Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Oct 24/05) - Children's author Margriet Ruurs, of B.C., will visit schools and libraries in the Kivalliq region next week as part of the TD Canadian Children's Book Week program.

Children's author Margriet Ruurs will encourage Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake students to write their imaginations down on paper when she visits the communities next week. - photo courtesy of Margriet Ruurs

"I'm really excited about coming," she said.

The tour will begin with the official launch of Ruurs' latest book in Rankin Inlet.

Me and Martha Black is a children's novel about the second woman ever to become a member of parliament in Canada. She participated in the Klondike gold rush and once hiked over the Chilkoot Pass.

Ruurs will bring a selection of her 25 children's books, such as Emma's Eggs, Ms. Bee's Magical Bookcase and a soon-to-be-published picture book titled I Live In the North.

For older children, Ruurs is bringing a slide show presentation to teach about how a book gets made, from the writing and illustrations to the binding and printing.

"I want to show them how I get ideas, how I rewrite and edit and then how I submit a book to the publisher," she said. "My goal is to encourage them to discover that voice inside themselves. Once they realize that they can write about their own lives and talk to their own elders and use their own imagination, they become incredible writers."

The TD Canadian Children's Book Week is jointly organized by the Canadian Children's Book Centre, the Storytellers of Canada and Communication-Jeunesse, with support from other sponsors.