It started with a wish. Well, 12 wishes. Twelve wishes. Twelve raisins. And twelve sips of champagne along the Tagus River in Portugal. My mom, sister, brother, and I were ringing in the 2017 new year, Portuguese style, and one of my twelve wishes was to become a children’s book author. One of my other wishes was to have a baby. I no longer remember what the other ten wishes were and have no clue if they came true or not, but… On December 31st, the last day of 2017, I got my baby. One of my wishes, the most important wish of all, came true. It was a sign. It had to be, right? So I started a blog, 12Raisins, and I got to writing. I wrote reflections about becoming a mom, teaching, navigating life, and my writing journey.  Tamla T. Young and her baby In July 2018, I enrolled in my first writing course through the University of Toronto’s SCS (School of Continuing Studies) Creative Writing Program. I took a one-week summer intensive on “Writing for Children: Picture Books”. My instructor was Toronto’s own Cary Fagan, and he tasked us to draw from our memory and write about something funny or embarrassing. This is when I wrote my first manuscript, Ready, Set, Mango!, formerly known as Beautiful Pebbles. At the time, my cousin whom I hadn’t seen in what might have been a couple of decades was visiting from Florida. My course, though, was all-week and all-day long, and my cousin and I weren’t able to hang out as much as we’d hoped. Despite this, the timing of her visit couldn’t have been better. Her visit brought forth many of our childhood memories, one of which was the seed that sprouted the idea for my debut. In the story, uber-competitive cousins Tee and Dee are in for a surprise as they fight to find the perfect mango. During their mango search, the girls get distracted by the most beautiful pebbles, and begin to fight over whose pebble is the best and who has more. Like Tee and Dee, while on summer vacation in Jamaica, my cousin and I once fought over what we thought were beautiful pebbles. We were both born in Jamaica, and as very young children, we spent a LOT of time with each other. Even though we both left Jamaica for North America when we were little, we spent many holidays with each other. We loved hard, fought harder and then quickly made up afterwards. This loving rivalry is captured beautifully and humourously throughout the story in Raz Latif’s vibrant illustrations.  Tamla T. Young, her baby and her cousin After writing Ready, Set, Mango! I tucked the manuscript away and went back to work as a full-time elementary school teacher. For the next few years, I continued to blog regularly and irregularly. After taking a writing course, or attending a conference or workshop, I’d pull out my manuscript to tweak and revise. In October 2021, after attending a Virtual CANSCAIP PYI conference, with my three-month old daughter on my lap, I had a 1:1 critique session with OwlKids editorial director Jennifer Stokes. Our session was a profound and life-changing experience because less than a year and a few rounds of edits and revisions later my manuscript was acquired in June 2022.
It’s been almost three years since I signed my contract and I’m still in shock. But it’s real—my debut picture book, Ready, Set, Mango!, illustrated by Raz Latif and published by OwlKids Books, enters the world on April 15th, 2025. It is a true representation of my wish and a memory meeting to create something incredibly special, and pretty darn funny. So…can you believe it? I can. Are you ready? I am. Ready, Set, Mangoooo! TAMLA T. YOUNG (she/her), OCT, B.A. (Hons.), B.Ed, M.Ed is an award-winning social-justice educator, author, and multipotentialite. She is a mother of two from Toronto, Canada. She is a Jill-of-all-trades and is on a journey of mastery for at least one. As a child of the Caribbean diaspora, raised in North America, memory and personal experience, rooted in family, friends and culture are often the seeds from which her stories are born. She loves making connections with others near and far, and through sharing stories the opportunity to connect increases exponentially. Her debut picture book Ready, Set, Mango! is published by OwlKids Books and is scheduled to fill bookshelves in April 2025. www.tamlatyoung.com
Before becoming a children’s author, I worked for years as a certified professional dog trainer. I was surprised at how often people misunderstood their dog’s point of view. Instead of appreciating the way dogs experience the world – spoiler alert, it’s with their noses – they thought of dogs as furry, little people. Therefore, one of my favourite aspects of dog training was helping my clients realise what their dog was really saying and doing and why.  