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Processing hardships and trauma is an often under-discussed part of childhood, and ensuring kids have tools to deal with adverse circumstances is one of the many gifts shared by these two powerful writers. Multi-award-winning David A. Robertson returns with his third book in the Misewa Saga, The Stone Child, in which a group of children must work together—with surprising allies—to survive attacks from strange and horrifying creatures. Kern Carter’s thought-provoking debut, Boys and Girls Screaming, tells the story of a generation of teens finding the support they need to process their trauma in their own ways. Join us for a conversation about the power of friendship, working together, and finding community in healing. Moderated by Tanya Boteju. Grades 6–9.

Event Participants:

Tanya Boteju

TANYA BOTEJU is an English teacher and writer whose debut novel, Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens, was named a Top Ten Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association, and selected for the American Librarian Association 2020 Rainbow List. Her latest YA novel, Bruised, was selected as a Gold Standard book by the Junior Library Guild.

Kern Carter

KERN CARTER was born in Trinidad and raised in Toronto. He is a single father to a teenage daughter. He is the author of the YA novel Boys and Girls Screaming and the forthcoming MG novel, Is There A Boy Like Me. He has previously self-published two titles. (ONTARIO/TRINIDAD)

David A. Robertson

DAVID A. ROBERTSON is the author of the Governor General’s Literary Award-winning When We Were Alone. Robertson is a member of Norway House Cree Nation. The Stone Child is the third book in Misewa Saga middle-grade series and The Theory of Crows is his first novel for adults. (MANITOBA)