years…. The building is filled with police.” I don’t know about you, but I definitely want to know what happens next!

My second class was even livelier than the first – and the first was already lively! I chose some immediate favourites – visitors can do that! Haha! They were Yasser, who has cool curly hair, blue glasses and who was smiling and nodding enthusiastically throughout the workshop. There was also Xinyao, who has the best posture I’ve ever seen – she says it might come from doing ballet. When I pointed out that Xinyao’s posture made her look smart, a student named Sophia said, “She has 10,000 IQ!” And then another student named William called out, “No! She has a billion IQ!” As you can see, I took notes about these comments, and also used them to teach the students about DIALOGUE – and how much it can add to a story (or a blog entry!).

Aileen told the class she writes in her journal every day after soccer practice. Jack told us, “I write one page every day before I go to sleep.” That’s amazing, you guys, because like I explained, writers need to keep our writing muscles limber!

With this group, I changed up the exercise and had them write about a memory of learning something important. Chloé wrote about learning to windsurf, and gave me permission to quote a line here: “I felt the wind pushing my hair back.” That makes me feel like I’m windsurfing too! Chloé also had some great questions about inspiration – just her questions made me feel she has the writing bug!

Okay, time for me to head back to school…. we’ll see if I can end right here – or if my last group provides further inspiration for today’s blog entry!

Well, I'm back -- with further inspiration from my third group. Adam made me happy when he looked at the little pile of books I had brought and said, "I think I saw one of those books in my dad's room!" Tamara said she likes to write at night, but added that she's never sure what to write about. So, rather than suggesting topics, I suggested four styles of journal writing that work for me (and explained each one): observation, catharsis (which means expressing emotion), reflection and intuition. Nicole had a great question: "To become a writer, do you have to go to university and get a degree?" My answer was not really, though I added that I have two degrees in English literature. But what you definitely have to do is write and read A LOT! Tristan said, "I really like writing books." He told us that he often gets ideas when he finds stuff on his walks. "But," he added, "I never know what to write for the end." I told Tristan not to worry, that I often don't know the end of my books either. That can be one of the most exciting parts of writing a book -- figuring out the ending as you go along!

I had the last group do a memory exercise -- they wrote about a memory from when they were five years old. Camille said I could share my favourite part of her memory of being in Pre-K: "my blue blanket kwith 'zzzz' written on it in white." For me, that's an example of a detail that helps bring Camille's memory to life. And as I told the students, old memories are often great jumping off points for a story. Don't be afraid to add a strong dose of "What if?" which is my code term for IMAGINATION. And don't forget that TROUBLE gives a story ENERGY.

Thanks to the students for such a fun day. The time passed so quickly -- proof I was having fun. And special thanks to the kids' lovely, calm and fun English teacher Cristina Musila for inviting me to Académie Saint-Clément. I'll be back to meet Ms. Cristina's fourth class on Friday. If they're anything like the classes I met today, I should have plenty to blog about after Friday's visit too!

I don't think I'm supposed to have the most fun of everyone at my writing workshops. But that MAY have happened today. Let me explain from the beginning. I love bakeries. And I love kids and I love writing. Today was my second of two writing workshops offered through the Montreal West Children's Library. I was helping kids prepare their submissions for the library's Bill Foster Writing Contest. Well, because the school where the library is located has been undergoing renovations, today's workshop was moved to the Patisserie de la Gare, a bakery in Montreal West. So not only did i get to work with bright, fun, creative kids, I got to smell bakery smells and drink tea, and even grab a tuna sandwich!

In today's pic, you can see us gathered around a table at the Pat (which is what locals call the bakery). Several students came with stories they wanted me to critique. Others invented stories on the spot. And one student, Clara, won the contest last year. As I told her, she could have been running the workshop instead of me!

As usual, I will use today's blog entry to share some of my favourite moments from today's workshop. First, I heard a number of impressive words. Ian, who is working on a fun story about a cat named Claws, used the word "murky" in his story. I love murky! And Charlotte used the work "bleak" -- which I also love.