Stephanie Gibeault training her dog Chi Chi on the agility field This desire to explain a dog’s perspective prompted me to write Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses. This nonfiction picture book, illustrated by Bambi Edlund and published by Owlkids Books, is a fun yet fierce competition that compares the ways dogs and humans perceive the world through each of the five basic senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. But my dog training experience didn’t just inspire this book; it’s helped inform my writing life too. Here are some of the rules of dog training that have helped me become a better writer: 1. Be patient. Dogs don’t master new behaviours overnight. It takes time for them to understand that “sit” means they should sit down whether they are in the living room or the park. That’s also true for producing a polished manuscript. There are days the writing flows and days you feel stuck. Plus, there’s nothing better for revision than fresh eyes. That means giving drafts a chance to rest before you tackle edits. For this picture book, the first two versions of the manuscript didn’t work. I tried both a circus and a sports setting before settling on the contest theme. I needed time to experiment before finding the right structure. 2. Be consistent. If you ask your dog to get “off” the couch one day, don’t say “down” the next. Your dog will perform best if you’re steady and predictable. The same can be said for your writing life. You don’t have to write every single day, but you do need to make a regular effort to work on your craft and put words on the page. It also helps to have a writing routine that cues your brain when it’s time to get creative. For Dogs vs. Humans, I spent at least five days a week either researching, writing, or revising. And my writing habits, like shutting off social media and taking regular breaks, helped me stay on track.  Interior pages from Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses, illustrated by Bambi Edlund 3. Quit while you’re having fun. You don’t want to wait until your dog is bored or frustrated to stop a training session. It will make them less likely to want to train the next day. Your brain works the same way. If you always stop your writing sessions on a good note, you will associate writing with having fun. With this book, if I felt blocked one day with the writing, I would switch to research and vice versa. I made sure I was always working on something fun or interesting before calling it a day. 4. Be positive. Positive reinforcement training is all about rewarding your dog for a job well done. It’s super effective, and when your dog enjoys training, they will give you their best effort. Positive reinforcement works on people too. If you reward yourself for the writing process and make it as fun as possible, you will stick with it despite the ups and downs of the publishing business. Try giving yourself a treat for every 500 words you type. And celebrate all the little victories, like finishing a draft or subbing to an editor. For Dogs vs. Humans, I had my chocolate-covered almonds to reward all the writing milestones, plus I celebrated each completed revision with a day away from my desk. And, of course, I celebrated the book’s publication with a book signing at a bookstore and going for coffee with a friend. Who would have thought all those years working with dogs would have helped me as a children’s author. But not only do I get to write about our canine companions, my training skills have made me a better writer, too. Maybe these tips can help you as well!  Stephanie Gibeault celebrating publication day of Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses Stephanie Gibeault is an award-winning author of children’s picture books and middle grade nonfiction. As a former biologist with a Master of Science in animal behavior, Stephanie used to spend her time grunting with gorillas and stinking like marmoset monkeys. Years later, being a certified professional dog trainer meant being covered in fur and drool. Now she spends her days just outside of Toronto, Canada, sharing her love of dogs and other animals through her writing. For more information, please visit stephaniegibeault.com.
Social Media Handles: Instagram: @stephanie_gibeault Bluesky: @stephaniegibeault.bsky.social  Want to hear some brand new picture books and support Canadian creators?
Picture Books, Eh! is hosting an event on Monday, March 31st at 7pm called Canadian Read & Review Crew. The concept is simple: Canadian creators with picture books that launched from Jan 1- March 31st will read on Zoom and viewers will be invited to write reviews for them. Each presenter will quickly read their book (4-5 minutes), and then viewers will have an additional 2 minutes to write down their notes on the story. It is not expected that viewers write reviews, but it is very much appreciated if they do! This event is a great way to discover picture books being published right now, presented by the creators themselves. If you are a CANSCAIP member and are interested in attending as a viewer (people are free to pop in and out as their schedule allows), keep an eye out for the invitation to this event from CANSCAIP. If you are not yet a CANSCAIP member (though we modestly submit that anyone interested in Canadian kid lit should be!), you can write to [email protected] for the link. Picture Books, Eh! hopes to run this event each season this year.  15 Génies Rebelles du Québec is nothing short of a dream project. It offered near-complete creative freedom, the thrill of uncovering historical figures, and a schedule generous enough to truly delve into the pleasure of exploration.
