Dinah invites you to The World of Stories launch

The cat came back

Reach your imagination to the sky: READ!
"How to raise a reader?" asked the Toronto Star. Well, here's the advice we gave the Star -- which happened, by the way, to be the paper Melanie first worked for.

Inspiration: Like Dinah, Melanie was pest-like as a kid, and got scolded for blitzing people with questions. Undeterred, Melanie found a career that encourages pests: newspaper reporting. Sleuth Dinah is Melanie's idea of a scrappy junior reporter. And, of an optimist. Look around life's corners, and you'll find adventure. As a student, Melanie was involved in theatre; enter Dinah, the red-hot (as well as red-haired) performer with the Judy Garland-like voice. Everyone has a well of life experience. Dinah is what Melanie draws from hers.
Advice for raising a reader:
* Do not shove children's lit at them. They'll grow into it. Let them read comics, cliffhangers, anything to get their minds thinking in book-ese. In learning another language, you start thinking in it; similarly, a person becoming literate starts thinking in a more a flowing, articulate way, with allusions.

* Show your kids that you read! They want to copy you (though they may not know it).
* Make libraries a regular outing, where you both come out staggering under the weight of many tomes.

Meanwhile, look at the lengths my friend Ailie Mooney goes to in promoting literacy.

We're off to see the Silver Birch
Melanie and I are off to Silver Birch week in Toronto. We'll be at the gala ceremony, plus visiting Mabin School, Rippleton Road, Branksome Hall and William Dunbar School. Can't wait! Now ... let's click our shoes together, and off we go ...

When those questions creep up on you
Hey guys, you've sent some great questions in. Our time here at dinahgalloway.blogspot.com is like a bag of ketchup-flavored potato chips: runs out way too fast. But allow us to answer two questions submitted by Di fans:

Q. Hi my name is Sadie and I live in Vancouver. I have really enjoyed reading your Dinah Galloway mystery stories, my favorite being "The summer of the spotted owl" What I like most about them is that there set in Vancouver, no as I'm reading I can relate to the locations such as: Grouse mountain, commercial drive, pacific central station etc. what I also like is how you talked about the spotted owl, the owl rescue center in Langley did a presentation at my school and owls are just such amazing animals, it just breaks your heart to see them disappearing! So anyhow my question for you is are you going to write more Dinah mystery, if so what's the next one going to be about?

A. Hi Sadie,

I am so glad you enjoy Dinah's adventures! I have a special place in my heart for Summer of the Spotted Owl, too. Some of the other books have got more attention, but that's kind of a favourite of mine, too. I know exactly what you mean about a breaking heart.

Yes, there is another Dinah on the way: The Queen of Disguises, coming out in '09. Do you remember the villainess from The Man in the Moonstone? She's back, stalking Dinah! Brrr! ... Thanks for writing!

Oh ... the photo?

And check out Comments for another Q. and A.

Up, up and away!
My spirits are soaring, thanks to the Ontario Library Association. OLA has chosen Shadows on the Train as one of its Best Bets for Children 2007. Here's what OLA had to say:

“Feisty Dinah, the spunky girl detective with the huge singing voice, once again solves a high-paced mystery with humour, energy and ingenuity. This time Dinah is being stalked by a dangerous man from her dead father’s past who will stop at nothing to retrieve a lost treasure. Jackson’s warm-hearted heroine tangles with shady characters, an ex-con, zany situations and learns about rare stamps in her inimitable way.”

Count nine clouds over. That's the one I'm on!

Ailie sleuths to fund-raise for literacy
My sleuthing buddy Ailie Mooney stars in the short story "Napoleon Is Winking," in the September 2008 anthology The World of Stories, published by Gumboot Books to fund-raise for literacy in time for World Literacy Day, September 8. You can see Ailie above, giving Melanie what-for; Ailie's rendered by the very talented artist Eleanor Rosenberg. Way to go, Ailie and Gumboot!

Melanie's photo by Silvia-Moreno-Garcia.

Like Monsieur Voltaire said ...
Have comment, we'll blog it! Okay, so the eighteenth-century French philosopher didn't quite put it like that. What Voltaire did believe, though, amid tut-tutting wags of his long nose, is that everyone has a right to their opinion! That's why we here at dinahgalloway.blogspot.com gladly publish whatever our readers say. We figure that, if you guys have put some thought into your messages, they're worth sharing with everyone. Thanks for continuing to write in! For the latest round of comments, click on -- duh -- "comments," below.

Oh, and check out these Shadow-y comments from Fernfolio!

Best Bets, in books AND in friends
This is a photo of Melanie with her buddy and guardian-angel-librarian, Gianna Dassios, at Chine Dr. School in Toronto. Gianna's the teacher-librarian there, as well as being Melanie's Ontario Library Association rep. for Silver Birch. Melanie counts herself lucky to have Gianna as a good friend -- she has me to thank for that. I brought 'em together!

While Melanie was in TO for the recent OLA SuperConference, she found out that the Ontario Library Association has named Shadows on the Train one of its Best Bets for Children 2007. Yay! Thanks, OLA! Hey, and thanks to Gianna for taking this photo, too.

