Crafts and Tricks

In addition to writing my books, I regularly submit non-fiction articles, poems, craft and fiction stories to children’s magazines such as Spider, Cricket, Highlights, Fun for Kidz, YESMag, Faces, Odyssey, and KNOW.  In case you haven’t come across my work in these magazines yet, here are a few crafts projects and tricks I thought you might enjoy:

Fun with Cooking

I have a sweet tooth and almost all of the cooking projects I submit to magazines are made with the sweetest ingredients. So if you’re like me and LOVE licorice, jellybeans, gumballs, chocolate, jujubes, cupcakes, cookies, and just about everything sweet, it’s time to wash your hands, put your apron on, and get creating! Click on the links below for some of my tastiest recipes:

Download bookmarks
featuring my books:

• A Bloom of Friendship: The Story of the Canadian Tulip Festival
• Into the Mist: The Story of the Empress of Ireland
• Island of Hope and Sorrow: The Story of Grosse Île
• La Grosse-Île : Terre de chagrin et d'espoir
• Missuk's Snow Geese
• Pier 21: Stories from Near and Far

You'll need the free Adobe Reader to download these bookmarks.

Did you know?

Did you know that some magazines like Highlights publish riddles, stories, crafts and drawings from kids? Why not submit your own creations? Who knows, you might be the first in your school to become published!

People have generously shared parts of their lives with me so I could include them in my non-fiction books. In my book Pier 21: Stories from Near and Far, for example, you can read about the experiences of people who came through Pier 21, as children. What I have learned from their stories is that each one of us has a story to tell, and that each of our stories is different from anybody else’s. I have also learned that it is very important to preserve our family stories, otherwise they will be lost.

I encourage you to think about your family story and of how you might preserve it, whether it is in a journal, or a scrapbook, or on computer. I also encourage you to speak to your parents, grand-parents, aunts and uncles and begin recording your family story. You will be amazed by what you learn.

To help you get started, check out this link for fun material and activities that will help you record your family’s history, including the Give me five generations! chart

Canadian Genealogy Centre – Youth corner