canadian children’s book centre

Ganked gets non-gamer goodness on Amy’s Marathon of Books

by liam | Jun 1, 2014 | education, gaming, literacy, Teacher's Guide, writing news

One of my biggest worries when writing Ganked, was that non-gamers wouldn’t get it. Ganked is a straight-ahead YA mystery, but steeped in the world of video games and as a result packed with gamer terminology. But I didn’t want all the talk about MMOs,...

Three newly releasesd books to tackle online bullying in your classroom

by liam | Aug 8, 2013 | education, literacy, Teacher's Guide

I fill many roles in my daily life: children’s writer, digital games-based-learning critic and advocate and virtual world community manager and finally elementary school teacher. The recent tragic events of children taking their own lives because of online...

My YA Picks now available in Best Books for Kids & Teens 2013

by liam | May 7, 2013 | comics, education, literacy, media, writing news

A few months ago, I was honoured to be asked to be one of the judges picking the YA Best Books for 2013 on behalf of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. I blogged about getting all the books and then making the decision about would make the cut with a team of...

Judging the 2013 Best Books for Teens: It’s Decision Time

by liam | Feb 16, 2013 | education, literacy, media, writing news

After nearly four months of reading, I’ve made my way through all the books submitted for the 2013 Best Books for Teens Awards from the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. There were close to 30 entries and all of them fine young adult novels. Now that the...

Choosing the CCBC’s Best Books for Young Adults

by liam | Jan 14, 2013 | literacy, writing news

One of the best things about being a writer is being asked to read other writers’ stuff and tell them what I think about it (aka reviews.) In the past, I’ve reviewed books for newspapers I won’t mention and magazines I’m happy to talk about....