I had previously been contacted to work on the Volume 2 of the series but, for various reasons, had to decline. So, when the opportunity came back to collaborate with Léa Arthemise (editor at Auzou Québec at the time) on this exciting project, I was really excited. This is the third volume of a series. Each volume highlights 15 remarkable Quebec figures, each connected by a central theme. This time, the theme was... rebel geniuses. How could it be any more fascinating? It is with great enthusiasm and curiosity that I immersed myself in the worlds of these 15 extraordinary individuals—artists, printers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries—from different eras. For each character, I spent countless hours exploring historical photos and archives from the BANQ (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec), flipping through reference books, and immersing myself in the lives of these individuals. I don't think there's a better way to showcase how I worked on this book than by going through some historical photos that inspired the creation of some scenes. Here is a brief overview of how I explored three of the fifteen personalities presented in the book.
As a parent with multiple chronic illnesses, I understand the extent to which dynamic disability can impact children and families. I also realize that the challenges of daily life can be tough for all people. What else I know is that we all have the capacity for resilience and strength, and it is this message that I share with readers in my debut picture book, Kenzie’s Little Tree (Orca Book Publishers), illustrated by Emilie Leduc. Kenzie’s Little Tree is about young Kenzie who plants a little tree with her family one summer Saturday. The tree stands a bit crooked and some of its leaves are brown, but its branches are open, like Mom’s arms waiting for hugs, and Kenzie promises to keep it safe. When fall blows in dangerous winds, and a winter storm swirls while Mom’s away at the hospital, Kenzie fears that her promise will be broken.  Interior images from Kenzie's Little Tree, illustrated by Emilie Leduc I wrote Kenzie’s Little Tree for my daughters and for all children who are impacted by illness or disability, so that they might feel seen and represented. Living with a chronically ill mom has been difficult for my kids throughout the years, especially when I was hospitalized out-of-city for ten days. I believe that talking about these experiences as well as the feelings, thoughts, and emotions associated with them as a family, has helped to build greater resilience in my children. In writing Kenzie’s Little Tree, my goal was to represent difficult family experiences as well as to open the door to conversations. I hope that the Family Discussion Guide that I created with a psychologist will help support conversations. Yes, Kenzie’s Little Tree represents families that live with chronic illness, but it’s also a story that is universal in that every person on Earth faces challenges. I hope that after hearing the story, children will feel empowered with the knowledge that though life can be tough, they are strong. At my house, we love Glennon Doyle’s expression, “we can do hard things”, as it applies to each one of us across a variety of situations. Kenzie, her mom, and the little tree show strength in Kenzie’s Little Tree, and after reading the story, readers may choose to discuss examples of challenge and resilience in their own lives. As many writers would agree, the path toward publication can be full of obstacles such as rejections, self-doubt, and an overwhelming workload, to name a few. Drafting Kenzie’s Little Tree was also emotionally difficult at times as it led me to relive past emotions and experiences as I wrote. Of course, my publication journey has also provided me with much joy and connection with wonderful people. Regardless, I am happy to be modelling resilience for my children as I reach for my goals and pursue my passion despite the challenges.  Interior image from Kenzie's Little Tree, illustrated by Emilie Leduc Alison McGauley is a special education teacher, author and mom. As a person living with multiple chronic illnesses, Alison is passionate about writing stories that speak to children and caregivers who are impacted by illness or disability. She also loves creating stories that feature humor, SEL, and the natural world. Kenzie’s Little Tree, illustrated by Emilie Leduc, is Alison’s debut picture book. When she’s not teaching, reading or writing, Alison enjoys family adventures and exploring local forest trails. She resides in Ontario with her partner, two daughters and Ragdoll cat.
