I was parked outside the Arrivals section at Trudeau Airport this morning looking up and down the waiting area for someone. I have been picking up strangers at the airport once a year for the past few years. This isn’t as bad as it sounds. The occasion is TD Canadian Children’s Book Week when I volunteer to pick up visiting authors and drive them to their hotel or to a school or bookstore for a reading. This time, I was waiting for Kari-Lynn Winters who was arriving from St. Catherines, Ontario. When I saw a woman in a bright blue jacket pulling a large suitcase walking towards me , I knew it was her. Although it was the first time we ever met, we hugged like long, lost friends. The next stop was Babar Bookstore in Pointe Claire where she was scheduled to do a reading of her books.

Kari-Lynn is a multi-published author of children’s picture books, but as a drama professor at Brock University, Kari-Lynn doesn’t just give a reading, she gives a performance. Using puppets and props to bring the stories alive, her young audience was held captive as she read from her books. For the schools she’ll be visiting this week, the kids will be in for a treat!

Oh, and if you want to know what it takes to be a bad pirate, you’ll have to read her book.

For more information about Kari-Lynn, visit her website.