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!

Every year I have the great pleasure of visiting a number of schools to share my books and my love of reading and writing with thousands of students. This year I visited 47 schools across 3 provinces and met over 6000 students!

I’d like to take a moment to thank all the librarians, the teachers, the principals and, or course, the students, who made this possible. These visits are an unending source of inspiration for me and, I dare hope, might spark some budding authors into action.

A special thank you to… Continue reading →

The 2015-2016 school year is almost out. Some will say “FINALLY”, while others (rarer) will say “ALREADY?”. I say “THANK YOU”!

Thank you to all the teachers, principals, librarians and students I had the pleasure of meeting this school year. I’ve been to 32 schools and met over 4000 kids from all across the province (and one school in Quebec too!). A big shout out to:

École Montessori OMS, Ottawa (ON)
John Fisher PS, Toronto (ON)
Maple Ridge PS, Pickering (ON)
École Petit Prince, Gatineau (QC)
École Étoile de l’est, Orléans (ON)
École Jeanne-Sauvé, Orléans (ON)
Owen PS, Toronto (ON)
Morse Street PS, Toronto (ON)
Dunlace PS, Toronto (ON)
Keswick PS, Keswick (ON)
E J James PS, Oakville (ON)
Max the Mutt College, Toronto (ON)
Duke of Connaught PS, Toronto (ON)
Palmerston PS, Toronto, ON
Doncrest PS, Richmond Hill (ON)
Ridgewood PS, Missisauga (ON)
Levack PS, Levack (ON)
Alexander PS, Sudbury (ON)
Ernie Checkeris PS, Sudbury (ON)
Chelmsford PS, Chelmsford (ON)
Lansdowne PS, Sudbury (ON)
Westmount PS, Sudbury (ON)
Walden PS, Sudbury (ON)
Rosedale PS, Sault Ste-Marie (ON)
Francis H. Clergue PS, Sault Ste-Marie (ON)
Toronto French School, Toronto (ON)
École L’Odysée, Guelph (ON)
Ventura Park PS, Vaughan (ON)
École St-Joseph, Blind River (ON)
École Georges-Vanier, Elliot Lake (ON)

Thanks to you, my year is filled with wonder, smiles and inspiration. I’m so very glad you have given me the opportunity to share my love of stories and writing with you and I cherish my good fortune. Who knew writing for kids would be so much fun? Truthfully, I had an inkling, but I’m glad to confirm that it’s true!

I wish everyone a splendid, book-filled summer and look forward to doing more school visits come 2016-2017!

From the moment I walked into Keswick Public School from the snow storm outside, I knew it was going to be a good day.
The secretary knew who I was and seemed glad to see me. The teacher-librarian, Sheila Pollard, was there to greet me in a flash and had already set up a fantastic spot for the presentations (she even brought in some daffodils to brighten up the table!). The halls were covered (and I mean COVERED) in beautiful art work from the students inspired from my books. The kids had read my books, they had questions, they were listening, they were smiling. And the teachers were too! It was nothing short of magical! I got as much from my visit at Keswick P.S. than the children did, I hope.

Thank you so much for the warm welcome, Keswick. I hope to see you again soon!

As of Monday, I will be in the Saguenay region meeting with young readers. Fatima and Charlotte are coming along for the trip. Some kids, I will see at their schools, others I will meet at the annual Saguenay book fair (Salon du livre du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean). either way, I’m really look forward to it! If, per chance, you are in the area, please don’t hesitate to swing by and say “bonjour”!