Norma Charles was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba and moved to the west coast as a young child. After graduating from the University of British Columbia, she taught school for several years, then "retired" to have four children. It was then that she began to write books for children. When her children reached school age, she returned to work as a teacher/librarian in Vancouver for many years, a position she has recently left to enable her to write full-time. Now, besides writing, she enjoys visiting students in libraries and schools to talk about the wonders of story.
PUBLICATIONS:
Chasing a Star. Ronsdale Press, 2009
Bank Job (with James Heneghan). Orca Books, 2009
The Girl in the Backseat. Ronsdale Press, 2008
Boxcar Kid. Dundurn, 2007
Sophie's Friend in Need. Beach Holme, 2004
All the Way to Mexico. Raincoast, 2004
Criss Cross Double Cross. Beach Holme, 2002
The Accomplice. Vancouver, BC: Raincoast Books, 2001.
Runaway. Regina, SK: Coteau, 1999.
Sophie Sea to Sea. Vancouver, BC: Beach Holme, 1999.
Dolphin Alert!. Scarborough, ON: Nelson Canada, 1998.
See You Later Alligator. Richmond Hill, ON: Scholastic, 1991.
AWARDS:
Chocolate Lily shortlist for Bank Job, 2010/11
Red Cedar Shortlist, for The girl in the Backseat, 2010/11
Chocolate Lily shortlist for The Girl in the Backseat, 2010
Chocolate Lily, second place for Boxcar Kid, 2009
Moonbeam Bronze Award for Children's Literature for The Girl in the Backseat, 2008
Chocolate Lily Award for All the Way to Mexico, 2005
Sheila Egoff Award Finalist for The Accomplice, 2002
British Columbia Annual Book Award for Sophie Sea to Sea, 2000.
First prize, Coquitlam Pioneers for "Lum King" , 1989.
After introducing my new books, I usually tell students just how a book becomes a book, right from the initial idea, through brainstorming, character and scene building, first drafts, self and peer editing, then submission of manuscript to a publisher. We discuss contracts and working with an editor, effectiveness of a good cover, and finally the publication and celebration time. I like to leave time for Q&A which usually leads to a discussion of why and when I started to write. And why write for kids.
