Fort Simpson (Dec 03/04) - Who knew that a couple of rodent siblings would be such a hit among Fort Simpson children?

Roslyn Schwartz, author and illustrator of the Mole Sisters series of children's books, asks questions of some excited youngsters at John Tsetso Memorial Library in Fort Simpson. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

Author and illustrator Roslyn Schwartz obviously had an inkling. She created the Mole Sisters characters and has penned 10 books about their exploits.

Last Thursday and Friday, she visited Fort Simpson with copies of her soft-cover books and little stuffed animal replicas of the Mole Sisters. Her appearance was part of an NWT community tour sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts.

At John Tsetso Memorial Library, Schwartz improvised a new Mole Sisters adventure with help from about 15 children. This time the affable rodents set out to see the Northern Lights. They kept glancing up at the sky but couldn't catch a glimpse of the dazzling green glow. It turned out that their view was being blocked by Billy the moose's tummy. The children giggled at the thought.

Billy eventually allowed the Mole Sisters to climb up on his antlers, where they were able to admire the Northern Lights in all their glory.

Schwartz then had the children use crayons to colour the Northern Lights on a large, blank piece of paper.

Before ending her presentation, she took the stuffed animals in hand and explained that in Montreal, where she resides, it's common for people to kiss others on both cheeks to bid farewell. She demonstrated with one mole, pretending to give a little girl a peck on each cheek.

Then she said the Mole Sisters really like to kiss boys, which naturally repulsed the young males.

The Mole Sisters would settle for shaking hands, Schwartz relented. The boys lined up to shake hands. The last one in line, his arm outstretched, was the unsuspecting recipient of two quick, sneaky kisses on the cheek. That elicited a roar from the children.

Schwartz then signed autographs for a queue of children that wouldn't seem to end as they kept coming back with different items in request of another signature. Jeannine Gaulin was one of the adults seeking signed books. She wanted them for her two-year-old granddaughter.

"She loves the Mole Sisters," Gaulin said.

Juliane Isiah, 7, put on her winter gear to head out the library door into the cold night. She was likely going to glance up at the sky as her favourite part of the evening was "when we coloured the Northern Lights."