Event Update: Monique Gray Smith is unfortunately no longer able to join us at this event. Kirsten Pendreigh will join this event with Maybe a Whale, a lyrical story in which a mom and daughter find the space to grieve Grandpa and reconnect with each other in the wild beauty of nature.
Storytime is always fun, but sometimes it can be inspiring, too. In Butterfly on the Wind, Deaf picture book creators author Adam Pottle and artist Ziyue Chen combine powerful text and sweeping art into a moving story of resilience and self-belief. Nancy Vo shows just how far faith in the people we love can take us, in The Runaway, the finale of the Crow Stories trilogy. Grades 1–3.
Themes: Picture books, art, storytelling, sign language, emotions
Curriculum Connections: Arts Education K-3, Physical and Health Education 2-3, English Language Arts K-3
Presented in partnership with Raincoast Books and Vancouver International Children’s Festival.
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KIRSTEN PENDREIGH is a poet and children’s author from Vancouver. Her children’s books celebrate our early instincts to care for the plants and creatures that share our planet. Luna’s Green Pet is about a little girl who raises a houseplant as a pet. Maybe a Whale is about a child discovering the healing power of nature on a kayak trip. Kirsten's two nonfiction books, When A Tree Falls, and What Fish Are Saying, come out in 2025. Kirsten's poems are found in Canadian literary magazines and anthologies including Best Canadian Poetry 2021.
Born Deaf and raised in a hearing family, ADAM POTTLE spent much of his childhood searching for magical portals and pretending to be Godzilla. He is an award-winning Canadian writer, with books in multiple genres, including the acclaimed memoir Voice and the adult novel The Bus. His groundbreaking fantasy play The Black Drum was performed to rave reviews in Canada and France and is the world's first all-Deaf musical. He has a PhD in English Literature and has taught English and Creative Writing for nearly twenty years. He lives in Saskatoon with his wife Deborah and their goldendoodle Valkyrie.
NANCY VO was raised where the sun rose in the prairies and set behind the Rockies. She is the author/illustrator of the first two books in the Crow Stories trilogy, as well as the author/illustrator of Boobies and the illustrator of As Glenn as Can Be by Sarah Ellis. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
