Toronto Comics – Osgoode as Gold

Osgoode as Gold is the 5th volume of this mind-bending yearly comics anthology featuring 24 Toronto-inspired stories (including mine, entitled The Flood and illustrated by the very talented Ally Rom Colthoff!).

Osgoode as Gold is my first foray into the world of comics – and what an amazing experience it has been! It is also the first time that my daughter Viviane and I got to work on the same book! She is the illustrator of one of the fake ad pages in the book! #proudmama

Whether you’re a long-time fan of comics or a first-time reader, there’s a story in here for you!

TORONTO COMICS – OSGOODE AS GOLD
TO Comix, 2018
Anthology, 24 stories by 52 local creators
200 pages
Teen +
ISBN : 978-0-994-93746-9
Softcover
$20

Click here for more information about the anthology!

Click here to purchase this book!

What a Year it Has Been!

Today was my last day of author visits for this school year. And what a year it was! Since September, I have had the pleasure of visiting 50 schools (plus many other schools visited virtually) and of meeting over 7000 students in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the teachers, librarians, principals, parent-volounteers and students who made this possible and amazingly enjoyable.

Special thanks go out to the passionate staff and kids of:

École de la pulperie
(Chicoutimi, QC)

École Saint-Sacrement
(Alma, QC)

École Saint-Félix-d’Otis
(Saint-Félix, QC)

Chinook Park P.S.
(Calgary, AB)

Notre-Dame-des-Vallées
(Cochrane, AB)

Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix
(Calgary, AB)

École francophone d’Airdrie
(Airdrie, AB)

Lycée Louis Pasteur
(Calgary, AB)

St-Dunstan C.S.
(Scarborough, ON)

École Gabrielle-Roy
(Ottawa, ON)

École Carrefour Jeunesse
(Rockland, ON)

École Séraphin-Marion
(Gloucester, ON)

École Le Prélude
(Orléans, ON)

Duke of Connaught
(Toronto, ON)

Cliffwood P.S.
(Toronto, ON)

École Laure-Rièse
(Scarborough, ON)

École Charles-Sauriol
(Toronto, ON)

Victory P.S.
(Guelph, ON)

Arbour Vista
(Guelph, ON)

Huron Christian School
(Clinton, ON)

Manotick P.S.
(Manotick, ON)

Ste-Marguerite-Bourgeoys
(Merrickville, ON)

École Jeanne-Sauvé
(Ottawa, ON)

Beverly Glen
(North York, ON)

Toronto Montessori School
(Missisauga, ON)

École Pavillon de la jeunesse
(Hamilton, ON)

Bishop Strachan School
(Toronto, ON)

École Ronald-Marion
(Pickering, ON)

E.J. James P. S.
(Oakville, ON)

Doncrest P.S.
(Richmond Hill, ON)

Runnymede P.S.
(Toronto, ON)

Perth Avenue P.S.
(Toronto, ON)

École St-Étienne
(Sudbury, ON)

École Alliance St-Joseph
(Chelmsford, ON)

École St-Joseph
(Hanmer, ON)

École Notre-Dame
(Hanmer, ON)

École de la découverte
(Val-Caron, ON)

École Foyer Jeunesse
(Val-Caron, ON)

École Pavillon-de-l’avenir
(Chelmsford, ON)

École Franco-Nord
(Azilda, ON)

Duke of Cambridge P.S.
(Bowmanville, ON)

Bruce P.S.
(Toronto, ON)

Toronto French School – East Campus
(Toronto, ON)

Toronto French School – West Campus
(Mississauga, ON)

John Dryden P.S.
(Whitby, ON)

St-Marguerite-d’Youville C.S.
(Richmond Hill, ON)

Chief Dan George P.S.
(Scarborough, ON)

École Ste-Thérèse-d’Avilla
(Russell, ON)

Thank you again, have a great summer and see you in September!

The Branch in the Willows!

Good news! The Branch is a finalist in the 2018-2019 Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Awards in the Shining Willow category (picture books).

My book is in amazing company with the likes of authors and illustrators like the very talented Linda Bailey, Kass Reich, Nadia L. Hohn, Irene Luxbacher, Claire Eamer, Thomas Gibault and David A. Robertson! What more can a person ask for? I am truly thrilled to be nominated!

Thank you for making The Branch a Willow 😉

R.I.P., my sweet book…

During my multiple school visits there is one question that the students always ask: How many books have you published? Proudly, I answer “28!”. “Wow! 28?” they say. “That’s a lot!”

And they are right. 28 books is a lot.

But what I don’t say, what saddens me every time I think about it, is that out of those 28 titles, only 20 are still in print. The other 8 titles have died. A publisher closes its doors, a publisher no longer has a distributor, a publisher decides not to reprint… It’s heart breaking, but these things happen.

Today I learned that another one of my books is no longer available. Goodbye, Une Charlotte olympique. I wish we could have had a longer run. 4 years is a very short time.

You will be missed, my sweet, sweet book…

À qui le coco?

A wonderful walk through a springtime forest
offers an opportunity to discover all the birds
that surround us, along with their nests and various coloured eggs. Half poetry, half docu-
mentary, this short introduction to ornithology is great for children and parents alike.

• Extensive research, but adapted to the
needs of young readers.

• Smart, elegant, highly-realistic illustrations
to match the text.

• A fun, rhyming text that teaches us a great
deal about birds.

À QUI LE COCO? (Whose Egg is This?)
Éditions de l’Isatis, 2018
Story by Mireille Messier
Illustrations by Caroline Merola
24 pages
3+ (JK-1)
ISBN : 978-2-924769-30-0
Hardcover
$11.95

Click here to invite the author to your school to present this book!

