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Authoring Outside

Let’s be honest… Most of my author life is spent indoors – at home, on my computer, in schools, at libraries, on trains… But this Fall has been a little bit different. I’ve had the pleasure of being an author OUTSIDE. And you know what? It was really nice!

 

On September 8th I was invited to present my new picture books Treasure and Sergeant Billy at the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival. The youth stage was abuzz with authors, illustrators, storytellers and singers. Families cam out in droves to listen and participate in our stories. We even hosted a 10th birthday party for Stella, Marie-Louise Gay’s now famous spunky redhead character. It was cloudy, it was a little chilly and it was perfect!

 

 

Then, on September 22nd, I presented Trésor and Treasure in the Rose Garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. This was during Nature Tales – a special day of nature-themed stories by children’s authors and performers organized by the stellar crew of Telling Tales. On this occasion, I was presenting with Irene Luxbacher, illustrator of Treasure. Authors and illustrators don’t often get to present together so this was twice as special. I got to hang out with a talented creators while quite literally smelling the roses.

Thank you all for getting me out of the house.

I would love to do it again sometime soon 😉

 

 

I am Vox!

When I am not writing a book or doing a school visit I am sometimes a voice-over actor. Here is the trailer for ScienceXplosion, a new kid’s series that will soon be airing on TFO. I am the voice of Vox, the narrator and Eric’s friend. ScienceXplosion is 45 episodes of 3:30 minutes where we have fun explaining scientific concepts with games, magic tricks and other silliness.

Thank you to the teams at TFO and GAPC Entertainment for giving me this opportunity to work on such a fun project!

Back to School!

With 3 new picture books coming out this Fall, now is the perfect time to book an author visit! I have presentations in French and in English on a wide variety of themes. For more info, click here!

Treasure This Moment!

My forthcoming picture book, Treasure (Orca Book Publisher, illustrations by Irene Luxbacher), has made CBC Books’ “Top 30 Canadian Picture Books To Watch For This Fall” list! And what an illustrious list it is! Elise Gravel, Robert Munsch, Christiane Dufresne, Eric and Terry Fan, Marianne Dubuc, Kyo MacLear, Marie-Louise Gay, Sidney Smith to name but a few… and little old me! I can barely believe it. Needless to say that I am thrilled to be amongst such talented people and beautiful stories.
Thank you CBC Books! It’s going to be a great fall for reading 🙂

Advance Review for Sergeant Billy

The advance reading copies of Sergeant Billy: The True Story of the Goat Who Went to War are out and reviews are coming in. I’m so glad to report that Billy seems to have found a special place in readers hearts, young and old(er).

Click here to read a fantastic review by blogger extraordinaire Emily Schneider from Imaginary Elevators – a blog about children’s literature.

My favourite quote? “Messier and Reich deserve a medal for their ambitious work.” Wow! Thanks Emily!

 

Join Mireille This Summer

Summer is the perfect time for reading (and being read to, of course!)

Please join me at any (or all!) of these FREE community events in the coming months:

June 30 – Kidzone, O Canada Ribfest, Waterdown, ON (English reading)

July 8 – TD Summer Reading Club, S. Walter Stewart, Toronto (French Reading)

Sept. 8 – Eden Mills Writers’ Festival, Eden Mills, ON (English Reading)

Sept. 22 – Nature Tales, Burlington Royal Botanical Gardens, (French and English)

A Heartfelt Shout Out to All the Schools I Visited in 2018-19!

Another school year draws to an end and I am once again in awe of all the wonderful people I had the pleasure to meet thanks to my 2018-19 author visits.

Enthusiastic teachers, passionate librarians, inspiring students… Thank you all for your gracious invitations and for helping me spread my love of reading, writing and stories!

This year I had the pleasure of meeting close to 6000 students in 53 schools across 4 provinces!
Here’s a special shout out (with some fun “in action” pictures) to all the schools I had the pleasure of visiting this year: (more…)

A KIRKUS STARRED Review!

Great news! Some advanced reading copies of my forthcoming picture book Treasure have made their way into the hands of a few select reviewers. And they LOVE it!

Here’s a first STARRED review of Treasure from Kirkus:

From tiny discoveries to one big treasure, the natural world delights at every turn.

In simple yet engaging dialogue, two children set out on a treasure hunt, through a meadow and a wood, in search of something “shiny and mysterious and precious…and always hidden.” The younger one finds a feather (“not shiny enough”), an acorn (“not mysterious enough”), and a milkweed pod (“not precious enough”); all while they play in the grass and trees around them. Ready to give up, the younger child is sure they’ll never find the too-well-hidden treasure, but the tenacious older one takes a few steps more. At last, they discover something truly shiny, mysterious, precious, and hidden, which won’t fit in pockets but instead will live on in the memories of these young explorers. Softly muted, colorful illustrations feature treasures big and small to discover on each detailed spread. Perspective changes throughout, with close-ups, faraway landscape spreads, and a lovely look down at one child’s feet immersed in water as the two children hold hands. The children are depicted nearly constantly in motion, with the older child’s long, black hair often flowing sideways in the wind. (Both have pale skin and straight, black hair.) The companion French title offers a superb translation (also by Messier), with its own lively phrases—perfect for building language skills in young readers.

A gentle exploration, using a child’s words and told at a child’s pace, of a marvelous world.

Thank you Kirkus!