Welcome to Mad Science Mondays, where we talk about depictions of science in movies, TV shows, books, and the media. We dissect the good, the bad, the comical and the outright irresponsible. Who says learning about science can’t be fun? Despite swearing off of live-action-remakes-of-Disney-movies-that-really-didn’t-need-to-be-remade-to-begin-with, Tech Support and I recently watched the new version of The Lion King. Which isn’t even “live action” so much as “slightly more advanced animation,” but whatever. I have mixed…

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Welcome to Teach Write! This column draws on my 20 years’ experience teaching writing to kids, university students, and adult learners. It includes ideas and exercises that teachers can use in the classroom, and creative writers can use to level up their process. If you’re new to this column, we’ve spent the last couple months talking about the influence that our intended audience has on the way we approach a piece of writing, and now…

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Welcome to STEMinism Sunday! As a former woman in science, I have a deep and enduring interest in the experiences and representation of women in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). This series will be an opportunity for me – and you – to get to know some of these intellectual badasses. I learned about Dr. Patricia Bath – ophthalmologist and laser scientist – while researching my children’s book, Innovations in Health. Of all…

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Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by great Canadian children’s writers! Today, something a little different – my friend, author, actress, singer, knitter, and all-around-amazing-talent Melanie Gall, discusses one of our favourite books, by legendary Canadian author L. M. Montgomery. Take it away, Melanie! Tribute to a Classic: Rilla of Ingleside Rilla of Ingleside is the eighth and final book in Canadian Author L.M. Montgomery’s iconic Anne of Green Gables series.  It was published in…

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Welcome to Mad Science Mondays, where we talk about depictions of science in movies, TV shows, books, and the media. We dissect the good, the bad, the comical and the outright irresponsible. Who says learning about science can’t be fun? Did you miss the previous instalments in this series? Check the archives for posts on Martin Brenner, Sam Owens, and Dr. Alexei. Today, we’re talking about my favourite character, never mind scientist, in all of…

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Welcome to Teach Write! This column draws on my 20 years’ experience teaching writing to kids, university students, and adult learners. It includes ideas and exercises that teachers can use in the classroom, and creative writers can use to level up their process. As part of our preparation for writing a new piece, we need to think about audience – who we are writing for and how the knowledge and needs of that audience affect…

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Welcome to STEMinism Sunday! As a former woman in science, I have a deep and enduring interest in the experiences and representation of women in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). This series will be an opportunity for me – and you – to get to know some of these intellectual badasses. In honour of the recent, first-ever, all-female spacewalk, I thought I’d share three recent, amazing Canadian kids’ books united by the theme…

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Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by great Canadian children’s writers! Today’s guest: Jean Mills. Take it away, Jean! How the setting sparked the story: Larkin on the Shore Warning, readers: I’m not a science writer. But like any scientist, I do incorporate research findings (of a sort) into my stories. Here’s one example that’s especially true of my most recent YA novel, Larkin on the Shore. When stories come to me, they usually start…

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Welcome to Mad Science Mondays, where we talk about depictions of science in movies, TV shows, books, and the media. We dissect the good, the bad, the comical and the outright irresponsible. Who says learning about science can’t be fun? This is Part III in my series on the scientists of Stranger Things. Check the blog archive for thoughts on Martin Brenner and Sam Owens. Today, we take a look at everyone’s favourite Russian scientist,…

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Welcome to Teach Write! This column draws on my 20 years’ experience teaching writing to kids, university students, and adult learners. It includes ideas and exercises that teachers can use in the classroom, and creative writers can use to level up their process. This will be our final column on audience (at least for now). So buckle up for a crash course on age levels in children’s literature! First, a caveat: the categories I’m presenting…

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