Kristin Butcher
... author, artist, keeper of the past...
Who's Who & What's What
If you want to know what's happening in the world of art and books, you've come to the right place. Around the middle of each month I update this page with current industry news. It's impossible for me to have a handle on everything, so if you are a creator, let me know what you're up to and I will share it.
April
Let's Sing, Dance, Paint, Draw, Invent ...
Creatively Human (Orca Book Publishers) is brand spanking new. Written by Lois Peterson and illustrated by Madeline Yee, this book encourages young readers to look at the world with a creative eye. It invites them to explore the origins and impact of ideas and inventions, arts and technology, and learn about the developments and advances that change and improve the lives of everyone.
Kirkus Reviews says, “An earnest pep talk for beginning or tentative inventors, artists, up cyclers and would-be innovators. Wide-ranging and rousing in tone.”
Disability Book Week (April 20 - 26)
If you haven't read the first two books in the different-ability series by Karen Autio, now's the time, because Book 3 (tentatively titled Skating Day) is scheduled for release in the fall of 2026. (Scholastic Books)
In the meantime, Karen will be touring schools in the southern mainland and Victoria areas. If you're a teacher in that neck of the woods, contact Karen. I'm sure she'll fit you and your school into her schedule.
Read By the Sea Literary Festival (June 20th & 21st)
When: June 20th and June 21st
Where: Pictou, Nova Scotia
In 2000, it started as a one-day event with four authors reading to a small crowd, but 25 years later it takes place over two days and boasts 12 presenting authors and an audience nearly twice the size of the village of River John where it is held.
The festival celebrates good books, the people who write them and the people who read them.
You know you want to be there.
Celebrate Earth Day!
Sue Todd has added her unique illustrations to lyrics by Nashville singer/songwriter, Peter Mayer. The result is a stunning picture book.
Blue Boat Home follows an adult and child reverently experiencing a beautiful day together in their community, both appreciating the here and now and looking outward and upward to the vast transcendent glory of the universe.
Just released on April 11th, this is the perfect book to share with a child on Earth Day. (Tuesday, April 22nd)
March
Art Show & Pastel Workshop
Black Creek artist, Sandra Lamb, will be featured in the May/June issue of Island Arts magazine. In addition, two of her paintings are currently on display at the Salish Sea Market in Bowser.
Sandra is also offering a beginner's workshop in chalk pastels through the Pearl Ellis Gallery in Comox on March 22nd and 23rd. You can get some of the basics and try out some techniques and surfaces. Registration is through the gallery.
Memorable Picture Book
This May, look for a new book from award-winning author, Kathy Stinson, inspired by a trip to the beach almost 30 years ago.
The publisher says,"In this beautiful ode to nature and mindfulness, a child sets out to explore the environment around their home, using all their senses. Yet, someone important is missing, someone the child wishes could be there on the journey."
Read Kathy's blog to discover the full inspiration for this story.
Illustrations by Maya McKibbon.
Get Your Skates On, Girls!
Lorna Shultz Nicholson has done it again.
Rhapsody Smith is a hockey player, and until she meets Marion, an older woman who spends her days sitting on a bench outside the arena, Rap's biggest concern is improving her power plays and crossovers. But when the 1990 World Cup ring mysterious Marion wears is lost, Rap and her friends have something bigger to focus on.
Rhapsody Smith, Ice Angel will be in bookstores just as hockey camps across the country get started next fall.
Off to Turkey
Marsha Skrypuch is well-known for writing novels about war and its effects in a way young readers can relate to. Her books are relevant and impactful.
So I'm pleased to report that the foreign rights to Dance of the Banished (Pajama Press/2014) have been sold to Qizilbas Publishers in Turkey.
Dance of the Banished won the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction, so it's fitting that young readers in Turkey will have the chance to read this story focusing on their country's past.
February
