Event Details
Celebrate the joy of family, food and cultural traditions through stories full of laughter, connection and conversation.
Event Details
Celebrate the joy of family, food and cultural traditions through stories full of laughter, connection and conversation.
Speakers for this event
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Morgan Christie
Morgan Christie
Morgan Christie is the author of the picture book I, Too, Am Here, illustrated by Marley Berot; four poetry chapbooks; a short story collection and a collection of essays. She has won the Arc Poetry Poem of the Year Contest, the Prairie Fire Fiction Prize, the Puerto del Sol Fiction Prize and a silver National Magazine Award for poetry. Morgan is based out of Toronto, Ontario.
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Sarabeth Holden
Sarabeth Holden
Sarabeth Holden is an award-winning author based in Toronto, Ontario, and anaana to two inspirational little boys. Sarabeth, who is Inuk from the community of Pangnirtung, Nunavut, was born in Halifax and raised between New Brunswick and Nunavut. She is known for her delightful books, including her newest book Strawberry Sundaes, and Benny the Bananasaurus Rex (Selected for 2024’s Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and 2024 winner of the Forest of Reading’s Blue Spruce Award).
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Zenia Wadhwani
Zenia Wadhwani
Zenia Wadhwani is the author of Fly in the Chai, Once Upon A Sari, and ‘Twas the Night Before Diwali. She is a lover of books, an advocate for literacy and a promoter of emerging writers, but it took the pandemic and a looming milestone birthday to unleash her first children’s story. Zenia’s stories are often inspired by her daughter and a desire to see greater diversity in children’s books.Zenia has spent her career working for non-profits, government and corporations, but always with a focus on community, equity and inclusion. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her family.
Books
Fly in the Chai
Who loves chai more? Nanu . . . or the pesky fly that lands in his fresh cup?
A delightful picture book romp featuring an adorable grandfather and granddaughter, a lively group of marketgoers and one very memorable fly.
On a trip to the market, Nanu gets a cup of chai. But before he can take a drink, his granddaughter stops him just in time. STOP! There’s a FLY in that chai!
Thus begins an epic battle between Nanu and the fly: who loves chai more?? This hilarious story will have readers on the edge of their seats and the dynamic illustrations will take them on a journey through a busy market they won’t soon forget!
Who will win the chai battle?
AuthorZenia Wadhwani
PublisherTundra Books
Grandma, Cho Cho and Me
Some families gather for big dinners, but in my house we feast at breakfast! As Grandma and I cook our favorite Jamaican dishes, I learn why that is.
The girl in this story and her grandmother are making breakfast for the whole family! Jamaican favorites like ackee and saltfish, fried dumplings and delicious cho cho are on the menu today. As they chop and stir, and the food simmers and sizzles, the girl has one big question for Grandma — why does their family eat such BIG breakfasts?
Through the process of cooking traditional foods, and through Grandma’s stories of life in Jamaica before their family emigrated to Canada, the girl learns more about the historical, economic and social reasons for their big breakfasts — and she explores her culture as someone not born in Jamaica, but still connected to the island.
Grandma, Cho Cho and Me is inspired by the author’s childhood experiences born to Jamaican migrant parents, and beautifully illustrated by Paulica Santos. Memories of tropical landscapes, garden-fresh greens and mouthwatering meals overflow in Paulica Santos’s lush, mixed-media illustrations.
AuthorMorgan Christie
PublisherGroundwood Books
Strawberry Sundaes
Just like his favourite veggie-eating dino, the stegosaurus, Sim can’t get enough of delicious greens—but his absolute favourite treat is freshly picked strawberries.
When Sim and his family head out of the city to pick some delicious strawberries, he gets to hear how his mom picked berries where she grew up, in the Arctic! With Sim’s prehistoric imagination to help him, he and his sister quickly learn that while they may pick berries differently than their mom’s family did, there is much that stays the same.
Whether picked from the tundra or from a farmer’s field, whether blueberries, crowberries, or strawberries, and whether served with a side of bannock or a side of ice cream, berry picking gets families out on the land together gathering the delicious fruits of the season.
And there is nothing more delicious than that!
AuthorSarabeth Holden
PublisherInhabit Media