Rebecca Upjohn, Children's Author

Celebrating Pride Month Reading 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 ~ week 4+

~On the Line by Eric Walters & Paul Coccia
~From the Notebook of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson
~Zara Hossain is Here by Sabina Khan
~answers in the pages by David Levithan
~Sink or Swim by Tash McAdam
~When Aiden Became a Big Brother by Kyle Lukoff & Kaylani Juanita
~Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
~Growing Up Trans In Our Own Words ed. Dr. Lindsay Herriot & Kate Fry
~Mom Marries Mum by Ken Setterington & Alice Priestly
~Pride, The Celebration and the Struggle by Robin Stevenson

Celebrating Pride Month Reading 📚 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ - week 3

~Indivisible by Daniel Aleman
~The Camino Club by Kevin Craig
~Branded by the Pink Triangle by Ken Setterington
~Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki & Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
~I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
~Operatic by Kyo Maclear & Byron Eggenschwiler
~Melissa by Alex Gino

Celebrating Pride Month reading 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ - week 2

~ Hurricane Season by Nicole Melleby
~ Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino and Isabell Malenfant
~ The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan
~ The Fabulous Zed Watson by Basil Sylvester and Kevin Sylvester
~ A Plan for Pops by Heather Smith and Brooke Kerrigan
~ Cub by Paul Coccia
~ Scars by Cheryl Rainfield

Celebrating Pride Month by reading 🌈 ~ week 1

~ Love After The End ed. Joshua Whitehead
~ Pride Colors by Robin Stevenson
~ Rebent Sinner by Ivan Coyote
~ Too Bright To See by Kyle Lukoff
~ Keep This To Yourself by Tom Ryan
~ Like A Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
~ from the stars in the sky to the fish in the sea ~ kai cheng thom, wai-yant li, kai yun ching

Some joy early this morning in a laneway in Toronto: a glimpse of Wild Things. I'm not sure who the artist is but their work made my day immeasurably better.

A powerful reading by Eric Walters and Paul Coccia from their new much needed Middle Grade novel, On the Line. My heart was in my throat as they read the scene when 13-year-old Jordie learns that his dad is gay. Link to the launch in the first comment.

If you are looking for a charity to donate to in support of Ukraine, author and friend, Marsha Skrypuch, suggested the Canada-Ukraine Foundation. https://www.cufoundation.ca/

Home - CANADA-UKRAINE FOUNDATION March 4, 2022. TORONTO/OTTAWA – Today, the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal announced a further $1,070,000 CAD of aid to be delivered early next week.

Found Art. On a recent ravine walk in Toronto I came across this hand embroidered poem hanging from a branch. It combines two of my favourite manifestations of creative work: writing and handwork. Both take time and effort. I loved that the two came together in this gem. Bonus for embroidering the words in cursive! I don't know who the poet/artist is but it was a gift to discover. Whoever you are, thank you!

Today on : Remembering Anton Suchunski who risked his own life and saved six people. More about his story in The Secret of the Village Fool (by yours truly and illustrated by Renne Benoit). In this video Shelley Zeiger and Emanuel Adler remember Anton. https://youtu.be/PSz3jd8_RbU

Remembering Anton Suchinski Video interview excerpts with Shelley Zeiger and Emanuel Adler as they remember Anton Suchinski, to whom they both owe their lives. I tell Anton's story in T...

Peace and good cheer for the adventures of 2022. Wishing you all a year of boundless creativity and love. Take care of yourselves and let's continue to take care of each other.

Jason Reynolds, National Ambassador of Young People's Literature in the USA, talks about kids needing to be seen and writing for young people with intention...also about anxiety.

https://youtu.be/nNzYE_4DdtA

"There's Nothing Wrong With Us" - Jason Reynolds Says Normalizing Anxiety Is A Way To Beat It New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds makes his first visit to The Late Show for a fascinating discussion of the novels he writes for children, an...

Congratulations to Philippa Dowding for winning the 2021 Governor General's Award for Young People's Literature (text) for her beautiful book, Firefly! https://ggbooks.ca/firefly

Firefly (Young People’s Literature – Text – English) The 2021 GGBooks winner for Young People’s Literature – Text (English) is Philippa Dowding’s Firefly.

