Schools & Libraries Kathy’s aim when talking with students from elementary through high school is always to inspire their interest in reading and in writing. Reading aloud from something she wrote as a child, a published book, and/or a work-in-progress is part of any visit. So is discussing the writing and editing process. Students get…

I love to read aloud. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been a volunteer at the CNIB for 15 years now. I’ve recently completed narrating my 50th book there (Beholden by Lesley Crewe). It’s called narrating because it’s not always a matter of simply reading the words on the page, clearly and accurately with no extraneous…

Imagine a youtube channel devoted to video resources all about Canadian books for children and youth?     Bibliovideo has been launched! The program will bring readings, interviews, activities, trailers, and reviews to teachers, parents, and kids of all ages. The closing of schools and libraries motivated the Canadian Children’s Book Centre to work hard to…

Because I’m so grateful for my own vision health, and because I love to read aloud (and do it well), I’ve been working as a volunteer reader and technician at the CNIB Recording Studio for the past 6 years. In that time I’ve narrated parts of various magazines and text books and 19 entire books.…

Well, it’s off to a great start! This morning I had a million reasons to get up and get going on my day, but I had to stay in bed to finish reading Dooley Takes the Fall by Norah McClintock first. You don’t often see “literary” and “page-turner” together in a review, but both words apply to…

I don’t think anyone needs convincing that learning to read is a necessary life skill. Reading aloud to kids is a crucial part of motivating them to want to learn to read. It’s probably also the easiest and most fun way to motivate them. For many people happy memories of being read to as a…

Do you read out loud to your kids? Do you read out loud to your friends? Here’s a very short excerpt of a book I’m reading – Frankie & Stankie by Barbara Trapido. Not one of the books quite throws at Dinah, as Pride and Prejudice does, how dialogue can lift and dance on points, how sentences…

A writer-friend of mine has been thinking lately about the possibility of having multiple viewpoint characters in a novel she is working on. Since she’s been wondering what that might look like, I sent her a copy of Fish House Secrets which is told from two points of view, as a trade for her book…

When my book group gathers in December, we break from our usual practice of discussing a book we’ve all read. One year I read aloud to the group a story from Rick Book’s Christmas in Canada. Another year we all brought a short Christmas story or poem that we liked. Last year we laughed along…

For close to seven years now, following a successful audition, I have been a volunteer reader at the CNIB. Pictured with me in the booth at the Recording Studio in Toronto is Alex MacDonald, who has been reading for roughly twice as long. Ordinarily during a recording session, there is one narrator, seated, reading a book aloud inside…

Seven years ago this week, I began volunteering at the CNIB Recording Studio in Toronto – reading books and teching for others who are reading. In addition to magazine articles and chunks of various textbooks, (and the foreword to a book being read by a male narrator), I have read a wide range of books – for kids,…

The next excerpt from my PYI keynote in a series that started in December 2011… Up on Ipswich Road a girl my age, not a servant, boards with Doctor Griggs. Uncle Ingersoll says the girl’s so quiet you can hear snowflakes falling ‘pon her cheek. “Elizabeth,” I call when I pass her on the road…

The next excerpt from my PYI keynote in a series that started in December 2011… Here’s one more bit of ‘sock fluff’, from my youth. Feel free to join me if you know it. Don’t you just love the rhythm, the language, the passion, and the innuendo in Part 1 of “The Highwayman” by Alfred…

Don’t you love this display at Vancouver Kids Books? Clever thinking on the part of its designer. Good news for The Man with the Violin continues to roll in. It has already being reprinted. Starred reviews and others it’s attracted are lovely. It’s fabulous that the book is being made available at Joshua Bell’s North…

Sometimes when it was my husband’s turn to drive this summer, I read aloud from William Trevor’s Selected Stories to help pass the miles. We often marveled at how compelling a story was for how much Trevor left out of its telling. I was reminded of one of my (many) favourite quotes about writing, which…

I love reading aloud to any willing audience. This week is giving me lots of chances to do so. Reading Christmas-y excerpts from Brian Doyle’s Angel Square to my Book Group. Reading Draft #5 of a story-in-progress for feedback from one of my writing groups (I’m lucky to have two). I’ll be reading that draft…

Did you know that Paul McCartney was 16 years old when he and John Lennon wrote “When I’m Sixty Four”? Paul and Ringo are the only two Beatles who lived to see 64. John was murdered at 40 and George died from lung cancer at 58. When the song was released in 1967, I was…

Labour Day weekend on the south shore of Nova Scotia included happy hours with family and then with beloved writer-friend, Budge Wilson. My first weekend home after a long summer away, I made seeing family here a priority: son, daughter, sister, dad, and attachments where applicable (including this lovely boy I hadn’t seen since July). …

  Kathy Goes to Greece – A Slideshow What made me decide to attend the 2018 IBBY Congress? It was in Greece. Canadian Deborah Ellis was delivering a keynote. Having been recently researching the life and work of Jella Lepman, I wanted to experience firsthand how such a conference would express the ideals that underpinned…