A-buzz with questions

"Questions are bobbing around like bumblebees" -- Dinah Galloway, in The Summer of the Spotted Owl

I like asking questions, so I'm really impressed by all the Silver Birch readers who are e-mailing in questions and comments about Shadows on the Train. Here's a honey of a batch forwarded to me by my good friend, the ultra-cool Gianna Dassios of the Ontario Library Association. Reprinted, as someone who believes in freedom of expression, without editing!

"Shadows on the train has been one of my favourite books! I think that even though it is not the first book in the series it explains the main character Dinah's personality very well! In this book there have been some very good parts :) and some bad parts :( ! One of the bad parts were when she was taking to her paino teacher and then it just went to another topic without even going into another paragraph or chapter. That was pretty much the only bad part I found! ( So it is full of good parts!) Over all this was an amazing book! :) ;) I thought that this book was amazing :) I haven't read the other books, but I will! I really like all of the trouble and fights that she gets into, trying to prtect the "king"! It was really amazing!"

"I think this was a good book because it was very exciting to hear about the 80,000 dollar envelope and traveling on the train to Toronto from Vancouver. But it sometimes gets a bit boring at parts in the beginning I also like the part(s) on the train like when the nurse gets on and they think there kidnaping Ms.cheerbly. That part i liked."

"I think this is a really good book there is lost of action and I really like the author who did it. I also like it because there was really weird shadows I think "Shadows On The Train" is a good book. I recommend it."

"The part where she reviles herself and everyone is missing is reall cool. I think that they loved the dad."

"I really like this book because I thik Dinah was a realistique caracheter. I like books that are mysteries. I especially like the part where Dinah puts the stamp below her tong. That was cool. At first I thought that she had actually gotten writ of the stamp. I also like the part where on the train where everyone is disapearing. I could really imagine that happening. I did not like the part where Dinah was "captured" the lady. I found it really confusing. I liked the book so much that I even went to the library to get two more."

And, from Theresa Sawada, an ESL and Reading Recovery teacher at Ranchdale Public School: "Dinah is an interesting little detective, with her corny jokes and clever insights. I can see why she would want to understand more about her father and his friends. I liked when she said, "When I sang, I was singing into the shadows as well as everywhere else." It was a passion she shared with her father, and she didn't want to forget or ignore their times together.

"I checked out the blog mentioned in the front of the book, www.dinahgalloway.blogspot.com. You can see a clear drawing of Dinah, with her curly red hair, freckles and glasses. I tried to visualize what she looked like as I read the story, but the cover, of course, just shows a shadow of the character. The blog also talks about how a book reviewer compared the author, Melanie Jackson, to Agatha Christie, one of my favourite mystery writers."

Woo hoo, wiki woman

Pantelli: " 'Woo hoo, witchy woman, she got the moon in her eyes ... ' Know that song, Dinah? It's way cool."

Dinah: "If those odd contortions you're doing are an attempt at dancing, please stop, or else I'll turn the hose on you full-blast. They're very disturbing. Anyhow, for your information, it's wiki woman we're talking about here. As in, my author, Melanie Jackson, who's signed up for Rippleton Road School's Silver Birch wiki! Now kids can post their comments/questions about Shadows on the Train and all the other Silver Birch nominees."

Pantelli: "Now I get it. Wikis. Where everybody adds a piece, whether it's an idea or a question or a fact, and you assemble an online source of information that keeps growing, like a puzzle coming together."

Dinah: "Yeah! And Rippleton, which was Melanie's first school, is the wiki leader, the first of its kind! Teacher-librarian Shaun Grant started the wiki so that ... Well, I might as well let Shaun explain it himself. Hi, Shaun!"


Mr. Grant: "Hi Dinah, hi Pantelli. This wiki provides an opportunity for students to leave mments regarding the Silver Birch book that they just read. My goal is to provide my students with an opportunity to connect with the authors of the books that they are enjoying. I will expand this opportunity to schools throughout Toronto due to the positive support that this wiki site is receiving!"

Pantelli [contorting]: "So, guys, the song oughtta be Wiki Woman. 'Woo hoo, wiki woman ... ' "

Dinah [brandishing hose]: "You might want to step aside, Mr. Grant. A tsunami is about to start."

Merry Christmas!
May all your days be happy and bright
- Dinah Galloway and Melanie Jackson

The Mysterious Disappearance of Agatha Christie

My author, Melanie Jackson, and I got an early Christmas present: a review in Kliatt that says Shadows on the Train “evokes and blends the best of Gardner, Hitchcock and Christie.” Well, speaking of Christie – that’s Agatha, not Mr. – did you know that she mysteriously disappeared for eleven days back in 1926? Yup, it’s true. Already a bestselling novelist, Agatha upped and left her house in
Berkshire, England with no explanation to anyone. The newspapers blazed out headlines: why had Agatha vanished? Had someone murdered the murder writer?

Then, calmly as you please, Agatha turned up again – and never told anyone, not a single soul, what she’d been doing. There’s a theory floating round that maybe she suffered temporary amnesia, but who knows? In any event, disappearing would be a great publicity stunt, wouldn’t you say so, Melanie? … Er … Melanie?

