Look who stopped by my book signing in Waterton! (Yes, he’s a real RCMP officer)
It really was a whirlwind weekend for my book tour through southern Alberta as I dodged tornado warnings and golf-ball sized hail!
Parks Day 2016 in Waterton was bigger and better than 2014, when I launched Ospreys in Danger. Parks Canada and the Waterton Natural History Association partnered for an afternoon full of activities including solar viewing with a cool telescope, a chat with Digger the Grizzly, face painting, geocaching, kite-flying – and me! I met lots of park visitors who were curious about the salamander crossing signs posted along the roadway and had a great time sharing Salamander Rescue with them.
Thanks to Jessika, Keneesha, Liam, and many more who helped colour this salamander poster on Parks Day!
At every stop, I found blue sky and sunshine – and lots of young readers eager to learn about salamanders. Of all the readers I met, only two had actually seen a long-toed salamander in the wild (and one of those people is a wildlife biologist, so she doesn’t really count). Many shared stories of garter snakes in their backyards, tiger salamanders trapped in a storm drain, and frogs at grandma’s farm, but all agreed that the long-toed salamander must be very shy and secretive.
Reading buddies big and small were a great audience in Lethbridge.
Readers had great questions, too. How do you know a salamander tastes bad? What’s the difference between a salamander and a newt? Does a salamander make any noise? Did you draw the pictures for Salamander Rescue?
Kids love to see the inside art during a reading.
I dropped into summer reading programs at libraries in Lethbridge and Pincher Creek and realized I was facing a pretty big challenge: would my presentation capture the attention of everyone in the group, from Kindergarten to Grade 10?? Would the young ones start to squirm? Would the older kids be bored? The story of Waterton’s salamanders interests everyone, I discovered, including parents and grandparents. I’m sure that some of them will be off to explore Waterton the next chance they get!
Young readers in Pincher Creek, like Adam, are very familiar with Waterton and the cool critters that live there.
The tornado warnings cleared and the sun came out again as I headed back to Lethbridge for the final stop on my book tour. There is only one Chapters bookstore in Lethbridge and it’s a busy place, even on a Sunday!
The Prince of Wales Hotel reflected in a glassy Linnet Lake.
I met a nice young family on the pathway in Waterton. Twins are twice the fun!
It’s fun to surprise people with a story set locally, about events that really did happen. Getting out there and meeting readers can be a challenge, but it is so rewarding to see a young reader’s eyes spark with curiosity.
That is why I write.