It all began with a social media post. A photo of Shrek, to be specific. No, not that Shrek. I’m talking about Shrek the Sheep!  Shrek and Barnaby Back in 2004, this wooly creature secured both his fame and his name by running away and hiding out in a cave for six long years. Shrek’s wool had grown so thick and matted that he could hardly move! By the time his shepherds found him, he resembled that green movie troll we all know. (Aside from the green part, of course!) When I first read Shrek’s story in early 2020, I was instantly fascinated. So I wrote a 50-word poem entitled “Lost Sheep” to get down some of my ideas. But I wasn’t ready to do anything with this poem. I filed it away for a possible future writing project. It was at this time that I signed with my agent. As my work made the rounds with editors, I began working on new projects. I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with Shrek. Should it be a nonfiction piece? A fictional account for a magazine? A picture book? I wanted to write it from the point of view of the sheep. While the first drafts used the name Shrek, I soon realized I wanted to fictionalize the story. Time to rename the sheep! I called him Brutus. But one of my critique partners pointed out that this name didn’t quite encapsulate the quirkiness of my little wiggle-dancing sheep. So I started a deep dive into names. That’s when I came up with the name Barnaby. As I worked on Barnaby’s story, I needed to give him a reason to run away. One of my brainstorming sessions outlined different possible reasons, but I wanted something that would resonate with kids. I landed on the fear of getting a haircut. Oh boy, do I have vivid memories of my mom cutting my hair at the kitchen table! I had my sheep’s fear—those scary clippers. Draft after draft, I crafted my story.  Interior image from Barnaby, the Runaway Sheep, illustrated by Sayani Mukherjee By 2022, I had Barnaby ready to go. In May, an editor showed interest! Barnaby wiggled his way to acquisitions. However, while the editor loved it, the publisher ultimately came back with yet another No. That was a hard day. Not one to give up, I continued to write, and my agent continued to submit my work.   Interior images from Barnaby, the Runaway Sheep, illustrated by Sayani Mukherjee In June 2023, another publisher showed interest. Once more, Barnaby headed to acquisitions with less wiggle and more caution. By August, my agent emailed me that the publisher, Paraclete Press, expressed interest in seeing more of my work. She whipped out another manuscript--The Christmas Elephant. And then came the official offer. The publisher wanted BOTH picture books! Paraclete planned to publish The Christmas Elephant in 2024, followed by Barnaby the Runaway Sheep in March 2025. It may have begun with a social media post about Shrek, but it ends with a wiggle dance by Barnaby!  Maria Antonia reading to Barnaby Maria Antonia learned to write her name at five years old and tried typing with an old manual typewriter at age eight. However, it was when she met the computer that she never turned back. Many years later, she still clickety-taps out her stories onto the screen, stories that have turned into picture books like The Christmas Elephant and Barnaby the Runaway Sheep. In addition to writing, Maria also enjoys sipping a nice cup of hot tea and capturing the world with her camera. She has lived in Sunny Spain, Busy New York City, and currently resides in the Great White North of Canada. Check out mariaantoniawrites.com for free downloadable activities to go with her books.
Social Media Handles: Instagram: @ofmariaantonia Facebook: @ofmariaantonia Twitter/X: @ofmariaantonia1
On Easter morning, a child revels in the sounds and colours of celebration. But in the midst of all the joy, she secretly wonders, “What does this story have to do with me?”  Rise is the fourth book in a series called Circle of Wonder. There’s a lot held in that word, wonder. Wonder can mean a feeling akin to awe—astonishment at something beautiful or numinous. It can mean to be curious, to ponder, even to doubt. When I gave this series its name, what I had in mind was a particular kind of open-ended engagement with a story. To wonder is to interact with a story in a wholehearted way for the purpose of figuring out what it might have to say to you. Wondering is not the same as gathering information or facts, though those sorts of questions are important too. When we wonder we ask questions that don’t necessarily have answers—at least not ones the story can provide. For example: I wonder how a caterpillar feels when it wraps itself up in its chrysalis? I wonder how the butterfly feels when it breaks out? I wonder how it knows that the time for that has come? I wonder how it feels to change?  Interior image from Rise: A Child's Guide to Eastertide, illustrated by Giuliano Ferri Much of the wondering in Rise has to do with the meaning of resurrection. The child narrating the story is not sure what resurrection is and whether it is has anything to do with her life here and now. After pondering this for a while, and reflecting on stories and experiences shared with her family and community, she concludes: Sometimes we all trip and fall. But falling does not have to be the end of the story. When we get up again. When we let go of our own mistakes. When we forgive and are forgiven. When we start over. Maybe that is resurrection too. Rise: A Child’s Guide to Eastertide is about a particular arc of the Christian year, so it won’t be of interest to all readers. That’s OK. Although most of my books are written for a general audience, some are written specific communities in mind. There is a place for both kinds of stories. However, I do hope that the attitude of Rise—the way it models open-ended wondering and engagement—will be helpful to writers and readers of all kinds as we create and share stories that stretch the imaginations of children and invite them to figure out for themselves where these stories touch their own lives. And maybe what Rise has to say about paying attention to the ways new life emerges so persistently in the world around us can be good news for everyone, especially if we are willing to ask, “I wonder what this story has to do with me?”  Interior image from Rise: A Child's Guide to Eastertide, illustrated by Giuliano Ferri Laura Alary believes in writing stories that make us bigger on the inside. Born and raised in Halifax, she studied Classics and Theology before turning her attention to a different type of education—raising three curious and creative children. These days Laura works in a university library and writes picture books about everything from the water cycle to the benefits of darkness—often with a dash of humour, poetry, and whimsy.
