Thank you, Brian Trota and the Brant Beacon for this interview about the writing process, mentoring and why I write about refugees and war
Tag: refugees
GETCA conference
It was a pleasure meeting with educators on Friday in Edmonton at the GETCA conference. This was my first in-person out-of-Ontario presentation since the spring of 2020. My topic was “How to talk to kids about the war in Ukraine”. I used the opportunity to dialogue with educators rather than me being a talking head. I feel that it’s important to honor everyone’s expertise and educators have been dealing with a crush of refugees in their classrooms as well as an influx of questions about the war. The discussion was illuminating, with teachers of varied grade ranges sharing situations that came up in their classes and giving suggestions to each other. My background as a writer of war books for kids means that I’ve spoken to young people on the topic of war for as long as I’ve written books and this gives me a sense of what various maturity levels can and cannot handle. As research, I’ve interviewed war refugees of all ages. This too gives me a different kind of insight.
One topic of discussion was propaganda and how to educate young people that all news sources are not equal. I referred them to my fellow children’s author Joyce Grant and the work she’s been doing to help young people be discerning about their news sources, plus that she’s involved in a kids’ news website called Teaching Kids News.
Joyce’s book, Can You Believe It is a great resource.
We also spoke about how art and writing projects can help refugee kids share their stories and how those same projects can help kids who haven’t fled war gain empathy as they imagine themselves in the same situation. I shared with them the #KidsFleeWar project.
Here are some pics from the Audrey’s Bookstore’s booth at the conference. Pretty nifty! I signed them all (okay, not all, only the books I wrote!)
Speaking with young students in Regina
It was a pleasure speaking with 5th grade students and younger about my picture books Enough and Silver Threads, about those who flee from war and about the situation in Ukraine right now. Thank you for the great questions!
Marsha zooms for her youngest readers at Richmond Hill PL
Ukrainian Heritage Month with Marsha Skrypuch
Wed Sep 28, 2022 – 2:00pm – Wed Sep 28, 2022 – 3:00pm
Ages: Kids (Grades 1-3)
Celebrate Ukrainian Heritage Month with award-winning children’s book writer, Marsha Skrypuch. Learn how art can be used to discuss the refugee experience and discover the power of storytelling.
Educators in Richmond Hill can register their classes by calling 905-884-9288 ext. 5029. For more information, go here.
This program will be done through Zoom, a free video conferencing software for tablets, smartphones and computers. Access instructions will be sent to those who register.
Sharing Tuan’s story of escape
I had the pleasure of doing a presentation with Tuan Ho for his daughter’s class yesterday about Tuan’s escape by boat from Vietnam after the war as recounted in our book, Adrift at Sea, published by Pajama Press. I hope our visit inspired students to ask their own parents and grandparents about their own early life. There are many silent heroes walking among us.
Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy’s Story of Survival
It is 1981. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a fishing boat overloaded with 60 Vietnamese refugees drifts. The motor has failed; the hull is leaking; the drinking water is nearly gone. This is the dramatic true story recounted by Tuan Ho, who was six years old when he, his mother, and two sisters dodged the bullets of Vietnam’s military police for the perilous chance of boarding that boat. Told to multi-award-winning author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and illustrated by the celebrated Brian Deines, Tuan’s story has become Adrift At Sea, the first picture book to describe the flight of Vietnam’s “Boat People” refugees. Illustrated with sweeping oil paintings and complete with an expansive historical and biographical section with photographs, this non-fiction picture book is all the more important as the world responds to a new generation of refugees risking all on the open water for the chance at safety and a new life. Continue reading “Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy’s Story of Survival”