Because some students needed a little inspiration, I tried a writing prompt -- asking them to remember a moment when they first learned something important. Simone remembered learning to tie her shoelaces. Simone wrote, "My mom gave me a trick to do it. It had something to do with 'under the bridge' and 'over the tree.'" I loved that memory and suggested to Simone she ask her mom to give her the exact wording of the trick -- a detail like that adds a lot of life to a story. (Not to mention that it could help other kids learn to tie their shoelaces!!) Charlotte wrote about learning to do a half-pirouette, which is cool because her contest entry is related to the ballet world.

While we were working on the exercise and while I was giving feedback on the kids' ideas and works-in-progress, Simone came up with a whole new idea -- a story about a cat who does headstands all day! Fun!! That prompted me to pull out my ideas notebook which I happened to have in my bag. I told the kids that for writers, ideas are like gold or diamonds for miners. We need to collect them in a safe place!

The students have until April 23rd to submit their entries. Entry envelopes are available at the library. I also promised the kids that they could each send me one paragraph and one question -- but it has to be by the end of March since I'll be away from my desk for part of April. But don't worry, I'll have my ideas notebook with me at all times.

It was sooooo much fun to work with these students. Thanks to all of you for being delightful and so creative and such good listeners. And because the clock jumped forward overnight, my young writers lost an hour of sleep -- but they were wide awake for this morning's session. Thanks to all of you, and to librarian Ekaterina Valkova-Damova for the invite, and also to a special friend, my former student, translator, author, mom and library volunteer Sarah Brunel for being there today with her kids, and for connecting me with Ekaterina.

So kids who use the Montreal West Children's Library -- what are you waiting for? Get to work on those entries for the Bill Foster Contest!

Well helllllloooo blog readers! You must be wondering what I've been up to (traveling and having way too much fun, but don't worry, also writing away!). I'm back with an impromptu blog about today's impromptu Zoom visit with an international group of homeschooled students and their teacher Dr. Michelle (Michelle Parrinello-Cason). Dr. Michelle is based in St. Louis, Missouri. A former college professor, Dr. Michelle teaches several homeschooling classes. The students I met today were mostly from the US (Florida, Nebraska and North Carolina), but there was also one from the UK! (That's me and Dr. Michelle in today's pic. Since I hadn't planned to write this blog entry, I didn't arrange in advance for permission to take the students' pics.)

Dr. Michelle and her students are reading my non-fiction book Why Humans Work and she got in touch to tell me the book is sparking excellent discussion (yay!) and that when I referred to autism, I called it a disease, when I should have called it a disorder. (I investigated, and Michelle is right. So we'll make the fix if there's another edition of the book.)

If you know me, you'll know I retired from teaching last May. Mostly, I'm still so busy I'm not missing the classroom -- until I get a chance to work with students and then I realize HOW HAVE I BEEN ABLE TO SURVIVE WITHOUT THEM?!!

I had agreed to chat with Dr. Michelle's class for ten minutes, but let's just say I KEPT THEM OVERTIME (haha). So I'm going to share a few highlights of this afternoon's Zoom. Dr. Michelle had given the group a cool assignment -- to write a personal narrative about an experience having to do with work. A student whom I'll call "E" told me about his piece. E, who is 14, and lives in Florida, wrote about running (I like that since I run too) and he told me his final line: "It is good to do hard things." YES YES and also YES. I told the class that that's exactly how writing feels to me -- hard, but oh so good to do!

There was also a student named Apple, who's 13 and lives in North Carolina. I don't know about you, but I LOVE the name Apple. Apple told me that both her mom and grandmother were teachers. "Like you," she said, "they both liked hanging out with kids."

And though I'm NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE FAVOURITES, I was delighted by a student named Cai, who's 14 and lives in the UK because Cai had so many great questions. Cai, I just realized I forgot to answer one of your questions! But don't worry, I'll do it now!! You asked if I write by hand or on the computer. I do both. That's why I pulled some of the journals off my shelf to show them to you. I write my morning journal entries by hand. I generally work on my books on the computer. But you know what? I believe that writing by hand can stimulate creativity. So I often work on my ideas by hand in a separate ideas/planning-my-stories notebook.

And guess what? Cai also writes every morning, "sometimes one page, sometimes six!" YAY, KAI! Kai wanted to know if I interviewed all the people I mention in Why Humans Work. That answer was YES. And how I get my inspiration for fictional stories -- I explained that many of my stories are rooted in real life, but the most important is that every single one of my stories comes from a deep place inside me. I need to really care about my subject and my characters if I am going to be spending months and even years in their company!