Together, a Forest comes out March 4, 2025 with Henry Holt Books for Young Readers From a young age, as soon as I was able to start thinking about thinking, I began to learn that we didn’t all think in the same way. I’m fascinated by the idea that I’m experiencing just one singular version of our world, and I continue to be interested in the variation of human experience that exists. Though the default idea shared with me in my early life was that there’s a typical or normal person who processes information and functions in a typical and normal way, and everything else is some sort of “special” and burdensome anomaly, I’ve come to appreciate that the many different ways of being that we hold are part of our collective human nature. These ways are often labelled under the umbrella neurodiversity and disability. Examples of neurodivergence could include autism, ADHD, PTSD, post concussion sydrome, and so on, but the biological fact of neurodiversity actually includes all minds, even neurotypical ones. Nick Walker describes the neurodiversity paradigm, a way of thinking about neurodiversity, this way: 1.) Neurodiversity is a natural and valuable form of human diversity. 2.) The idea that there is one “normal” or “healthy” type of brain or mind, or one “right” style of neurocognitive functioning, is a culturally constructed fiction, no more valid (and no more conducive to a healthy society or to the overall well-being of humanity) than the idea that there is one “normal” or “right” ethnicity, gender, or culture. It exists in contrast to the pathology paradigm, which sees variation from a norm as a deficit or problem.  Interior art from Together, A Forest, by Roz Maclean My early contemplation of mental difference is something I probably have in common with many siblings of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. My older brother has an intellectual disability, and my relationship with him and his community of peers, as well as my family’s advocacy and navigation of educational and support systems, has informed how important I feel this topic is. It guided me to working as an education assistant and intervenor with Vancouver’s public schools supporting students with disabilities for over a decade. There is nothing like working in an institution to make you aware of its limitations. Though this had been somewhat on my radar growing up, working in schools brought into focus for me how much our education system is still built on an assumption of a default student or person, with disability and/or neurodiversity as an afterthought. I worked with many passionate and amazing educators who prioritized inclusion and meeting every student where they were at, and yet the nature of this structure meant some students’ needs still went unmet. And so, Together, a Forest is an envisioning of a different kind of school day, and a different way of meeting young people where they’re at. Prompted by an art assignment that requires them to “pick one thing” from the forest, each child finds an experience of connection with the natural world that mirrors something about how they experience the world. Seeing themselves in nature also mirrors their own value, rightness, and belonging back to them. After all, every element of a forest has an important role to play in a network of mutuality and interdependence. This is the beauty of ecological diversity, and it’s the beauty of human diversity too. Writing Together, a Forest, I wanted to showcase each character’s experiences in kind of an ensemble story, with the main character, Joy, playing less of a dominant role. Though her story leads the reader, the whole cast of characters is equally important. Adam relates to the Giant Cedar, who experiences a slower kind of time, and Diwa loves the fluttering ferns, who remind her of the comfort and satisfaction she feels when she stims by rocking and flapping her hands. Ben finds connection with Moss, who holds onto moisture for a long time, like how his memory holds on to his favourite dinosaur facts. Every character’s story is an important part of the whole.  Interior art from Together, A Forest, by Roz Maclean Creating a children’s book that values a collective story calls for a different kind of a writing process that I didn’t take lightly. To feel I was responsibly reflecting these characters, most of whom have experiences of neurodivergence and disability that I don’t, I spent a lot of time learning from peers, writers, activists, artists, and media creators with various disabilities and forms of neurodivergence. I also worked with authenticity readers with the disabilities and / or forms of neurodivergence found in the book through Live Education Transform Society (LETS), “an organization entirely run and staffed by disabled and neurodivergent folks, most of whom are also 2SLGBTQIA+, who utilize their lived expertise to create essential change,” and the book became a working document for a period of time. Weaving many pieces of perspective and feedback together made completing this story and artwork even more satisfying, resulting in what I believe is a richer piece of work. I am excited to share it with the world! Of course I wish that Together, a Forest was coming out into the world at a moment when there wasn’t a great deal of animosity and suppression directed at the concept of “diversity” (thanks to a certain neighbour administration). But still, it matters to affirm what is true. That the wild, complex, divergent, and dependent among us are essential to who we are as a whole. I hope that Together, a Forest can help readers feel seen even if they don’t fit dominant ideas of what is “typical,” and I hope that all readers will grow their understanding that we are connected to one another.  