FIREFLY, awards, commendations, free teacher's guides, reviews

 

Looking for information about my book, FIREFLY?

Here are links for my launch video, links to awards, reviews, news, and free teacher's guides. Enjoy! 

Firefly Book launch Video

Firefly YouTube Q&A with author, March/21

FIREFLY AWARDS
SYRCA Snow Willow Award 2023/2024
WINNER Governor General's Literary Award 2021
WINNER Ruth & Sylvia
​Schwartz Children's Book Award 2022
Rocky Mountain Awards 2023
MYRCA Northern Lights 2023
IODE Violet Downey Award 2022
​OLA Red Maple 2022 Nominee

FIREFLY in the News

Globe & Mail 100 Best Books 2021
OLA Best Bets 2021
9 Great Holiday Books for Kids, CBC BOOKS
​CBC BEST YA & MG READS 2021
AUTHOR READS on YouTube
​Book Trailer

FIREFLY Reviews and more:
CCBC Expert's Pick, March 2022
​CBC, The Next Chapter, 9 Great Holiday Reads, Dec 2021
​The Chat, 49th Shelf Q&A, Dec 2021
CCBC Recommended, July 2021
OpenBook, Review & Excerpt, May/21
Highly Recommended, CM Reviews
Q&A with US Blogger, April 2021
CBC Books Best Books Spring 2021
Expert's Pick, CCBC, March/2021
Author Q&A, YouTube, March/2021
CanLit for Little Canadians, Feb/2021
​

Author Reads, YouTube

​FREE Teacher's Guide

REVIEWS

FIREFLY:  "The characters are deftly drawn, the setting is unique, and Firefly's story is moving and thought-provoking." Expert's Pick, Canadian Children's Book Centre, March 2022

"It's a powerful book with engaging characters ... a book with a lot of heart." CBC | The Next Chapter, 9 Great Holiday Reads

"This fantasy specialist’s shift into realism is a triumph (it won the Governor-General’s Award for young fiction)."
Globe & Mail, Top 100 Books of 2021
 
"... a natural segue to the mental health literacy component of the curriculum for senior elementary students." CCBC/July '21
​
"Firefly, like so much of Dowding's work, isn't limited to young readers. Her nuanced depiction of trauma, the search for identity & the desire to define what 'family' means will resonate with readers of all ages." OpenBook Review/Excerpt, May/21

Free Teacher's Guide for FIREFLY
More Teacher's guides on 49th Shelf

FIREFLY gets 4 Stars and is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by CM Reviews!

 

"This book deals with the heavy topics of homelessness, addiction and PTSD in a gentle and accessible manner, making the book a great introduction to these topics for children...

The author does a great job in expressing how simple things, such as taking a bath or drinking hot chocolate, are earth-shattering to Firefly who has been living outside by herself... 

Even though the topic is heavy at a glance, there is a lot of lightheartedness as readers get to experience life inside a busy costume shop and all the quirky characters that go along with that."

--CM Reviews, April 2021 
4/5 Stars, Highly Recommended | Ages 10-13 | Grades 5-8

What a fantastic review for FIREFLY, thank you to Canadian Materials Review. It's so important for an author to get reviews for their books, it's how libraries and schools decide what to purchase with their small book budgets, so I'm very thankful to them for helping get the word out about FIREFLY. And if you loved a book, please consider reviewing and spreading the word on social media or on Goodreads or a bookselling site, your favourite authors will thank you. 

My motto hasn't changed: We can't hold each other right now, but it may help to hold a book.

Go read the whole review, the reviewer has more lovely things to say! 

Here's a 3-minute YouTube video of me reading from FIREFLY

More posts about FIREFLY on this blog