Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools, recently held 3 speaking engagements in Vancouver, BC.  Reporter Rebecca Wigod’s claim that Greg draws crowds like a rock star is definitely true as the 4,000 available tickets sold out in record time! I was one of the many disappointed ones to not get a ticket but several of my friends attended and all raved about their experiences. Children’s author Margriet Ruurs was also lucky enough to get a ticket and had this photo to share along with these thoughts:

Last night we listened to Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, as he shared his experiences of building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Did you know that the book is now mandatory reading for high ranking officials in the US army? It makes me feel hopeful to know that they might be listening to such a wise peacemaker. I felt honored to meet Greg and exchange books with him.

Check out Margriet’s blog to read more about her evening.

Last Friday, my daughter Emma, our neighbours Thea and Will, and I headed off to North Vancouver to attend the Fall Book Harvest Festival. What a fabulous afternoon we had!

For me, the biggest thrill was finally meeting author Margriet Ruurs in person. Here she is reading her newest book My School in the Rain Forest to the kids. They loved the photos in this book and it was a real eye-opener for them to see some of the schools that kids attend. Thea was most interested in the Egypt page (”Wow – they can see the pyramids from their school!”) and Emma wished she could move to Scotland so she could attend school in a castle! Besides showing readers how schools differ throughout the world, Margriet has another goal for this book: to generate student interest in service learning and to encourage students to adopt a library or school in need of books or teaching resources. Click here to read Margriet’s ideas on this.

The photo to the right shows a book that is truly hot off the press! Author Rebecca Kool had only received this copy of Fly Catcher Boy from the printer a few hours earlier and the kids were quite impressed when she showed them that this was copy #1.

Written in English and using Japanese words and expressions throughout the text, Fly Catcher Boy tells the story of Kenji, who is alone during a thunderstorm one night when he is startled by a noise outside and finds a wet and miserable cat on his doorstep. He brings the cat inside and after introductions to his grandmother the next morning, Kenji and his new friend set off on adventures in their small Japanese town. The book also contains a glossary for phonetic pronunciation and the kanji letter for each Japanese word.

Here’s David J. Smith with his book If the World Were a Village. This book is a classic in our house so Emma and I were especially pleased to get a chance to talk to David and to see his newest book, If America Were a Village. This book uses (more…)

The Fall Book Harvest will be held this coming Friday at the North Vancouver Public Library, 120 West 14th Street, North Vancouver, BC. Both my 9-year-old daughter and I are looking forward to attending this event! Put on by the North Vancouver Public Library, the BC Coalition for School Libraries, and CWILL BC (Children’s Writers and Illustrators of British Columbia), the afternoon will feature live presentations, free autographs, displays, door prizes, activities, a book sale hosted by Kidsbooks, and a chance for local schools to win a free author visit. Over 30 authors and illustrators are scheduled to appear, including one of my daughter’s favorites (and mine!), Margriet Ruurs! I’ll be sure to bring the camera and try to post some photos next week.

Perhaps it’s because she shares her name with the title character that my daughter just loves the “Emma” picture books by award-winning author Margriet Ruurs. Emma, the book version that is, is a hen with personality, persistence and pluck. Her barnyard adventures are hysterical to both young and old readers and as one reviewer says “Emma is a hapless heroine who always seems to triumph in the end – a true role model for the underdog.”

I love the Emma books too: however, my favorite book by Margriet is My Librarian is a Camel. Inspired by a newspaper article, this book describes unusual mobile libraries found in thirteen countries, from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe. Besides bookmobiles, this book shows librarians using animals (camels, horses, donkeys, elephants), bicycles, and even a wheelbarrow, to bring books to children in hard-to-reach areas. Complete with world map and text boxes with country information, this book received the International Reading Association’s Notable Book for Global Awareness recognition and has led to schools adopting mobile libraries projects around the world.

Following a similar photo-essay format, Margriet’s newest book My School in the Rain Forest: How Children Attend School Around the World is now available! Several years in the making, this book shares stories and information about many countries around the world and how children attend school. Readers get to know students — from the arid plains of southern Afghanistan to the rain forests of Guatemala — who are pursuing their dreams of a brighter future. At a school that sits on the edge of the Sahara, students are learning to speak English from a teacher who stands in front of a Webcam in North America. In another part of the world, kids aren’t waiting to ride the bus to school — they are waiting to hop in a boat that will take them to a school that floats on a river. And some kids don’t mind heights, especially those who attend a school on the slope of a mountain in the Himalayas, in one of the most remote corners of the earth.

Margriet often does school visits and will be doing slideshow presentations about her travels and the making of this book. Keep an eye on her blog and hopefully she will share some of the details with us.