I'll end today's blog entry with a quote from Dr. Michelle. She told me that she often shares the following wisdom with her classes: "There's no such as a bad rough draft." LOVE IT.

Okay, that could be enough excitement for me for one day. I'm going back now to work on my latest book project. For a rough draft, it's definitely not bad!

Thanks to Dr. Michelle for getting in touch with me, and to your class. I so enjoyed your company today.

In today's pic, I'm with a lovely gang of kids at the Montreal West Children's Library, where I did the first of two writing workshops to help students prepare submissions for the Bill Foster Writing Contest. This was my first time visiting the library, and as soon as I stepped inside I could feel it was a fun, happy place! The library is located in the same building as Elizabeth Ballantyne School. The story of how I got invited makes me happy too. A former student of mine at Marianopolis College, Sarah Brunel, volunteers at the library, and she suggested to head librarian Ekaterina Valkova (oh she's in today's pic too, but kind of hiding out towards the back of the pic!) that I come to do the workshops. Ekaterina -- the kids call her Katia -- explained to me that Bill Foster, after whom the library's writing contest is named, was a longtime volunteer at the library. Bill died in 2021 and his wife Joan came up with idea of sponsoring the contest in her husband's name. Because I was a few minutes early, I posted a pic on Instagram and mentioned the contest -- and then a sweet thing happened. Two of my friends wrote to tell me that they were close friends of Bill and Joan's.

Okay, now about the kids! I had seven kid-participants, ranging in age from four to twelve. And there were two mom participants, including one of my former colleagues at Marianopolis, Brigitte (she brought all three of her kids!). Because the workshop was an hour long, I tried to pack a lot in. We talked about the importance of reading and writing, how writers need to do research, how stories need trouble, and how first drafts are just first drafts!

There was time for two writing exercises! Yay! Because I'm trying to help the kids generate story ideas for their submissions, I asked them to begin by remembering a moment of change in their lives. Amélie, who's eight, remembered the arrival of a family dog. (There was trouble when the puppy peed on her grandparents' sofa!). Mia, who's ten, remembered getting a mean replacement teacher at school. Ian, who's also ten, remembered learning how to write.

For the second exercise, I had the students imagine the story they would most like to read. Alonzo, who's eleven, wowed me when he read the following sentence to the group: "I would most like to read a book about health problems that are disruptive to a child's learning." See why I was wowed? Hey I was also wowed when Louis, who's six, used the word "chaos." How many six-year-olds do you know who go around using that word?!

Emilio, who's twelve, wanted to read a graphic novel that answers the question "What if the Soviet Union had won the Cold War?" I'd say that's also pretty WOW!

One of my favourite parts about today was the way in which, by sharing stories, the kids inspired each other. Amélie's dog story got Ian thinking about a cat action-adventure story! And Amélie's story about an ancient Egyptian pharoah got her brother Louis thinking about an ancient Egyptian mummy, whom Louis imagined "wrapped up in toilet paper." Great humour, Louis! Everyone loves a funny story!

There are some writers who tend to be super private about their writing. I respect that. But I'm the kind fo writer who loves sharing ideas and hearing other people's ideas. Those were the kind of young writers who turned up at the library today. Now I just hope one of them goes on to win this year's Bill Foster Writing Contest.

I'll be back at the library doing a second workshop on Sunday, March 12. The kids are under no obligation to return, and some already have plans for that day. But I suggested that those who cannot make the second workshop work on their stories and leave them with Katia. Then on March 12, I can say what I like about each story, and suggest a way or two to improve it. And if new kids turn up for the second workshop, that's fine with me too. You know why? Because hanging out with kids, especially ones who are interested in learning about writing ON A WEEKEND, makes me happy.

Let me start today’s blog entry with my happiest moment today at Roslyn Elementary School where I was back to work with Miss Julie’s Grades One and Two English classes. I was telling a student named Eliana that I was going to teach her class an important new writing concept, and you’ll never guess what Eliana did.

SHE CLAPPED AND CALLED OUT, “YAY!”