Roz MacLean is an award winning author illustrator who lives and works on the traditional territories of the K’omoks, Ei’ksan and Pentlatch Peoples on Vancouver Island. Her work is inspired in part by the years she spent supporting students with disabilities in schools, as well as her dreams of a more inclusive and beautiful future. She is the creator of CBC Kids Reads finalist More Than Words: So Many Ways to Say What We Mean (Henry Holt, 2023) and Together, A Forest: Drawing Connections Between Nature's Diversity and Our Own (Henry Holt, 2025). When she's not in her studio she spends as much time as she can near trees and bodies of water, preferably with her dog.
Good teachers make a huge difference and can help students find their passion and their path! I attended McNaughton Ave. Public School in Chatham, Ontario, and in Grade 6, I was blessed with having Mr. Don Allison as my homeroom teacher. He had a passion for creative writing, and it’s where my passion was sparked. He encouraged us to write a novel and work on it each day, always telling us that we could become published authors and to never set any limits on our creativity.
Fast forward to almost four decades later, and many written stories, to the goal of one day being published - the dream that was sparked when I was in grade six… and we meet Charlie! The protagonist for my debut picture book came to me through working as a K-6 Drama and Dance Teacher. It was here that I developed the character “Charlie” through a marionette puppet. It was total improv at the time, but the students were drawn to him and kept asking to see him. Over two decades, he became “famous” in my classes, always bringing students laughter and joy, as he is quirky and ridiculous! During the lockdown, I created many videos of Charlie and sent them to my students. In each one, Charlie spoke directly to the kids. The “Charlie videos” became a little ray of sunshine during those hard times, with the kids always encouraging me to “send more videos!” And through this, the idea of “Do Not Turn the Page!” was born! I knew I needed to write a story with Charlie as the star and where he talked directly to the reader. So, I began developing the manuscript in Ted Staunton’s Writing Workshop classes through George Brown College. I wrote and rewrote this story many times over the months until it eventually molded into the story that has been published by Scholastic today. In “Do NOT Turn the Page!” Charlie does NOT want to take a bath and every time readers turn the page, he gets closer and closer to the bathtub. He pleads with readers and even asks them to close the book! Seeing Charlie come to life on the page, through the illustrations of the very talented Marcus Cutler, has been a dream come true. It’s my hope now, that kids across Canada will fall in love with Charlie and laugh at his silly ways; that they will feel drawn into the story, like they are part of his adventure! My students now ask me, “Why did you decide to write a book about Charlie?” My response is, “Writers tend to write about things that interest them or things they know… and I know Charlie well!” You can check out Charlie’s original song, “Do NOT Turn the Page!” on my website: www.janeblondie.com. You can also find me on Instagram @jane_blondie and on FB at Jane Blondie - Author. Originally from Chatham Ontario, Jane lives in Toronto with her husband, two daughters, and one very energetic puppy! Jane teaches full time for the Toronto District School Board as a Drama and Dance Specialist Teacher to students in Kindergarten - Grade 5. Jane’s debut picture book, Do NOT Turn the Page! was released in February of 2025. It is published by Scholastic and illustrated by fellow Canadian, Marcus Cutler. Every Story Has Its Season: Truth and Inspiration in Picture Book Writing, by Jennifer McGrath2/6/2025