Click here to purchase this book!

A Spruce and a Poplar…

A spruce and a poplar… Sounds like the start of a nerdy tree joke or maybe a garden centre list. But it isn’t!

Photo le 2017-11-06 à 12.21 PMMy picture book The Branch / Ma branche préférée is a finalist for two literary awards – the Blue Spruce (for the English version) and Prix Peuplier (for the French version). Both awards are in the Forest of Reading program of the Ontario Library Association.

Between now and May 2018, thousands of young Ontario students will read the books in their selected categories (French, English, fiction, non-fiction, picture book, chapter books & YA). They will then vote for their favourite book. The winners will be announced mid-May at a huge (and I mean HUGE!) book party at Harbourfront in Toronto with hundreds of young readers going wild for their favourite books and authors. If you ever had any doubt as to whether kids can still get excited about books, this is THE must-attend event of the year!

This is my 6th time being a finalist for the Forest of Reading but this is my FIRST TIME having one of my books in both a French and an English category simultaneously. I’m honoured… and a little stunned. This year, in the Blue Spruce finalists there is a book written by an astronaut, a book with a foreword by a hockey legend and a book that will have you running for your pencils to write your own story. And that’s just a few of the amazing books that The Branch is up against! The list is just as impressive on the French side with books that will have you laughing, rhyming, thinking and maybe even shedding a little tear! One thing is for sure – the readers will have a fantastic time discovering all these wonderful Canadian authors and illustrators!

Happy reading to all the participants and congratulations to all the finalists!

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Fall Means…

Fall had always been a time for new things. New pencils and new shoes? Sure. But also new projects, new challenges and new places! This September is no different. I have a new book coming out and two new events where I will have the pleasure of meeting young readers.

couverture Moi aussiOn September 20th, my new French picture book, Moi aussi! Moi aussi! will be available in stores. Published by the great team at Éditions de la Bagnole and illustrated by the very talented Yves Dumont, this is the story of two new friends… and of one little fib! Moi aussi! Moi aussi! is for readers 3 to 8 and touches on themes like friendship, truth and forgiveness. But mostly, it’s about being able to laugh at ourselves! I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Then, on September 24th, it’s Word on the Street! If you are in the Toronto area, don’t miss this amazing day of all things books at Harbourfront. Toronto-Logo-PNG-optThis year, on top of the hundreds (yes, with an “s”) of authors present, there will be an entire day of French programming for young and old. Swing by the Franco Stage to check it out! I’ll be there presenting Ma branche préférée at 1:30pm and would LOVE to see you there.

logo-salon-300pxFinally, on September 25th, I will be heading out to Lac St-Jean for the Salon du livre du Saguenay where I will tour area schools presenting by books and meeting hundreds of avid young readers. We’re even having a pyjama party! It’s going to by a blast!

All this, and that’s just in September! Wait until you see what I have in store for October! (one hint… it starts with Word and ends with Fest and takes place in Calgary!)

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Moi aussi! Moi aussi!

couverture Moi aussiCatherine and Fabiane quickly become the best of friends. As their friendship grows, they discover they have a lot in common. Like sisters or maybe even like twins! In fact, Catherine so wants to be like Fabiane that she sometimes forgets… to tell the truth!

Moi aussi! Moi aussi! (Me too! Me Too!) is a sweet story about two new friends… and one little fib!

Moi aussi! Moi aussi!
Éditions de la Bagnole, 2017
Story by Mireille Messier
Illustrations by Yves Dumont
32 pages
3-8 years old (French)
ISBN : 978-2-89714-211-7
$19.95

67fa0ea40900826888cbb3802017bafbClick here to invite the author to present this book at your school!

Click here to purchase the book!

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Presenting Fatima and the Clementine Thieves

IMG_20170613_095024 It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here!

My new picture book Fatima and the Clementine Thieves has arrived!

Fatima and the Clementine Thieves is the story of a young girl’s struggle to help save her family’s clementine orchard from mysterious clementine thieves. Based in Morocco, it’s a fable of collaboration and non-violence inspired by an African proverb.

imageMagnificently illustrate by the very talented Gabrielle Grimard, this story is sure to transport readers into a whimsical, citrus-scented land.

Fatima EN et FR livre et marionnettes

 

 

Fatima and the Clementine Thieves is now available both in French (Fatima et les voleurs de clémentines, Éditions de la Bagnole) and in English (Red Deer Press)!

The school presentations of this book will include a reading of the story, an activity with clementines (season permitting) and a discussion about proverbs or non-violent conflict resolution. I will also bring puppets of Fatima and her Grandfather!

Fatima and the Clementine Thieves

• Click here to watch the book trailer! (in French only)
• Click here for information about school presentations for this book!
* Click here to buy the book!

One morning, Fatima and her grandfather wake up to find their clementine orchard savagely ransacked. Who could be doing this? How can the culprits be stopped? A little girl faces and ENORMOUS problem. Luckily, Fatima has powerful friends: the spiders!

A wonderful story of friendship and collaboration with a Moroccan twist.

Written by Mireille Messier
Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard
Red Deer Press, 2017
32 pages in colour
Hardcover
4 & up
$18.95
ISBN: 978-0-889955295

This book is also available in French! Fatima

Prizes and distinctions for Fatima

Shortlisted for the Ontario Librabry Association’s 2013 Tamarac Express Award!
Selected by Communication-Jeunesse as part of the best books of 2012 list!

Winner of the Prix jeunesse de l’Alliance française 2012!

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