Shamsia Hassani, an Afghan graffiti artist. Website in the first comment. Thank you, Martha Attema for sharing this.

Happy to see a few of my fungi photos in The Keene Sentinel.

Please take the time to watch three Indigenous Authors, David Alex Robert, Melanie Florence and Jay Odjick talk about their recommendations on National Day For Truth and Reconciliation:

https://youtu.be/CBvbVKchsrM

Indigenous Authors on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Join bestselling, award-winning children’s authors David A. Robertson (The Barren Grounds, On the Trapline), Melanie Florence (Stolen Words, Just Lucky), and...

Good Morning XO 🧡
https://nctr.ca/exhibits/survivors-flag/
http://remember-me-september-30.org

Today is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada and also Orange Shirt Day. I commit to continuing my learning about the ongoing impacts of colonialism and the effects of Indian Residential School.

Below is a link to the 94 calls to action from The Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was released in 2015.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/truth-and-reconciliation-94-calls-to-action-1.3362258

A whole story contained in a bee and the cosmos.

Fibonacci Sequence/Golden Ratio in the sunflower. I keep gawking at this beauty which graces my garden (and didn't get eaten by the deer when it was small). What wonders are you noticing around you?

This big old maple has seen quite a number of years and still endures. Trees give me such comfort standing in place, weathering the seasons, networking in quiet ways, reaching above and below. Have you hugged a tree recently? Go out, lean your forehead against one and tell it how you're feeling.

Some days my head is far far away from my body and it's a long way to reach a feeling of grounding. What do you do to stay grounded? I like to walk and eventually I stop talking to myself and become more present in the moment. It was a gorgeous pre-sundown light on this pasture. A clear September day.

Adelyn Newman-Ting, first Indigenous Child Author for UNESCO's Voices of Future Generations, launched her book Finding the Language via an International Round table on Indigenous Children's Voices and Rights today marking International Day of Indigenous People today. PDF:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57c2c554b8a79b45b41ff13b/t/611000a61d734d4ec4ea6278/1628438696517/015_layout_finding_KDP_combined_004_no_logos.pdf

Learning in two directions: Where do stories come from and where do they go? Author/Photographer, Ralph Fletcher and Bookseller/Educator Alison Weber of ALRAN Books were spotted on the back roads of New Hampshire scouting for loons and waterfalls.

Links to each of them in the comments.

Basking in the sun.Photo in the Keene Sentinel by yours truly.

https://www.sentinelsource.com/hub/community_camera/feelin-all-right/image_0422845d-6e47-5637-a982-5af1aead029f.html

Feelin' all right A painted turtle basks in the sun on Silver Lake.

Today we are marking Canada Day. I'm spending my day continuing my learning about the colonial history of this country and the ongoing harm experienced by the Indigenous people in this land. I am deeply grateful to have been born here but I am also thinking today about all the children who never came home from the residential schools and what colonialism has done to generations of families and how it continues to impact people who were here long before my own settler ancestors.

I'm thinking about Monique Gray Smith's words which I heard her speak recently. What she said resonated deeply. She said, "I am the descendant of my ancestors and I am the ancestor of my descendants. I am standing on a bridge at a time of a potential for significant change. What is your role going to be in that transformative change in this place we call Canada?"

What do I want to carry into the future? I apologize for the harm perpetuated by my own lack of awareness and understanding and my own settler history. I promise to learn and do better. What I want is to participate in reconciliation so we don't continue the devastation and harm into the future of our children and their descendants.

Monique Gray Smith said that children's books at the heart can be good medicine. I believe that is true. Storytelling is powerful. Let us not deny the stories of the past or silence the stories of the present - let us hear them. And let us create stories of hope and healing for the future.



and we are all connected.

The Writers' Union of Canada has provided a useful list to learn more and how to take some action:
https://www.writersunion.ca/news/sorrow-and-support-indigenous-communities-victimized-canada-s-residential-school-system

Sorrow and Support to Indigenous Communities Victimized by Canada’s Residential School System Committed to advocacy and community, The Writers' Union of Canada provides services, programs, and support for Canadian writers.

Strawberry Moonrise with the silhouette of Mt. Monadnock last night...light from one home shining out. I was mesmerized by the rising moon and understand why there is so much mythology around it. Powerful medicine.

