On Monday night, December 4, at 7 PM, I'll be joining two other authors and a very distinguished moderator, Mavis Reimer from the University of Winnipeg, to discuss writing historical fiction for young people.
Saturday, December 2, 2023
Friday, February 3, 2023
OLA chooses Who's Looking? as an honourable mention for its BEST BETS!
Who’s Looking has received an Honourable Mention in the Junior Nonfiction category in the Ontario Library Association’s 2022 Best Bets!
So thrilled!
Monday, December 12, 2022
I'm Touring for 2023 Canadian Children's Book Week
Attention elementary schools in the Kootneys, BC and New Brunswick
I'd love to do a reading or a workshop for your students during Canadian Children's Book Week, April 30 - May 6, 2023. You have two of my books to choose from and a selection of presentations:
Who's Looking? is a non-fiction book suitable for Kindergarten to Grade 4
A Struggle For Hope is a Holocaust novel suitable for Grades 4-9
Who's Looking? Nominated for a 2023 Silver Birch Express Award®
Who's Looking? — a Best Book of 2022 (Canadian Children's Book Centre)
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Amazing review of Who's Looking, How Animals See the World in Canadian Children's Book News!
The reviewer not only likes the book, which is wonderful, but understood exactly what I was going for and how Cornelia Li, the illustrator, enhanced my vision and ‒ as far as I'm concerned ‒ improved upon it!
Friday, August 12, 2022
Who's Looking is reviewed by ALA Booklist!
"Every scene is interesting…Young readers will enjoy pointing out the differences and hopefully be encouraged to take closer looks during their own adventures."
Monday, June 27, 2022
Q&A with Deborah Kalb
Delighted to have been invited to participate in Deborah Kalb's Q&A about my first picture book, Who's Looking: How Animals See the World, and to reflect on the writing process for non-fiction picture books.
Sunday, May 29, 2022
A Struggle For Hope featured by CBC Books and the Canadian Children's Book Centre
A Struggle for Hope has also been included in The Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens 2022 Spring Edition.
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Happy to report that Who's Looking is featured in the May 2022 Hot Off the Press list by the Children's Book Council.
Monday, April 25, 2022
Starred review from School Library Journal!
⭐"We see the animals around us, but what does the world look like to them? In this delightfully original nonfiction picture book, a young girl and her baby sister wander through woods, fields, and a shoreline, while a variety of creatures look on: birds, insects, whales, rabbits, and even wolves ... The readable text offers understandable science, while the engaging illustrations promote careful investigation ... A valuable addition to science and nature collections. Highly recommended."𑁋School Library Journal
Thursday, March 24, 2022
Who's Looking Book Launch Tuesday April 26
We have an all-star cast:
Cornelia Li, the illustrator of Who's Looking
Deborah Kerbel will launch two picture books
Mahtab Narsinhan as moderator
Hosted by McNally Robinson booksellers and Orca Books and Owl Books.
Who's Looking featured by Canadian Independant Booksellers!
Who’s Looking is featured in the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association Spring Preview for Young Readers ("a collection of new and forthcoming books to fill out your 'to be read' list this spring").
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Catch Me At Thin Air Kids Festival
I am thrilled to be part of Thin Air Kids Festival, part of the 2022 Winnipeg International Writers Festival. I have made two videos about my new novel A Struggle for Hope and one video for my novel Cloning Miranda. I hope you will check them out.
Plus the good people at Thin Air managed to describe A Struggle For Hope better than I could. Here is what they said:
"In A Struggle for Hope, Carol Matas shares the story of Ruth, a young Holocaust survivor caught in a war zone who tells stories to chart a path through memory, trauma, loss, and fear, to find a new way to live."
Five-star review from Canadian Review of Materials
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
"The conversational text is well-organized, succinct, child-friendly and inquisitive. Many interesting facts are woven throughout, such as owls have three eyelids; baby rabbits open their eyes when they are ten days old; and mice are colour-blind. Scientific vocabulary is explained in a crystal clear, easily-understood manner:
"Encouraging close obsevation Who’s Looking? is an eye-opening STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math) picture book."
Click here for full review.
Sunday, January 16, 2022
Join me on Jan. 27 for an International Holocaust Remembrance Day Webinar
Attention: Principals, Teachers and Parents
During the presentation, we will engage directly with students via a chatbox and a Q&A in a secure Zoom webinar format, so they’ll have plenty of chances to jump in with questions and comments.
Click here to register for an all-school pass at $150. If you put "Friend of Carol" in the notes field, the cost drops to $125. If you’d like to register a single classroom, the "Friend of Carol" rate is $40 instead of $65. Families are also invited to attend. Cost is just $15. Families can register here.
The webinar will last an hour. Teachers and students — either in the classroom or at home — can choose either the 11:00 a.m. (ET) session or the 1:00 p.m. (ET) session. A recording of the event will be available for up to a week after the event.
More information about the event is available here. Questions? Email Kayli at kayli@storyninjawritingclasses.com
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Debut Picture Book, Who's Looking, April 2022!
I am thrilled to say the ARC of my new picture book has just arrived! The book is now available for preorder!
Cornelia Li is the illustrator and I can't say enough about how she has imagined my text.
Since I was new to picture books and had never written non-fiction before, my learning curve was, well, ginormous! But my editor Liz Kemp at Orca book gently helped me through the process step by step. And my agent, Amy Tomkins, also contributed with some suggestions that changed the book entirely! So credit to them both. And to everyone at Orca who has been involved, especially Ruth Linka who helped me finish the project.
Who's Looking is a story about how animals see the world. It began as a conversation with my grandson, Kai, one day as we were walking home from the park. We paused to watch some ants scurrying around on the pavement and I asked Kai how he thought we would look to the ants?
By the time we got home the idea for the book was born!
I now have a dozen or more picture books at various stages so I hope this will be the first of many.
Monday, November 8, 2021
A Struggle for Hope officially launched Nov 4
Many thanks to Belle Jarniewski, Executive Director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, for doing such a terrific job of hosting the virtual launch of A Struggle for Hope as part of Holocaust Education Week. We had a "packed house," and I have received so many congratulations and so many enthusiastic responses to our presentation. I hope you will take the time to click below and watch it.
Attention teachers: The video is a wide-ranging discussion about the Holocaust, racism, and how fascism can take hold in any democratic society. It also talks about "story" and how stories can be used for good or for ill.
This event was jointly sponsored by Scholastic Canada, McNally Robinson Booksellers Winnipeg, The Winnipeg Jewish Federation and The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada.
First Review for A Struggle for Hope – Highly Recommended!
"The action keeps readers on the edge of their seats. A touch of romance softens some of the harsh realities the characters face. And the comfort, compassion and belonging to a communal family sustains their struggle for hope in the face of adversity."
Highly Recommended. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Click here for the full review from CM: Canadian Review of Materials.
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
A Struggle for Hope book signing
 |
| Delighted to sign books at McNally Robinson Booksellers. |
Click here to order A Struggle for Hope from McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg.
Also available from other Canadian booksellers.
Also available from other Canadian booksellers.
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