Congratulations to Mireille Messier and Kass Reich for winning this years RMBA award! Winners of this award are chosen by the student readers in Alberta. I was very happy to have The Very, Very Far North included in this year’s selection.
I will be virtually visiting two schools in Killaloe Ontario today and tomorrow to talk about my middle grade novel, Audrey (cow) and to give writing workshops about Voice & Dialogue.
Thank you to the Ontario Council for the Arts and their Writers-in-Schools program for making this to happen!
Just Beyond the Very, Very Far North is a finalist for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize. Being nominated for an award is always a great honour, and even more so when it’s in your own province. And I’m thrilled that it is for a sequel, because it tells me I must have done something right with the second book 🙂
Congrats to all the finalists, in all categories this year!
I am so pleased to announce that The Very, Very Far North has been nominated for the 2022 Colorado Children’s Book Award. This is a wonderful continuation of good news from the state, having had two schools there select my middle grade novel for their One Book / One School event which gets a copy into the hands of every student.
It’s October 6th which means that the sequel book is officially released. Here’s a quote from a fun review from yesterday that I may just steal in the future:
“It was a grand adventure … and contained so many pearls of wisdom, one could make a necklace from them.”
Thank you Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers!
A big, heavy parcel arrived here in the Very, Very Far North. Duane and his friends are pretty excited and a little bit proud too.
Julie’s Library is a podcast co-hosted by iconic actress, Dame Julie Andrews and her daughter, children’s author and educator, Emma Walton Hamilton. I was thrilled to have my picture story read by Ms. Andrews, accompanied by music and sound effects in their latest show. You can hear it by going to:
Duane the polar bear and his friends were included in the latest Best Books issue that is published bi-annually by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
Do check it out. It makes for a fun family read in a time when families are together quite a lot.
The Very, Very Far North has been included in the line-up of books to be read by students all across the state in their 2020-2011 Battle of the Books. I believe I’m the only Canadian author on the list, so go TEAM POLAR BEAR!
The Guilford County School District requested a recorded greeting, allowing me the opportunity to introduce the book to their students.
Just Beyond the Very, Very Far North will come out at the beginning of October of 2020. We are just at the stage of finishing it up and having it ready for the printer.
In the meantime, here is the beautiful cover created by the illustrator, Kelly Poucette:
Dan Bar-el 