One of the ways I deal with painful subjects is to read. It helps me learn. The effects of Colonialism and our history in Canada has caused long lasting and devastating harm to Indigenous people for which I am deeply sorry. But I won't look away. I'm grateful to the powerful voices raised to shake us out of the status quo. We have a very long way to go. These books give me hope. Yes, they are for kids and young adults but they are deeply affecting. is today. I know reading is only one small step but sharing these stories is vital. If you are unfamiliar with these books, check them out. There is a world here.

Today is , commemorating the day the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863) was finally decreed in Texas--June 19, 1865 is the day recognized when the last slaves were freed.

I grieve for the families of the 215 children whose remains were found in Kamloops, British Columbia. "The discovery was announced on Thursday by the chief of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation".

I grieve for the children and for all the other children who never came home from the residential schools and who were victims of abuse and physical and cultural genocide. Colonialism and its history in Canada continues to impact Indigenous people.

I grieve for the survivors who experienced the trauma first hand and whose families have suffered because of it.

I grieve for the families who had their children taken away.

We have such a long way to go. I am so, so sorry for the harm done to Indigenous people across the country and for its traumatic legacy.

I will continue to learn, to not look away.

Tamara Pierce's books are timely as ever.

Revisiting Tamora Pierce’s Tortall Books as a Mother Tamora Pierce’s most recent Tortall book, Tempests and Slaughter, focuses on the early life of Numair Salmalín, known then as Arram Draper, and his time at the University of Carthak. Once I f…

Congratulations to all the nominees!

The finalists for the 2020 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text | CBC Books The finalists for the 2020 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text.

Thrilled and honored to be invited by journalist, Minu Mathew, to be one of the voices to weigh in on the many ways Kim's Convenience has enriched our lives. Tonight is the final episode and as a I am sad to see it end. https://newcanadianmedia.ca/fans-bid-tearful-adieu-to-kims-convenience/

Fans Bid Tearful Adieu to "Kim’s Convenience" - New Canadian Media The abrupt end of the CBC's hit comedy show "Kim's Convenience," whose last episode will air on April 13, has left fans around the world heartbroken.

I followed Canada Reads this week and was so glad to see Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead and defended by Devery Jacobs win. It is a book so far outside my own experience I resisted reading it at first. But it has a raw, powerful, unapologetic and hopeful core of healing. And this is what books can do. I needed to read it.

https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-winner-of-canada-reads-2021-is-1.5945286

The winner of Canada Reads 2021 is... | CBC Books The votes are in. Find out who took the Canada Reads 2021 crown — was it Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi championed by Roger Mooking? Or Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead championed by Devery Jacobs?

Call for submissions! Trans Anthology for Young Readers Canadian Children's Books - Annick Press

Jackie says . Wishing everyone a glorious deep dive into wondrous worlds by Canadian creators. What are you reading today? . Thank you & all those who made this happen. 🙏🏻 https://t.co/PjjJvdAQT3

Rebecca Upjohn on Twitter “Jackie says . Wishing everyone a glorious deep dive into wondrous worlds by Canadian creators. What are you reading today? . Thank you & all those who made this happen. 🙏🏻”

Up for some Epic Reads and Other Worlds for Day? I dare you to stop at 15 minutes as you burrow in with Box of Bones by Marina Cohen, An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet, The Golden Book of Faerie (4 in 1!) by Orla Melling, The Keeper of the Isis Light by Monica Hughes, The Barren Grounds (book one) by David A Robertson, Witchlanders by Lena Coakley, Occulum by Philippa Dowding and The Summoning (book 1) by Kelley Armstrong.

How about something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue for Day tomorrow! Emily of New Moon by L.M.Montgomery (1st published in 1923!), The Fabulous Zed Watson by Kevin and Basil Sylvester, Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson, and Up to Low by Brian Doyle.

What keeps your heart pounding and your fingers turning the pages of the past? BOOKS for Day on Feb. 17 by Barbara Greenwood, William Bell, Sylvia McNicoll, Eric Walters, Martha Attema, Monica Kulling, Arthur Slade and Debbie Spring.

Pandemic 100 years apart. How do/did we cope? On February 17th, Day, give Pat Bourke's Yesterday's Dead and Eric Walter's Don't Stand So Close To Me a try to find out.