That made me SO happy. In fact, as I told the class, that’s exactly how I feel when I learn something new. Only because I’m an adult, I don’t get to clap and call out “Yay!” (By the way, that’s Eliana next to me in today’s pic – she’s wearing black and white.)

Last week, I taught the students about how important it is to have interesting characters (and to try to include foils, which means characters who are opposites) and whenever possible to include trouble in a story. Today, the important new writing concept I taught the class was SETTING. Setting refers to place and time, answering the questions “Where?” and “When?” I explained to the students that if setting is handled well, it can be just as important to a story as the characters that are in it!

To give the students an example of setting, I told them about my novel 121 Express (Orca) which is set almost entirely on a school bus. Then, and I did this in all four of Ms. Julie’s classes today, I asked the kids to close their eyes and imagine a great setting for the stories they are working on.

And boy, did they ever come up with some great ideas for setting! I’ll share some of my favourites with you now. Jack imagined a story in Candyland; Caël thought of a story set at a McDonald’s; Aaliyah imagined a story set in a cave; Eila even knew the name of the fictional town where she’d set her story: Witchville; Eric had the great idea of setting a story inside a human body (WOW!!); Charles wanted to set his story in the dressing room at a hockey rink; Alice wanted to use a snake park for her setting; and Mara had the idea of setting her story in a treehouse. (I told you they had some great ideas!!)

When I told the students that most stories have a beginning, middle and end, Wesley – who was in the last Grade One class I worked with today, raised his hand and asked, “Don’t you mean a beginning, a middle and a twist?” Which I thought was pretty brilliant. A twist at or towards the end of a story is a great idea!

Oh, I should tell you a few more of my favourite things the kids said today. A student named Quinn came into class and warned me, “I might fall asleep.” Quinn went on to explain that her tummy hurt and that she’d spent recess napping. And a student named Celia told me, “I like writing, but I want to be a paleontologist when I grow up.”

I’ll end today’s blog entry by sharing a little part of a story Wesley is working on. I asked Wesley to come to the front of the class to share his story with his classmates. Here’s my favourite part: “A magic banana boomerang turns people into bananas.” Pretty cool, Wesley!

I think students in Grades One and Two have a lot to teach the rest of us. Lessons such as it’s good to clap and say “Yay” sometimes! And that we all have amazing imaginations – like Wesley’s – all we have to do is USE THEM!

Thanks to Miss Julie for the fun invite. It was great being with you and your students today. If the kids have questions or comments, post them in the comments section here and I promise to answer ASAP. Thanks to the kids for being TERRIFIC!

If you’re a regular reader of this blog you’ll know I mostly write about school visits. But I’m changing things up today – because I want to tell you what else I’ve been up to in my work life.

Last spring, I retired after 35 happy happy years of teaching English and Humanities at Marianopolis College. My plan was to focus on my writing and school visits (that’s because I need to be around kids – they make me happy, and they also help inspire my stories!).

Somehow, without actually planning to, I seem to be becoming a Holocaust educator for young people. You may know that several of my books are set during the Holocaust, including What World Is Left (Orca), which was recently released in French as Vois tout ce qu’il te reste (Septentrion), translated by my friend Rachel Martinez. My new picture book, released in both English and French this fall by Scholastic is also a Holocaust story. It’s called The Brass Charm; in French, Le trésor d’Oma.

Current events also seem to be leading me towards this kind of work. That’s because of the recent rise in hatred of all kinds, including antisemitism – which means the hatred of Jews.

When last fall, I attended the Salon du Livre to promote Vois tout ce qu’il te reste and Le trésor d’Oma, I met journalist Yves Casgrain (that’s him with me in today’s pic). Casgrain, who specializes in stories connected to religion, has been writing for a website called Présence Information Réligieuse since 2015. He told me that he is fascinated by the story of the Shoah, the Hebrew term for the Holocaust. He also told me that he planned to read the two books I just mentioned and hoped to interview me afterwards for Présence Information Réligieuse.

So we finally met up last week – and the interview did me a lot of good because it made me feel like I’m on the right track in my work (like everyone, I sometimes have doubts!). And when I was finished answering Casgrain’s questions, I asked whether I could interview him – and share what I learned with you, dear blog reader.

