Lana Button: Making Memories with My Grammie’s House

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Lana Button. Take it away, Lana! My new picture book is best served with Sprite in a fancy glass and my Grammie’s scotch cake cookies. So set your oven to 325F and mix: 1 pound of soft butter 1...

Continue reading


Heather Stemp: How My Family’s Link to Amelia Earhart Became a Series

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Heather Stemp. Take it away, Heather! I began writing Amelia & Me, the first book in the Ginny Ross Series, when Amelia Earhart dropped into my family history. The convergence of Amelia’s history with my own was an opportunity...

Continue reading


Sheryl McFarlane: Introducing The Blue Canoe

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Sheryl McFarlane. Take it away, Sheryl! Hi, I’m Sheryl McFarlane and I’m so excited to share my new picture book, The Blue Canoe. It’s published by Familius and beautifully illustrated by Laurel Aylesworth. Every cabin day is a paddle-on-the-lake...

Continue reading


Rochelle Strauss – Building Ocean Literacy on World Ocean Day

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Rochelle Strauss. Take it away, Rochelle! Take a deep breath in. Now hold it. You probably know that you have the trees to thank for that breath you just took. Trees and other plants provide the oxygen that makes...

Continue reading


Amanda West Lewis: On Not Being a Poet

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Amanda West Lewis. Take it away, Amanda! For most of my life, I’ve actively avoided writing poetry. There are SO MANY bad poems in the world. But poetry has always been a huge part of my life. I studied...

Continue reading


Sylvia McNicoll: About Blue to the Sky

Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by and about great Canadian children’s book creators! Today’s guest: Syliva McNicoll. Take it away, Sylvia! Food allergies seem like a big bother when you can’t bring your favourite sandwich or have a special treat day at school. But how much bigger is the bother for the person who...

Continue reading