Tag: Canada
École South Sahali interviews Gabrielle Prendergast, Author of Pandas on the Eastside
Usually I start with a situation or a premise and I slot in a character who is very much like me to start with. As I write I kind of carve away my own personality and carve in a new personality if that makes sense. Sometimes giving a character a name tells me a lot about them. What kind of parent named a child "Journey" in 1962? How does Journey feel about her name? When I add appearance details like hair color and age and size I get to know them more. Then I choose clothes for them. What kind of clothes do they like? Why? Most of my characters maintain some key characteristics of me. I love animals, for example. I love reading and learning.
from wikipedia.org
Have you ever experienced anything like what happened to the characters?
I'm a little younger than Journey would be today, but I did live in a city in the 1970s so I remember what that was like. And I HAVE seen pandas (in a zoo). The only animals I've helped are my pets and occasionally a bird if it gets stunned from flying in a window.
How long have you been writing for?
I started writing my first (unfinished) novel when I was about 11. I still have it!
Are the characters based on real people?
My brother-in-law, Ben thinks David is based on him and that's pretty much true. The rest of the characters are made up.
What inspired you to be a writer?
I've tried pretty much every other job and this is the only one I'm good at that doesn't make me sad.
What difficulties did you encounter when you were writing the book and how did you solve them?
Sometimes I'm not sure what is going to happen next. Sometimes when that happens I just wait and work on something else until I get a good idea. Other times I just write any old thing and fix it later.
from flickr.com
Do you have any tips for young writers?
Write something short enough to finish. Start with poems. Then short stories. Always try to finish. Then revise your draft to see if you can make it better. Writing is rewriting.
Did you have a plan for the novel or make it up as you went along?
I made this one up. Sometimes I use a plan because it's faster that way.
How long did it take you to write Pandas On the Eastside?
I started writing it in 2010 and sold it to my publisher in 2015. So about five years. But I was working on a bunch of other things at the same time and published four other books.
If you could have added anything else to the book, what would it have been?
I don't know! What a good question! Maybe Journey could have met the president or something.
Who is your favourite author?
I really admire Margaret Atwood and J.K Rowling.
-Melisa Hunter, Teacher-Librarian, and students from École South Sahali, Kamloops, BC
Harmoney Interviews Sharon Jennings
Harmoney Hachey of Signal Hill Elementary felt a strong connection to Sharon Jennings' Connecting Dots and was thrilled to get the chance to interview the author of the book she'd most like to see win this year's Red Cedar Award for Fiction.
SJ: Thank you for your email – it made my day! Writers spend so much time alone that it is always nice to hear how our books are received by readers. I feel deeply touched that this story spoke to you and mirrored something of your own life. Maybe you should write a book!
H: Are you considering making a sequel to this book?
SJ: Before I answer your first question, I'll explain a bit about Dots. I don't know if you have seen the book, Home Free. Leanna tells the story about meeting Cassie when she moves in next door. By the end, she finds out that Cassie isn't an orphan, but she still doesn't know the whole story.
My publisher asked me for years to write about Cassie, but I just couldn't come up with all of Cassie's story. I knew she had a hard life, and it took me some time to piece it all together in my head. The tricky part was when Cassie and Leanna meet each other. I couldn't repeat the same few chapters, and then I realized that no two people ever tell the same story the same way. I took liberties, and if my readers compare that chunk of both books, they'll see that both girls embellish things a bit. Who is telling the truth?
I wrote a third book, and my publisher wasn't too keen on it. But my agent loves it! So I changed the names and no one except you [and you!] will know that the famous actress in this story is Cassandra all grown up! Hopefully it will be published soon.
H: How long did it take you to write Connecting Dots?
SJ: I mentioned that it took me a long time to figure out Cassie's story, but when I got started, it took me about 5 months to write it. Then a few months of editing back and forth with the publisher, and publication about a year and a half after I started writing.
H: How did you include so much detail? Is the book based on a personal experience or that of a close friend? Did you make connections to Cassie?
SJ: Both of these books are very autobiographical. I set the story when I was about the same age, and I could remember many details. I still had to research, however, to make sure that I knew what movies, songs, etc. were popular, in case I had dates mixed up. I am a cross of both Leanna and Cassie – I wanted to be a writer and an actor and I wrote plays and put them on in the backyard. I did want to marry David, and I did work in Inner Foundations as a teenager and saw the women with the Holocaust tattoo.
My father died when I was 16, so I understood what Leanna felt. I also wanted to be an orphan like Anne Shirley – my very favourite book! I had some Irish relatives and they were as awful as the characters in the story – mean, biased – and one aunt knit me a sweater and called me a monkey because my arms were 'too long'.
My neighbour was a nurse and gave her daughters enemas – I did not make that up! Of course I flushed my yucky spinach down the toilet.
When I give classroom visits, and talk to students about writing, I always tell people that anything that happens to you can go into a story/book. The more detail you can add, the more realistic your story will feel.
H: What made you choose to write about this topic? When in your life did you decide to write this book?
SJ: I wrote this story at the urging of my publisher, but when I got going, I really wanted to let kids know that they can survive anything. Bad things happen, but a young person can find the strength to see adult nonsense and shortcomings for what it is, and become strong. Just look at Harry Potter!
H: Is being an author your only job? How did you come to be an author?
SJ: As well as writing, I teach writing to adults who want to write for kids, I edit and evaluate manuscripts, and I do a lot of volunteer work with writers' organizations.
I am going to Vancouver for the awards ceremony – even if I don't win! It is important to me to meet my readers and answer even more questions. I also love to inspire others to think about writing. I wrote my first school play in grade 4 and haven't stopped.
-Interview by Harmoney Hachey, Signal Hill Elementary
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Colossal Canada
Colossal Canada: 100 Epic Facts and Feats, by Elizabeth Macleod and Frieda Wishinsky
Canada is colossal – no one would doubt that after reading this lively and fascinating compendium of facts about what makes our country unique. The facts include impressive natural phenomena, historical firsts, inventions, flight and space, myth and mystery, events and people – all of which make us proud and rock the world.
The tremendous amount of content is presented in a digestible format that manages to include plenty of photos and sidebars without appearing cluttered. The tone is straightforward and engages the reader with lots of clever wordplay.
There is no index; this is not a reference work, but as a recreational read it offers an impressive and memorable vision of our country that is sure to inspire.
–Reviewed by Nona Avren