Joyous New Year! I hope that the holidays were good to everyone.
I some news about my writing...I've very excited about it and hope that you will be too!
I’m thrilled to announce that Soapstone Signs is becoming a series! Orca Book Publishers of Victoria BC will release book two in the spring of 2018.
That's about all I can say but please stay tuned and remember to never run while carrying your pet porcupine.
All the best in 2017!
Chapter 4 of Soapstone Signs came alive in Moosonee on Thanksgiving Monday 2016!
Leslie, Bella and I had set a fire and hung a pail for tea on the shores of Store Creek. We heard some splashing in the distance. Closer and closer the splashing came to our little campfire. It was family of 3 otters . They were curious about who was at their bend in the creek, and likely about what we were having for lunch!
In Soapstone Signs, a family of 4 otters mirrors the family of four humans out having fun on the river. Our visit to Moosonee saw our family of Mom, Dad and daughter visited by a Mom otter, a Dad otter and one teenybopper otter. Life imitates art. It was awesome. Leslie got some great pictures including this one:
The otters very closely resembled the ones beautifully depicted by Darlene Gait's illustrations in Soapstone Signs.
We "otter" give a big thank you to our friends Carol and Bish Hennessey of Moosonee for this great experience!
What an honour to perform with soprano Leslie Fagan and pianist Lorin Shalanko this past May 7th at Abbey North! The three of us presented "The Red Canoe", the second performance in our Poet and the Singer Series.
Thanks to John and Thea Patterson for hosting the performance, which raised donations for the Abbey Gardens Community Trust. We had a great time combining Lorin's piano, Leslie's voice and my poems to tell the story of red canoes, romance and lazy summers under the Haliburton moon.
Leslie Fagan and Lorin Shalanko
Leslie and Lorin have just recorded a CD together: Thread of Winter. Visit www.canadianartsong.com to learn more!
I visited Disney World with my family in February. Everywhere you turn in that incredible place, you see the fantastic heights that simple children’s stories can reach.
“Always remember that this whole thing was started by a mouse,” said Walt Disney.
And I think yes, by a pen to paper story about a mouse. What an inspiration! My hat is off to you Mr. Disney and never again will I refer to a small or ramshackle establishment as a Mickey Mouse operation.
Soapstone Signs, Jeff’s first novel, was very successful in 2015! Here are some of the highlights:
Jeff looks forward to the continued success of Soapstone Signs, available for purchase here.
Jeff and his mom June at the OLA Super Conference 2015
“My grade four/five class recently had the great privilege of being the very first in all of Canada to read and study Jeff Pinkney’s book, “Soapstone Signs”. This is a beautifully written story about imagination and creativity, and about using one’s senses to explore and draw inspiration from the natural world. I’ve always encouraged my students to be open to the world around them; just as the young boy is urged to do by his friend Lindy, the Cree soapstone carver. The children loved the book and were delighted to have the opportunity to discuss it with Jeff once they’d finished reading and writing about it. They enjoyed the evocative descriptions of the wild creatures and landscape, the funny moments (“Kentucky Fried Chicken”), the beautiful, thought-provoking illustrations, and the ideas about imagination, inspiration and determination. This book is a wonderful "read-aloud”. It fits beautifully into the language curriculum as a novel study, and as an introduction to Social Studies units (First Nations, the north), to Science (Habitats, Animals), to Art (soapstone carving, creativity), etc. My school now has a class set, and many of my students have purchased their own copies. It is a wonderful book!”
Nicola Jennings, Teacher, Gr 4/5 at King George Public School, Peterborough
On January 07, 2015 - Nicola Jennings Grade 4/5 class at King George Public School, Peterborough, became the first class to study "Soapstone Signs". Congratulations and thanks to Nicola and her wonderful students.
On November 17, 2014 - Who better to launch my book with than daughter Isabella’s Grade 4/5 classmates. Isabella and her classmates walked over to the Peterborough Public Library. Her class enjoyed a tour of the Children’s Library and then participated in the very first public reading of Soapstone Signs. Also in attendance were some special friends of the family and a few folks who helped with the manuscript. Isabella did a great job of reading the voice of the main character. Special thanks to Laura Murray, Children’s Services Libraian for hosting, and to Sheilagh Knight for bringing along her Gr 4/5 class from Prince of Wales School. Special thanks also to Lance Anderson of Peterborough This Week/MyKawartha.com for providing such excellent coverage.
See: http://www.mykawartha.com/search/news/?q=pinkney&location=kawartha&sort=datedesc
Soapstone Signs is now available from Orca Book Publishers, (you can get there via the links in this website). The book is also available through Amazon. If in Haliburton try Masters Book Store. If in Peterborough try Chapters. it's only $6.95 - what a great stocking stuffer.
Please check out my profile and enter my contest for one of ten free copies on www.goodreads.com
