Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "ontario-library-association"

So pleased and very, very honoured to say that The Gargoyle at the Gates, book three in my Lost Gargoyle series, has been nominated for a Silver Birch Express 2014 award! Wuhoo!

Thank you to the Ontario Library Association, and thank you to my hardworking (long suffering?) publisher, Dundurn Press. A nomination like this shines the light on my characters and my book, yes, but I'd like to reflect some of that light onto the book people, the librarians, the readers and the hard working people behind the scenes (my editor, publicist and marketing manager come immediately to mind).

I'm really looking forward to another winter of school visits promoting gargoyles, Toronto and reading. Here's a link to another blog post about the nomination: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2013/10/...

I didn't get to meet Gordon Lightfoot last time I was nominated in 2012, but hey, maybe this year K'naan will show up! THAT would be very, very cool!

It's the stroke of midnight ... and the gargoyles come out to dance!

Listen to the Gargoyle Ballet: https://soundcloud.com/phdowding/the-...

Inspired by a scene from The Gargoyle at the Gates (p. 91), written and played by the author. Enjoy!

What a great week! I received a lovely gift in the mail, from a teacher and her students in Northern Ontario. They made me 3 awesome buttons for my OLA Silver Birch Express nominated book, "The Gargoyle at the Gates" and a gargoyle friendship bracelet, cuz, you know, everyone wants to be friends with a gargoyle!!

I LOVE their gifts (thanks guys!). Here's a photo on my other blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2014/03/...

Plus, some time ago I won a Kobo from my publisher's annual party in January. I'm the queen of terrible selfies (I hardly ever take them, it's been three months since I last used my camera), so if you'd like to see a photo of me looking uncomfortable, you'll find it there, too.

Wow. That was fun. I just spent three days in the Near North in the company of 12 other fantastic authors, dozens of dedicated librarians and OLA staff, and THOUSANDS of kids, all excited about books and the Forest of Reading.My book, The Gargoyle at the Gates, has been nominated for a Silver Birch Express award. Thank you to everyone for making the tour so fun and memorable.

A few teeny anecdotes:
1. Michael Glassbourg, one of the other authors on tour, looked awfully familiar when he climbed into the van at the end of his work day. Turns out, he's been my neighbour (he lives one street away) for 20 years. It took an author tour for us to meet. Huh.
2. Kari-Lynn Winter does a FANTASTIC moose call.
3. When a child tells you that you are her favourite author of all time, it would be very easy to burst into tears (but you don't).
4. Somehow, no matter how many bookmarks you sign, they magically never run out!
Here's a blog post with photos: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2014/05/...

I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was 9 years old ...

I've been playing with my scanner this week, going through old pictures in preparation for school and library presentations this spring. As an OLA Red Maple nominee, I'm really honoured to be talking about my 4th book, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, to kids in grade 7 and 8 in Thunder Bay and here in Toronto.

What to talk to them about, I've been wondering?

Then it came to me. I scanned a picture of myself at 9 years old and realized the answer was staring me in the face: Who here wants to be a writer? You can do it. I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was 9 years old ...

Here's me, at 9: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/01/...

... and other top moments from the Ontario Library Association Forest of Trees in Toronto on May 12th, 2015.

Thank you for the Red Maple nomination, OLA. Although my book, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, didn't win, it hardly mattered. It was such an honour to meet the other authors, the librarians, teachers and amazing young readers ... the nomination honestly does feel like winning.

Here's a longer blog post about top moments from the Forest of Reading 2015, with photos: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/05/...

Philippa Dowding



Thank you to the Ontario Library Association for posting this interview with me today from the Festival of Trees, Harbourfront, Toronto, May 2017.

http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2017/07/...

I laugh a lot (the interviewer was hilarious, I don't usually laugh this much). I talk about how the Forest of Reading has changed my life, best moments from the festival, and their new pilot project, Forest Fridays. Watching it reminds me of what a great memory the Forest of Reading is, always so fun and such an honour. Winning Silver Birch Express Honor Book for Myles and the Monster Outside is pretty memorable, too!

Thanks again to the OLA!

This post is a list of free resources for everyone working hard to keep kids entertained, enlightened, engaged at home right now.

There are several excellent Canadian book sites for kids, which offer interesting, fun, educator-approved resources for parents and teachers.

Here are two that are completely free, with Teacher's Guides, author's websites, virtual readings and more. (I'm focusing on Canada here, but American publishers and in fact most children's publishers have a website with free resources for kids, so check them out too.)

Ontario Library Association, Forest of Reading.
Website: https://forestofreading.com/school-ag...

Check out the Forest of Reading program, 1-hour online author talks, resources, games, crosswords, author websites, ideas to engage with books and much more, all completely free from the Ontario Library Association.

The Canadian Children's Book Centre
Website: https://bookcentre.ca/news/canadian-b...

The CCBC has just launched the new Read Canadian at Home: Resources for Parents resource on their website. LOTS of authors are linked, with resources, games, videos, book talks and much more, and more authors are joining in every day.

I hope this helps you engage your young readers. We can't hold each other right now, but until we can, it might help to hold a book.