So I know why I’m interested in the Holocaust – and for me, the answer is deeply personal. It’s because I’m Jewish, and because my mum spent over two years in a Nazi concentration camp called Theresienstadt. But when I meet someone who is not Jewish and does not have a personal connection to the Holocaust, but who is committed to learning and teaching about the Holocaust, well, I’m doubly impressed – and I always want to know WHY.

Casgrain told me that when he was in a Secondary V history class at Ecole Secondaire Calixa-Lavallée, he saw documentary film footage that he realized he would never forget. The footage came from the liberation of Auschwitz – the worst of the Nazi concentration camps – and included a horrific scene of corpses being scooped up by a bulldozer. When Casgrain shared that memory I got goosebumps – because I remember seeing the same footage, and later showing it to my students at Marianopolis.

That film footage made Casgrain decide to go on and study history at university. But, he says, he is mostly self-taught about the Holocaust. As a young man, he discovered Montreal’s Jewish Public Library where he spent many hours doing research.

In particular, Casgrain, who is Catholic, wanted to know more about the Catholic church’s role during the Holocaust. “It’s a story that upsets me,” Casgain said. “It’s a question of humanity. Men, women and children who did nothing wrong were affected. That touched me. And also that the Shoah was organized. I sometimes wonder that, If Hitler had won and killed all the Jews, who would have been the next victims?”

My conversation with Casgrain gave me a lot to think about. I’m grateful for that. And even more grateful that people like him believe, like I do, in the value of Holocaust education. And grateful for the feeling of being on the right track. I hope that whatever you are doing, whatever you are up to, wherever life is taking you, you sometimes feel that way too!

I’m back after a fun day at Roslyn Elementary School, where I worked with Miss Julie’s Grades One and Two English classes.  What made the day extra-special for me is that I met Miss Julie many years ago – when she was my student at Marianopolis College!

Let me start by explaining today’s pic to you. That’s a student named Theo making me laugh. The “back story” is I was sitting in a little kid’s chair (I am not much bigger than a little kid myself!) and Theo came over, dragging a regular-sized chair. “Do you want this one?” he asked me. Well, let’s just say Theo became my INSTANT FAVOURITE!!

I had already met these students in December, when I came to Roslyn to read from my new picture book, The Brass Charm. And quite a lot of the students remembered me. Some came in, pointed at me, and said, “I know you!”

Even though my students were quite young, I got them to do some useful writing exercises. I taught them about foils – how two opposite characters can help make a story interesting. Then I asked the kids to come up with two foils. A Grade Two student named Max wrote about “a giant and a tiny rat.” Theo came up with “an anxious cat and a bored guy.” I don’t know about you, but I’d definitely like to read stories with those characters!

I asked my first Grade One group to come up with a word to describe how their day was going – and to explain their word choice. Myles came up with word “Great” and he explained that, “It’s great because I got to show my Disney coin to the class.” When I used a similar exercise with the Grade Two’s (I asked them to find a word to describe their yesterday, rather than today), a student named Eliana wrote that her day was “Amazing.” Here’s why: “My parents let me see my friend, eat pizza and have a spa bath.” I love Eliana’s use of detail, an important element in storytelling. Also, you put me in the mood for a spa bath, Eliana!

I talked a lot about memory today – and how many writers find inspiration in their memories. I even read the kids from my book Princess Angelica: Camp Catastrophe which is based on an old childhood memory of mine. I was impressed when a Grade One student named Wesley made a connection between memory and dreams! Dreams are another important source of inspiration for artists. Wesley then proceeded to share a cool dream with us: “I had a dream about a chicken with a parachute who jumped off a building.” That sounds like the start of a fascinating story, Wesley!

I’ll end today’s blog entry with one of my favourite questions ever. A student named Shusha raised her hand, wanting to know, “How do you spell ‘question’?”

I’ll be back at Roslyn next week. I’m hoping the students will think more about their “foil” characters, and perhaps find some inspiration in their memories – and dreams. That way, they’ll be able to get deeper into their stories next week.

Thanks to Miss Julie for the invite. Oh, I sooo love how you and the kids sing Monday, Tuesday, happy days! together. I am going to start making that song part of my daily routine too!