One question I get asked a lot as a children’s author is: “Is that a true story?” And my answer is always, “It’s inspired by a true story.” The truth is the seed. The story is the blossom. My picture books tend to have a long incubation period, like seeds waiting underground beneath the winter snows. I try not to examine them too closely at this stage. It is enough knowing that they are there and that they will reveal their shape when the season is right. Sometimes that season is grief. The story seed for The Pony and the Starling had been incubating for several years before it finally germinated during the second year of COVID. That spring I lost my heart dog - a border collie named Danny who had been my constant companion for over a decade through several major life changes and upheavals, including divorce and three moves. He was fine one weekend, and gone the next, victim of a cancer I didn’t know was there. That loss, on top of all the cumulative losses of the past few years, compounded within the crucible of COVID, struck me harder than I would have ever imagined. (Right about now you’re probably wondering what a dog has to do with a book about a pony and a bird. I’m getting to that, I promise.) The border-collie-shaped hole in my heart left me breathless. I needed to fill that emptiness with something. Something beautiful. Something bright. I reached deep inside and found the story of The Pony and the Starling ready and waiting for me. Years earlier, before my life shape-shifted so dramatically, my grey pony, Fiona, lived in a paddock that I could see from my kitchen window…a paddock with a small barn for wet, windy days, and a big, old maple for hot, sunny days. The seasons shaped themselves around the comforting routine of barn chores, of waking before the rest of the household, and walking out into the pre-dawn as the birds were just starting to stir. And who kept me company on every walk down to the barn? Danny, of course. He is there, in all my memories of Fiona from that time and place.  Danny and Fiona The seasons ticked over, a pinwheel of changing colours, foliage furling and unfurling, birdsong muted and orchestral, snow, mud, grass, and repeat. Until the summer the starling appeared. Starlings were no stranger to our yard, of course. Arriving in twittering, flickering flocks, they would promptly empty my birdfeeders, hang around for a day or so, then move on – usually up the hill to my father’s prized grapevines. But this starling was different. This starling stayed. Most interestingly of all, it stayed with Fiona. I would look up from washing dishes or making dinner and there – almost without fail - would be the starling perched on the paddock fence. Or in the maple. Or more often, on the ground beside the pony. Before long it was hopping along between her hooves as she grazed her way across the paddock. This is a story, I thought as I watched them. The weeks slipped by. Summer tilted into fall and still the starling was there. This is definitely a story, I thought. But I didn’t know its shape. Not then.  Fiona and Danny It wasn’t until sometime after the first real blizzard blew in that I registered the starling’s absence. What followed was a long, cold winter of wet woolen skies and empty branches. The next spring, the flock returned. Two birds in particular seemed to favour Fiona’s paddock. I like to think it was Fiona’s starling, come back to introduce his new bride to his oversized bestie. A half a dozen years would go by before my aching heart grasped for the memory of that golden summer – the beautiful season of the starling. The story knew its own shape by then. All I had to do was clear a few weeds and watch it bloom. The Pony and the Starling is not an exact re-telling of what transpired. Of course not. It is an impressionist’s montage of overlapping memories and images and emotions. Fiona and Danny are both in there, although not by name. The girl is me – with nuances of my own children. The mother is also me – but she is my mother, too. The farmhouse is the one where I raised my children – but it’s also the one where I was raised. And the pony is both Fiona and my childhood pony, J.D., who was not grey but equally beautiful and beloved. And that is only my side of the story. Kristina Jones, whose gorgeous artwork gives this book wings, brings with her the ponies, birds and landscapes of her experience. Their lives and colours and seasons animate these pages, too. I hope, if you read The Pony and the Starling, you will see flickers of places and people and pets that reside in your heart as well. Their truths – your truths –inhabit this story, adding highlights and shimmers to its layers that are just for you. Such is the magic of picture books. Every truth has a story, and every story has a season. At the end of the day, as Thomas King tells us, the truth about stories is that’s all we are.  Fiona and Jennifer Jennifer McGrath is an award-winning author whose books include The Pony and the Starling, illustrated by Kristina Jones, The Snow Knows, illustrated by Josée Bisaillon and winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award; Pugs Cause Traffic Jams, illustrated by Kathryn Durst and middle grade adventure novel, Chocolate River Rescue, winner of the Hackmatack Award. She lives in Hillsborough, New Brunswick, where she is currently owned by a 3 ½ year-old border collie named Robbie, and a very fuzzy, 2-year old pony named Thorin.
www.jennifermcgrath.ca/ |
