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Michelle Mulder

Michelle Mulder

Photo: Gastón Castaño

Michelle writes for young readers. She is the author of Pedal It! How Bicycles Are Changing the World, as well as many other non-fiction and fiction titles. In her books and presentations to both young people and adults, she enjoys telling the stories of kids who seize life’s opportunities. When not writing, she loves exploring, and her adventures include cycling 6000 kilometres across Canada, leading writing workshops and learning to sew fur mittens in the Canadian Arctic, and beginning to study Arabic. She holds an M.A. in Comparative Literature (UBC) and lives in Victoria, B.C.

City:
Victoria
Province:
BC

Publications

Yeny and the Children for Peace. Second Story Press, 2008
Maggie and the Chocolate War. Second Story Press, 2007
Theodore Too and the Too-Long Nap. Nimbus Publishing Ltd., 2006
Theodore Too and the Mystery Guest. Nimbus Publishing Ltd., 2008
Theodore Too and the Shipwreck School. Nimbus Publishing Ltd., 2007
After Peaches. Orca Books, 2009
Out of the Box. Orca Books, 2011
Not a Chance. Orca Books, 2013
Pedal It! How Bicycles Are Changing the World. Orca Books, 2013
Brilliant! Shining a Light on Sustainable Energy. Orca Books, 2013
Every Last Drop: Bringing Clean Water Home. Orca Books, 2014

Awards

Frances Russell Award for Children's Literature for After Peaches, 2007
Selected to tour with TD Canadian Children's Book Week for Out of the Box, 2011
Shortlisted for the Rocky Mountain Book Award for After Peaches, 2011
Shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Award for After Peaches, 2011
Shortlisted for the Bolen Books Children’s Book Prize for After Peaches, 2010
Best Books for Kids & Teens (Canadian Children’s Book Centre) for Yeny and the Children for Peace, 2009
Best Books for Kids & Teens (Canadian Children’s Book Centre) for Not a Chance, 2013
Nominated for a Hackmatack Children's Choice Aware for Pedal It! How Bicycles Are Changing the World, 2014
Best Books for Kids & Teens (Canadian Children’s Book Centre) for Pedal It! How Bicycles Are Changing the World, 2013
Best Books for Kids & Teens (Canadian Children’s Book Centre) for Brilliant! Shining a Light on Sustainable Energy, 2014
Links:
Website
http://www.michellemulder.com
Eligible for National Public Readings Program:
Yes

WITS

Presentation Description

How did you find your story? Why did you make Maggie the main character instead of Jo? What kinds of things would you protest about?
From the inside scoop on writing books to true stories about kids who change the world around them, Michelle’s lively presentation challenges students both to spot the “story” in “history” and to create the kind of future that they’d like to live in.
Topics include: inspiration, research, setting the stage, rewriting and editing, powerful children’s movements in Canada, and the efforts of kids around the world against child labour, homelessness and civil war. This presentation is full of anecdotes, thought-provoking questions, discussion and interesting props such as photocopies from Canadian newspapers of 1947, radio broadcasts of the same year, and photographs that inspired scenes of the book. Michelle aims to inspire students and leave them thinking about Canadian history, their place in it, and what they can do to change its course.

Presentation Length:
45-90 minutes
Genre:
children's fiction (picture books / early readers)
Audience Size:
5-90
Workshop Description:

A hands-on approach to getting inspired and staying that way; developing characters, plot and setting; editing; and finding your audience. Michelle facilitates lively discussion and focuses on using the inner critic to make written work the best that it can be.