I LOVE the Reading for the Love of It Conference and was thrilled to be back for the 45th annual event. Nothing beats spending time with passionate and enthusiastic educators and fellow creators. I was surprised and delighted to find out I was to receive the Heart Award of Recognition. The award “honours a member of the literacy community who has shown unwavering support for our organization and commitment to improving the quality of literacy instruction by encouraging the development of a lifelong interest in reading”. Recipients are given $500.00 to donate to the charity of their choice. My choice? The IBBY Canada Reading with Newcomer Children Program. The icing on the cake was having the honour of attending the awards Banquet and hearing the inspiring speaker Michelle Good. What’s not to love about sharing the love of reading?
Barbara and Gary read and grow!Barbara and Gary play Words of Art!
I had two fun filled video sessions at CBC Kids! First I got to meet Gary the Unicorn at the CBC Kids Book Club. We shared my book Watch It Grow: Backyard Life Cycles – and did a little gardening. Next, Gary challenged me to a creative and exciting game of Words of Art inspired by the book I Love You More, by Emil Sher and illustrated by me. How would YOU illustrate “love”? Click on the photos to watch the videos! Thanks to Gary and all my new frienderinos at CBC Kids for a wonderful time!
January 27th is Family Literacy Day, an annual initiative that aims to encourage reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family. I’m delighted to be partnering with ABC Life Literacy Canada again to talk about the importance of family literacy. I’m especially excited about this year’s theme, “Celebrate your heritage”, because it truly offers a great opportunity for families to come together and learn something that is of interest to everyone.
I’ll be hosting a virtual event for families across Canada that will include a book reading and demonstration on how to create a clay picture. Families can register for this free event here.
To take part in Family Literacy Day, visit https://abclifeliteracy.ca/all-programs/family-literacy-day/ to find fee learning activities and materials or to find a local event. There is even a downloadable tip sheet – illustrated by me! Let the celebrations begin, happy reading!
How much fun was it to spend time with my pals Scott and Jim while creating new cover art for a fresh edition of Perfect Snow? As much fun as the first snow!
Perfect Snow cover sketch
It snowed just in time to share this fresh cover for Perfect Snow!
BOOKFLAP: insights into telling and selling your kidlit stories
Bookflap is a terrific online resource for creators that offers “insights into telling and selling your kidlit stories”. Author Emil Sher and I had fun interviewing each other about the process of creating I Love You More for “Word Meets Picture” where collaborators chat after the fact. You can find our conversation here and check out more kidlit info at Bookflap. Happy reading!
In 2010 I had the privilege of visiting the First Nations community of Dettah, NWT. The students at Kaw Tay Whee school gave me a copy of a book they had created called Walking In Dettah. Each student created a page describing what you might see in each month of the year in Dettah . The words are written in English and Wılıı̀deh, the language of the Yellowknives Dene. The stunning illustrations were created with plasticine. I treasure the book and have shared it in many classrooms over the years. My short time in Dettah made a lasting impression and continues to influence my work.
Walking in Dettah book cover
Walking in Dettah illustration
Walking in Dettah back cover
This spring I learned that Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Windsor would be visiting Dettah. It brought back happy memories – and I was a little jealous! To my delight, Lea Lamoureux, principal at Kaw Tay Whee contacted me to say that students had chosen some books as a gift for Camilla and my book Picture a Tree would be one of them, along with Yellowknife author Lana de Bastiani’s The Fox and My Boot, illustrated by Janet Pacey, The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, and of course the beautiful Walking in Dettah.
Most of the teachers at Kaw Tay Whee School are not Indigenous, but the vast majority of the students, parents and grandparents are. Students taught Camilla a little Wılıı̀deh.
“I think the fact that they had the opportunity to show, talk, and demonstrate – share important pieces of their culture at the school, where they were comfortable – it felt like a meaningful experience to me,” said Lamoureux.
“Putting that out into the world was important, and I think it was important for the students to feel that their identity was important. Some of the kids wore their orange shirts.” You can read more about the royal visit to Dettah here.
My treasured Kaw Tay Whee School mug
Stories connect us across time and place. I am always moved by the friendships and connections that continue through books, art, and reading. I raise my Kaw Tay Whee mug of tea to that! (pinky out for the Duchess!).
As proud member # 43009 of the Cloud Appreciation Society I was thrilled to have my art featured in the CAS Cloud Art Gallery. The featured illustration is “You can watch the passing parade” from Picture the Sky . My head is in the clouds! The CAS is a fun and fascinating organization for artists, scientists, cloud spotters and daydreamers. If that sounds like you, visit https://cloudappreciationsociety.org/
January 27 is Family Literacy Day! The theme “Learning in the Great Outdoors” is close to my heart. I love learning about plants and animals, and many of my books and illustrations are inspired by things I observe in nature. Families are invited to join me on January 27 at 4:30 pm EST for a live virtual presentation featuring a clay demonstration and Q&A. You can find how to register for this free event here.
Click here for a downloadable tip sheet for ideas on how to make outdoor time a fun family learning time. For more information on programs and ways to celebrate visit ABC Family Literacy Day.
Here is a picture I created inspired by outdoor learning. What will YOU find in the great outdoors?
Celebrating Family Literacy Day 2022! Learning in the Great Outdoors
Welcome to a new virtual art gallery of original Canadian children’s book art! I’m honoured to offer some of my original art for sale via The Picturebook Gallery. The gallery is in affiliation with the Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC)which is a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to encouraging, promoting and supporting the reading, writing, illustrating and publishing of Canadian books for young readers. The award winning illustrators are donating 60% of the value of their art to support CCBC programs. The gallery opened to great success and the art has been flying! At this time only one of my originals is still available, the sky gazing dinosaurs from Picture the Sky (more pieces will be available in the new year). Don’t miss the opportunity to own an original by artists like Sue Todd, Qin Leung, Marie-Louise Gay, Gary Clement, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Jeremy Tankard and more, and know you are helping to bring Canadian books and young readers together. “See” you at the gallery!
Did dinosaurs read the sky? Original art from Picture the Sky by Barbara Reid.
I enjoyed chatting with Shiri and Kayla for the PJ Library. They are terrific friends, readers and storytellers! My book Fox Walked Alone is a current a PJ Library selection; we talked about creating stories and I shared some techniques for making a modelling clay fox. You can learn more about the PJ Library here. Enjoy the interview!
