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In Stores Soon!

Have you had enough of winter? Are you sick of snow? Yes? Splendid! I have the perfect thing for you…

Here is a sneak peak at my upcoming picture book!You guessed it – it’s about our favourite summer nemesis – THE MOSQUITO!

Je déteste les moustiques, mais.. is in the Clin d’oeil series published by Éditions de l’Isatis and is illustrated by Catherine Petit – the same illustrator I had the pleasure of working with on my picture book Une bestiole à l’école (what can I say, we LOVE bugs!)

Je déteste les moustiques, mais… will be in stores in April 2022. Just in time for bug season!

Podcast Now Available!

I was recently asked by the dynamic team at Metropolis bleu / Blue Metropolis to write an original story and record a podcast of it for their Young Ecologist Club.  My mission was to create a short story for young people on the theme of durability.

My text, entitled S.O.S. Litière (S.O.S Cat Litter), is a bit of autofiction. It was inspired by our new acquisition of two kittens. (And, yes, for those who are counting that means we now have FIVE indoor cats in our little Toronto home!) Five cats obviously also means a staggering amount of cat litter. While researching more affordable options I came across some disheartening facts about how awful for the environment  and non sustainable some types of cat litter can be. So I decided to write about it (and to opt for a “greener” solution in real life).

I hope you will enjoy S.O.S Litière. You can listen to it here, and read it here.

The very talented Sylvain Rivard and Andrew Katz also wrote original stories for this wonderful initiative. You can find those stories here. Bonne écoute!

Three Cheers for Sergeant Billy!

I am thrilled to announce that my picture book, Sergeant Billy: The True Story of the Goat Who Went to War, has recently won not one, not two but THREE young readers’ choice awards.

That’s right! Saskatchewan’s young readers voted and, yesterday, the very exciting news came that Sergeant Billy is this year’s winner of the Shining Willow Award.

Being that Sergeant Billy is a goat that came from the town of Broadview in Saskatchewan, I am especially happy that this true story resonated with the readers of this province.

Thank you to all the kids who voted for Billy and to all the teachers, librarians, parents and organizers that make these litterary awards possible.

2021 Forest of Reading Prix Mélèze for Sergent Billy

I am thrilled to announce that Sergent Billy : La vraie histoire du chevreau devenu soldat ( the French edition of Sergeant Billy) has won the Prix Mélèze 2021! The Prix Mélèze is one of the three French prizes awarded by the Forest of Reading program – a “readers’ choice” award run by the Ontario Library Association.

My books have often been long-listed for various Forest of Reading awards. Last year, my picture book Tellement sauvage was even an honour book. That’s pretty cool. But this is the first time that I win!

Who knew that a true story from over 100 years ago would still resonate with today’s young readers? I am truly honoured!

Congratulations to all the finalists as well as all the young readers, their teachers, librarians and all the volounteers that make the Forest of Reading program possible.

Merci!

A Gold Medal for Sergeant Billy

I am thrilled to announce that Sergeant Billy : The True Story of the Goat Who Went to War has won the gold medal for the 2021 Rocky Mountain Book Award, Alberta’s young readers’ choice award!
Congratulations to all the nominees! A big thank you as well to all the young Albertan readers who took the time to read all these wonderful Canadian stories and who voted for their favourite.

Here is my very passionate and excited acceptance speech. Hooray for Canadian stories!

Virtual School Visit Offer

Social distancing means no more in-person school visits, which breaks my little author heart. I love going to schools to meet students, read them some of my books and chat with them about all things story.

So, while we wait for the pandemic to be over, I am offering virtual author visits!

With the possibilities offered to us through Google Meet/Zoom/Microsoft Teams I can meet with students “live” from my home. As a bonus, you’ll get to see the very place where I write (my very cluttered office) and, if we are lucky, one of my three cats might come say hello!

Presentations are 30-50 minutes (depending on your schedule and the the participants grade level), include a reading of the book of your choice (in French or in English), a live Q&A and are for an unlimited number of classes.

My rate for virtual visits is $250 for a live presentation to 1-9 classes, $350 for 10-19 classes and $450 for 20+ classes/schoolboards.

Interested? Contact me at mireille@mireille.ca . Let’s chat!

Do you know BiblioVideo?

There’s something new and exciting on the Web!

Bibliovideo is a new Youtube channel created by the CCBC (Canadian Children’s Book Centre). There you you find hundreds of short videos about and made by Canadian children’s book authors and illustrators. Readings, illustration demonstrations, interviews, book recommendations… the list goes on and keeps growing as new videos are added every month!

This year, there’s been a big push to add French content to the channel like the video bellow where authors Simon Boulerice, Marie-Louise Gay, Linda Amyot and myself present one of our recently published books.

Go check it out and subscribe! It’s a Kid Lit lover’s delight!

The French version of Sergeant Billy is a Forest of Reading nominee!

Good news! My historical picture book Sergent Billy : La vraie histoire du chevreau devenu soldat (the French version of Sergeant Billy) is a finalist for the Prix Mélèze in ABO’s Forest of Reading program!

I am thrilled and honoured because not only is this an award for young readers in my home province (yeah Ontario!) I am also a finalist amongst a great number of authors and illustrators that I respect and admire!

To see a video of all the Prix Mélèze nominees, click here!

The winning title will be announced in May 2021. This gives you tons of time to enter your class. Just sayin’ 😉

Bonne chance à tous les finalistes!

Free Activity Sheets Now Available

Are you a teacher looking for themed activity sheets for your students?
Are you at home with your kids doing remote learning?

Yes? Perfect! I have a lot of FREE, downloadeable activity sheets, in French and in English for you!

The most recent is a brand new teacher’s guide to my picture book Nutcracker Night from the great team at Pajama Press! It focuses on the story of the Nutcracker but it also teaches how to use onomatopoeia (sound words) in a fun way to create and enrich your own stories.

Click here to access all my activity sheets! Have fun!