Guess what's growing in the Forest of Reading?

If you're like me, you happily belt out the Robin Hood theme while strolling through the forest. But if you happen to be in the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading, you'll notice Shadows on the Train blooming amid the trees! Feel welcome to pay me a visit there (bow and arrow optional).

I Spy ... a new edition!

It began with Wilfred the cat, though my sister Madge insists she started it by leaving the back door open. Wilfred wouldn't have been able to get out otherwise, she says.

That's Madge for you. She has to be the center of any story. I guess it's because she's so pretty, with her burnished red hair, lupine-blue eyes and smooth, porcelain skin. It would be hard not to believe you were the center of attention, looking like that.

"My hair is auburn," says Madge, miffed. She's peering over my shoulder at the computer screen, where I'm writing this.

Well, she's part of the story, I'll give her that. And, by letting Wilfred go, she set things off: the discovery of the bucktoothed spy and the mysterious thefts, not to mention the high-speed chases. (Okay, so the chases were on foot. They were still high-speed.)

So begins my very first adventure, first published in 2002, and now featured in a skookum new edition! As you can see, the new cover is very film noir style, very sinister and mysterious. Well, natch. The spy I chase in this story is very sinister, and the plot is very mysterious! Not to mention featuring a nummy recipe for tomatoes, courtesy my soon-to-be-brother-in-law, Jack French.

Hey, and guess what? This is the book where Madge meets Jack! And double-guess what: at first she can't stand him! Luckily, wisdom - in the person of yours redheadedly - prevailed.

Here's what Quill & Quire said (blush): “With writing as delicious as the fresh tomatoes Dinah loves to munch, Jackson weaves a lively mystery ... [nothing] will stop young readers from adoring Dinah and gobbling up this entertaining new mystery series.”

So ... if you're a gobbling mood, check out Spy!

Faeries story works magic

Know a young reader? Either an enthusiast or someone who's getting into books with the enthusiasm, say, of a turkey looking at a Christmas menu? I recommend Faeries Are Real, by Crystal Stranaghan. This past weekend, Melanie was helping a young Korean-Canadian with English, and the little cutie latched on to Faeries Are Real with the enthusiasm of a spell to a wand. The student's favourite was Sophie the Pig, but there's a whole enchanting cast of twinkling characters to choose from.

Land of the Silver Birch

Land of the Silver Birch
Home of the beaver
Where still the mighty moose
Wanders to Dinah ...

I am SOOO HONOURED!!!! Shadows on the Train has been nominated for Ontario's 2008 Silver Birch Award! This is my second Silver Birch nomination. The first was for The Mask on the Cruise Ship, a couple of years back; or, in my sister Madge's language, about 2,439 new outfits ago.

Melanie is floating on air - in fact, if you tilt your head, you can just about see her orbiting. Oooo, watch out for that Russian satellite, Mel - oh no, a mega-collision ... debris is flying everywhere ... Run for cover!

Pantelli: "Dinah, too bad about your late author, but I need to point out that beavers, in fact, do NOT live in trees."
Me: "What, you've never heard of Bocky the Flying Beaver?"
Pantelli: "I think that was Rocky the Flying Squirrel; and, no."

Singin' in the Train

This post is dedicated to Dinah's friend J.S., who is learning French! Vraiment, tu es merveilleuse, J.S.!

There's another great review of Shadows on the Train, this time as part of a fascinating history of trains in kids' literature. Allow me to add to it by pointing out that I'm not the first singer to go all aboard for a train story. Judy Garland starred in The Harvey Girls. Like me, she was on the tracks (heh heh) of a villain. In that movie, Judy sang the Academy-Award-winning On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, belting it out with such volume, volume, VOLUME that it's amazing the ties didn't fly off the rails. Watch for her below: she makes a dramatic late entrance. (Just as I like to, BTW - funny how this doesn't go over with teachers.)

Dinah, won't you blow your horn?

I've been working on the railroad, all right - catching thieves on a cross-Canada train! And now, thanks to a way cool review of Shadows on the Train by Wendy Williams of CM Magazine, I get to blow my own horn. Yay! Thank you, Wendy and CM!

Gender gap in achievement: where ARE you, Gilbert?

From the Sept. 22, 2007 Vancouver Sun article "To close the gender gap, we must do more for boys," by Melanie Jackson:

Among the memorable moments in Anne of Green Gables is the take-no-prisoners fight between the redheaded Ms. Shirley and Gilbert Blythe -- in academics. Right up to the end of Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic, the two battle neck-and-neck for highest marks.

It's one of the epic contests of young adult literature. It's also an anachronism. These days educators are trying to boost boys' average achievement rates to equal girls', never mind surpass them a la Gilbert. To do that, educators realize they pretty much have to start a new slate (much as Anne did after slamming Gilbert over the head with hers). Boys' lagging rates will be the topic of the Gender and Student Achievement Conference: Addressing the Gender Gap in Education, Oct. 18-20 in Kamloops.

Read the rest here. Above photo from the Kevin Sullivan production of Anne of Green Gables, featuring (ahem!) that OTHER famous redhead.