SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - School started early for J.H. Sissons School teachers Monday, taking in two days of lectures and workshops by prominent children's writer Dominique Demers.

Children's writer Dominique Demers takes J.H. Sissons School teachers to school on how to instill a passion for reading and writing in students. - Charlotte Hilling/NNSL photo

Demers, visiting from Quebec, was in Yellowknife to help teachers ignite the passion for reading and writing in their students, saying everyone can love to read and write.

"Reading is like loving. Anyone can love, but not the same person. My favourite book might not be yours, and teachers and parents have to remember that," she said.

Demers, who has written some 40 books and received about 15 different literary prizes, has a PHD in children's literature and considers her self "almost a full time writer."

She travels around the country giving seminars to teachers and parents about how to get their children excited about reading and writing, but says the techniques she bestows are simple and people just need to be reminded of them.

"They're very ordinary and basic, but when you remind yourself of that and you understand what comes out of it you can change the world," she said.

Catherine Siegbahn, a Grade 4 French immersion teacher at the school, said Demers is perfectly placed to resonate with teachers.

"She was a journalist, she's a writer, she's a teacher. I think she can really appeal to us as teachers and instill in us the love that she has for literature and show how we can bring that into our classrooms," she said.

Siegbahn said she got a great deal out of the two days of instruction from Demers.

"The thing that stands out the most in my mind is the importance of giving students the passion for reading. How reading is a way for you to escape into a world that is unknown to you, you can travel to all kinds of places, and you don't even leave your seat," she said.

Jean-Marie Mariez, French programs supervisor, said Demers was the best person for the job.

"We got the best person to teach the teachers, so we can give the best teaching to the kids.

"It's not just teaching the kids to write without mistakes, but reading and writing are the languages of communication," he said.

Demers began writing professionally 20 years ago after she was encouraged to publish a story she wrote based on her then six year-old son's first love. The story is called Valentine Picotee or, My Freckled Valentine.

"It became a best seller and I never stopped," she said.

Prior to that she had a career in journalism but sometimes took on the role of a literary critic for children's books.

Once she started writing there was no turning back.

"I started teaching it, just as a sideline. Then my sideline became my work and I had to stop my journalism, which I loved with real passion," she said.

While Demers also writes adult literature as well, she is best known for children's books, several of which have been adapted into films and plays.

She said she is drawn to children's literature because she said it is the most difficult writing discipline.

"It's the same as writing any type of creative story, but with the additional difficulty that is communicating with a human being that is different from we. What makes them tick, what makes them laugh, what makes them cry, what makes them happy, what makes them scared – is different from us," she said.

And why has she excelled in such a difficult discipline?

"I guess I'm a child. I guess I'm a 52 year old, part child," she said.