Where has the time gone?

This blogging business is not easy when you have a lot of things on your plate!  Of course, that doesn't mean that things aren't happening.  Last month, I received the final edited translation of Le plus petit des chevaliers from my French editor.  Roxane is someone I know from performing in musicals with the Orpheus Musical Theatre Society, but as with most performers I know, she also has a "regular day job" as a translator.  Because The Littlest Knight is so close to my heart and a labour of love, it made sense to approach someone I know well to work on the French version of the book.  Roxane is also a mother to a young child, and this project was a departure from the more formal government and corporate documents she is often asked to translate.  I'm so grateful to have been able to include her in the continuing evolution of The Littlest Knight.  The translation is now with my wonderful, multi-talented partner-in-crime, Darren Bird, for layout with his amazing illustrations.

Also, during the summer, I had dared to send a copy of The Littlest Knight to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as a small gift for their new son, Prince George.  I sent it in the hopes that maybe one day they might read the book to him.  When I was younger, I had actually sent a card to congratulate Prince Charles and the then Lady Diana Spencer on their nuptials.  I think I was 13 at the time, and it was thrilling to receive a reply from one of the royal secretaries.  This time around, the response included a lovely photo.  I do wish the royal couple well, and hope they get as much joy from their son as I've received from mine.

The Child in Our Hearts: Review

Recently, I received copies of a wonderful story about adoption, written for young children. The Child in Our Hearts: A Story of Adoption is written by Paul Janson and illustrated by Kevin Scott Gierman.  What makes this story unique is that there are several different versions of the book.  Paul and Kevin have addressed multiple family situations where adoption has been considered: single parents, "traditional" couples, and same sex couples.  The story is straightforward, and the drawings are full of smiles for the children who see this book.  My son was intrigued to see the different versions, and he readily accepted that children might be adopted into different family settings.  It's all about the love of the parents for their child.

Some versions of the book have also been translated into Spanish and Italian.

More information about this book and how to purchase a copy can be found at http://www.childinourhearts.com.

What we'll do for our kids

Summer is vacation time for most Canadians, and if you have kids, that vacation time is often spent geared towards entertaining and/or educating your child(ren).  It can be both relaxing and stressful all at once.

My husband and I both love to do things that are geared towards kids.  When my husband suggested visiting Disney World last Hallowe'en, I balked a bit at the total cost, but I knew we would all have fun.  When we visit museums, play mini-golf, go to see the latest Pixar film, or visit an indoor play place, we all have a great time.

This summer has been no exception.  Although we don't have much more than a week (and weekends) to get away, we can still find many ways for all three of us to have fun.  Our "stay-cation" included a day at Canada's largest waterpark, Calypso; a trip to the local go-kart track where we also played a couple of rounds of mini-golf; a visit to the Museum of Science & Technology; and, a day at the cottage.  The travel part of our vacation took us to Marineland where my son and I had the opportunity to touch and feed a beluga whale.  (Those Marineland commercials really have a way of capturing a child's imagination, and it's a "must see" destination for many 5-year-olds.)  If you live in southern Ontario, you can get a really good deal on Marineland tickets since the cost of a season's pass is only $5 more than a day pass.  We enjoyed the rides, seeing the whales, watching the show, and playing in the arcade.

Of course, summer isn't all play and no work.  Jobs afford us the luxury of taking vacations away from home, but it also means less time together during the week.  But splash pads and parks are great places to get your child(ren) together with their friends so they can burn off some energy, and museum memberships can cover a few rainy days.  At home, we do crafts, play video games, bake cookies, read books, and more.  I'm even working on a story idea with my son.  He hasn't quite grasped the concept of a story line yet, but he knows what he wants as the subject of his story (robots), and if I prompt him with enough questions, we'll have a story to tell eventually.  Hopefully it won't be long before I have something more to share with all of you on this subject.  Including my son's story idea, I have two other very concrete ideas floating around in my head.  Not bad for someone who really thought The Littlest Knight would be a one-shot deal.

Braving the heat

The initial rush of interest in The Littlest Knight has died down, and with the summer heat upon us, I haven't given much thought to doing any more marketing, opting to wait until the school year starts again; however, the good folks at the Osgoode Medieval Festival invited me to do a reading this past weekend.  The weather was sweltering hot, but attendance was fantastic.  I found a nice shady spot under a tree, gathered a few parents and their kids, and read The Littlest Knight.  (Thanks, also, to my attentive and supportive friends who I've known since as far back as grade two!)

 

One thing I realized is that I probably need an abridged version of the story for events such as this.  It's going to be something I work on so that I'm not reading straight from the text, but speaking more around the illustrations.  I could tell the kids would be more interested if they were engaged, so I broke from the text several times to ask them questions and make comments.  Eye contact was really important.  They stayed to the end, so I think they enjoyed what they heard.

Another lesson learned?  When the humidex is set to hit 40 degrees, choose a blouse with short sleeves and skip the bloomers! :)

Happy Canada Day!

In honour of Canada's 146th birthday on July 1st, I actually have two book recommendations.  These are books I first saw as board books when my son had just about outgrown board books.  Of course, even at the age of 5, he still occasionally enjoys a well-written and well-illustrated board book such as these ones, and they are available in a more standard paperback format for older children.  The books are written by Canadian author Kim Bellefontaine and illustrated in simple and bold way by Toronto-based illustrator Per-Henrik Gurth.  The text and pictures in the books will win over children and adults alike, and each page evokes a whimsical Canadian childhood scene.  It's all a lot of fun.

Bellefontaine first wrote ABC of Canada and continued with Canada 123.  I believe they are also both available in French, and, for our American friends, there is also ABC of America.  All these books can be purchased at Amazon.ca.  The ABC of Canada was the first gift I purchased for my nephew who was born in January 2013.  Although he lives in the U.S., I hope this will help him appreciate his Canadian heritage from a very early age.

Happy Birthday Canada!

C'est l'heure d'aller au lit! (Time for bed)

In my role as mom to a 5-year-old, I have had the privilege of being able to read hundreds of children's books over the past few years.  I figure I'll use this blog to highlight some of the books that we've read which Cole and I have really enjoyed. 

This first book is one that just resonated with me as a mom.  It always seems that my son can find a way to postpone the inevitable, and this can't be more evident than at night when he is supposed to be settling down to go to sleep.  C'est l'heure d'aller au lit! ("Time for Bed") is written cleverly by Andrée-Anne Gratton with captivating illustrations by Fil and Julie.  It tells the story from the perspective of little Caroline as she finds one thing after another to delay her bedtime.  We get to know what goes through Caroline's mind as she sees how her mother reacts, but, in the end, it all turns out, and you just can't but help loving the little girl in spite of the frustrations she puts her mother through.  It's probably a familiar story for most parents, but it's such a refreshing presentation of the dilemma, and a reminder that "you're not the only one who deals with this."

Although we borrowed the book from the library (which is the case for most of the books we read), it  is available in French from Bayard Canada and in English from Amazon.

Book Signing

Last week, Darren and I had a very successful first book signing at Tag Along Toys, a locally owned toy store which is carrying The Littlest Knight.  Many of our friends, and some of Darren's family, came by to show their support, buying copies of the book at the event and getting them autographed and/or personalized by us.  We also had "swag" on hand for the kids: colouring pages, stickers, and pins with pictures of various characters from the book.

 

A few months before our book was published, when I was first looking into the idea of having a book signing, all signs pointed to doing it at a book store or a café since that's where most authors seemed to be holding these kinds of events, but I think having the toy store was a perfect location.  We even had a backdrop of fairies, knights and dragons!