I always loved to read. As a boy I had a passion for myths, bible stories, science fiction and Mad magazine. My neighbor was a writer for CBC. Maybe I caught the writing bug from him. I loved to write funny stories. My Grade six teacher liked them. But my Grade eight teacher hated them. So I stopped writing creatively until I was 42.~ ~In 1970, I traveled across Europe and North Africa and discovered a remarkable collection of traditional Teaching stories by Afghan writer Idries Shah. These bottomless tales puzzled, shocked and delighted me. They helped me see the world and myself in fresh, new ways. They made me think like I’d never thought before.#In 1980, I began to tell them, first to my own children, then at weekly gatherings in Toronto. Later I told stories on radio and television, and in schools, libraries and festivals across North America. I created an oral language program for developmentally disabled children. I taught them language through story. They taught me how to tell and write simply and dramatically.#One day I was invited to tell a Chanukah tale to a large and very young audience. I couldn’t find a story I liked. In desperation I wrote one myself. The children loved it and so did Kids Can Press. That’s how Bone Button Borscht was born.#Over the years, I’ve worked as a logger, farmer, salesman and teacher. Now I write and tell stories. ~Of my four published books, my latest, Bagels for Benny, has won may awards including the Sydney Taylor Award and the Canadian Jewish Book Awards Children’s Literature Prize. I have also written the screenplay for Sheldon Cohen’s animated film, The Three Wishes. A forthcoming title, A Hen for Izzy Pippik, will be published in 2010.

Jane was born at the Toronto General Hospital in 1954, the third child of four. She attended the University of Western Ontario and switched from English to History when, in primitive computer days, she was dealt a blank timetable. She worked as a research assistant for a history professor, honing her library skills while ferreting out obscure information and storing it on a database — great groundwork for a future non-fiction writer. Her first published work was a travel piece for the Whitehorse Star in 1972, written while visiting Ann in the Yukon.#Early married life took Jane to Ireland, London and Kingston, Ontario, and Paris, France, before they settled in Toronto. Jane was a founding director of her local public school child care center and organized the extended kindergarten enrichment programs. She ran school wide interest groups and coordinated the library volunteers for many years. Her three children are now grown. Nellie, a ginger cat, and Angus, a bouncy young Labrador, crowd Jane’s office while she writes.#Jane gave up a promising career in theater to write full time. Among many roles, she has played Mary in Mary Poppins, a hula dancer, Janice Joplin, the Queen of Hearts and Lady Macbeth!#Jane and Ann volunteered as the CANSCAIP monthly meeting coordinators from 2005-2007. Now Jane is Treasurer of CANSCAIP. She also volunteers with and serves on the board of the Canadian Children’s Book Bank in Toronto.#Starting in the late 1980s, Ann teamed up with her sister Jane Drake and, together, they have published nearly 30 books. Their works mostly have an environmental focus based on their shared upbringing and travels, with a preference for the remoter parts of Canada.

Jennifer Glossop was born in England, grew up in Chicago and now lives in Toronto, where, for many years, she has worked as a teacher and book editor. Children’s books were always a favorite of hers to edit, and eventually she was encouraged to write them herself. First, she wrote four books about dinosaurs, then two cookbooks for children. Most recently she wrote The Kids Book of World Religions. Tackling such a big subject was daunting, but finding the similarities among the various religions — celebrations of life events, attachments to certain places, rules for living a good life — was enlightening and made the work exhilarating. Along the way, Jennifer was helped by members of each religion, all of whom were eager to explain the history and basic tenets of their religions, knowing that the book would reach new generations of children. She has been told by many grown-ups that they have also learned a lot from the book.#Jennifer continues to live in Toronto and to edit books, although she now spends more time making art, gardening and traveling. Her two children are grown; one is a musician and one a college professor. She also has two granddaughters.