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A grateful author thanks her reviewers

January 30, 2014

I actually meant round these up over Christmas, but I did more reading than writing over the holidays and it's taken until now to sit down for a really good gratitude moment. Just like in the days when I was writing Mimi Power, Daphne is in the bath and the kitchen table is a quiet place to be. Apart from me and my laptop, the kitchen table is the collecting place a sprawl of sparkle pens, a paper fortune-teller, a silvery blue Knot Genie, a Klutz kit for making Clay Charms, a Cursive Writing exercise book and a Grade 4 agenda with a reminder in it to bring home spelling words for practice tomorrow. There are also a few stuffies on the surrounding bench backs, some coloured stamp pads for fingerprint art and six little ceramic animals on the windowsill--part of my mother's collection from boxes of Red Rose tea thirty-odd years ago.

This would be a light load for our dinner table/craft station/homework centre. Stuff moves around, but it never really gets cleaned up. And if I waited for that to happen I would never get to my gratitude moment. So I have tidied up my tear sheets, cleared myself a little corner to type this on and collected my favourite quotes from the past year of reviews.

"Fans of Junie B. Jones, Ramona the Pest and Marissa Moss's "Amelia's Notebook" will adore entertaining Mimi and her adventures in art and mischief."  -- Natalie Braham, Denver Public Library, School Library Journal, November 2013

"Clear writing and child-like illustrations enhance a great story." -- Rosemary Anderson, BCTLA Bookmark, July 2013

*Starred review (titles of exceptional character), in the The Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Books for Kids and Teens 2013, Spring Edition.

"I enjoyed this book but it had some parts that were happy and some that were sad. I wonder how Mimi survived Waby when she lost bunny Jim. This book was very nice and fast paced so I enjoyed it." -- Thano R on goodreads.com

"... this book is right at home in the hands of today’s child, and it is complemented very nicely by Marc Mongeau’s whimsical, exaggerated, out-of-proportion and occasionally ironic black and white illustrations. Highly Recommended."-- Todd Kyle, CEO, Newmarket Public Library in Ontario, CM, Volume XIX Number 19 January 18, 2013

"Although Mimi describes Waby as being exceedingly annoying, she also shares her love for her sister, which I really enjoyed amongst the humorous 9-year-old angst. I really do recommend this book for the 9-11 year old group, but moms this is one you can enjoy too!" -- frugalmomeh.com, March 18, 2013


"Narrator Mimi is a likable, insightful and long-suffering heroine with her own challenges—including learning how to swim, making inspired art and deflecting the vortex that is Waby. Eventually, she incorporates the “je ne sais quoi” of Henri Matisse (and the title) and “paints” with scissors. Canadian writer Miles’ Power sisters are reminiscent of Judy Blume’s Peter Hatcher and his little brother, Fudge; Mongeau’s illustrations add a modern freshness to the story.

A humorous and affectionate look at the trials and tribulations of family life." (Fiction. 8-12)--Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15th, 2013





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