Magnificent Mary!

Mary Casanova was another amazing author on our program in Phoenix. I hadn't met her before, but was charmed by her books — some 25 of them, including award-winning novels and picture books. Many of her books have a wilderness theme, no doubt influenced by her living on the Minnesota-Canadian border. 

I was intrigued by her question: "When does a picture book become poetry?" And, in fact, her picture books read like poetry. I especially enjoyed hearing about two books: "Utterly Otter Day" and "One-Dog Canoe." 

Mary has a masterful way with written language, and each word in her picture books was carefully chosen to give the maximum impact in meaning and sound. She also exhibits a delightful sense of humour that I really enjoyed. If you'd like to read more about Mary, check out her website here.

I'll be posting about our other panel members over the next few days. Check back soon. 

Cheers!