Lori Weber in Manitoba

The town names are like a prose poem of golden lands and hay bales: Winnipeg, Morris, Morden, Winkler, Altona, Lockport, Portage, Pinawa. The roads between them are flat, stretched out like a long welcome mat. We pass fields that flood in spring, where happy cows stare at the horizon. Elegant grain elevators reach for the feathery clouds and the skies at night are purple streaked, with pink and orange and copper peaks. It is all so beautiful to this city gal.

In each place, the kids are eager. Hands shoot up and their questions amaze me. Have I ever been afraid of running out of ideas? Have I ever had to abandon a book? How many more books do I think I’ll write? My pictures of Newfoundland pull them in, especially the salt-box houses and rotting capelin. Guessing the age of the rocks turns the room into an auction. In the Show Not Tell workshops, kids dazzle me with wonderful imagery, similes and smiles. In some towns, kids come in speaking German and Spanish and I eavesdrop, surprised.

The wildlife adds colour: fat, fat geese gathering on the water, waiting for winter. The number one topic on the go – Where is the snow? Deer are aplenty in Pinawa, walking through backyards, as casual as squirrels in Montreal.

I feel like a rock star: fancy hotel, expense account, chauffeurs (well, drivers), interviews on the local morning radio show, the newspaper, fine food and fine conversation with book lovers. Pinch, pinch! Is this really me?

The week proves to me that kids do love books and it is our job to keep that love alive with the books we write and the love of books that we impart. Teachers and librarians in Manitoba are doing that job with such passion. I hope I was able to contribute.