Meeting Canadian Writers and Illustrators of Children’s Books
What inspires the writers of the books your students read? How does an illustrator decide what to draw? Is it true that most authors and illustrators don’t know each other? This column features a different Canadian children’s book creator in each issue and shows you the story beyond the covers.
Recently I picked up a novel called Cleaning Up by Leanne Lieberman. I couldn’t put it down. The setting was intriguing, the characters believable, and the plot pulled me right in. I could see “the movie” in my head and wanted to know what would happen next. Later, I asked the author some questions. She not only writes fabulous books but teaches 5th-grade French Immersion in Ontario.
Margriet: Your novels for teens deal with difficult issues: holocaust, sexuality,
depression. Yet your books are full of hope. What motivates you to tackle issues head-on in your fictional books?
Leanne: Many of my books are based on issues that have troubled or perplexed me. For example, in my first book, Gravity, I was curious about what it would be like to be queer and also be from a traditional religious group. Other topics interest me because of how I see them affecting students. My novel, The Most Dangerous Thing, has a character suffering from depression, which was something I saw many of my students battling.
Margriet: Are your novels biographical?
Leanne: None of my novels are based directly on my own life, but they often reflect things that I’ve seen or experienced. My novel Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust is the most autobiographical novel I’ve written. The main character struggles when boys from her class, including the boy she has a crush on, play Neo-Nazi games in the park near her school. The book was influenced by an incident I had as a teacher when one of my grade six students made a Nazi armband during my French class.
Margriet: Your master’s degree turned into your first book. How did that happen?
Leanne: I have a Master’s in English and Creative Writing from the University of Windsor. I chose this program so I could write a creative thesis, which was my first book Gravity. When I finished my degree I wasn’t sure how to publish my novel, but my thesis advisor, Darryl Whetter, suggested I enter it into a contest being run by Orca Book Publishers. The contest was called So You Think You Can Write. Gravity won the contest and was published in 2008.
Margriet: I really connected with Jess in Cleaning Up. I could “see” the setting and the characters. Do you write with a movie in mind?
Leanne: I do envision my books like movies in my head. I see the setting and the characters, and then I hear them speak. Cleaning Up is my first book set in and around Kingston, where I live. It was fun to imagine Jess riding her bike through Kingston and walking in the environments where I live.
Margriet: When you conduct school visits, what do you generally do?
Leanne: I almost never read to students when I do a school visit. Most students haven’t read my books yet when I visit, and I think I have more interesting stories to tell them. I like to tell them how I became an author and to share a letter I wrote to my favourite author when I was a child—Sydney Taylor. A few of my books won awards in her name, and then a biographer found my original letter. Because I’m a teacher, I like to show students the process of writing, rather than presenting them with a finished story. I like to show them how messy a draft of a story can be. Sometimes I read them various drafts of a scene and ask them how they think it could be improved.
Margriet: Which writers or illustrators are your shining examples?
Leanne: There are so many! Since childhood, I have loved the Brambly Hedge series by Jill Barklem. Her series was so charming. I also loved Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s books, Beatrix Potter, and any books about farm animals or sharks.
Margriet: Did you intend to become a writer, or did it just happen?
Leanne: I have always wanted to be a writer, always had stories in my head and characters who felt like imaginary friends. When I was a student, I wasn’t sure how to become a writer, but once I figured this out, I became very focused on learning the craft and sending out my work to writer friends and colleagues for feedback.
Margriet: Your newest novel is the first to feature an important teacher character. Was this an implicit choice?
Leanne: Yes, Cleaning Up is my first book to have an important teacher character. The characters in my previous books had strong supportive families, but Jess lives with her dad, who struggles with addiction and isn’t always there for her. Luckily for Jess, she has an amazing teacher, Mrs. M, who not only supports her at school but later becomes a mentor for her, too.
I hadn’t set out to write a book about a relationship between a student and a teacher, but in the end, I was very pleased to have written Mrs. M. Although she isn’t based on any particular colleague, she is a compilation of the many amazing coworkers I’ve worked with in my 20+ years of teaching. I feel so lucky to have entered into a profession that is dedicated to improving children’s lives and to work with people whose goal is to improve our society.
Margriet: What’s next?
Leanne: I’m working on a YA book called The Luckiest Girl. It’s about a girl who washes up on the shore of an island that has decided to isolate itself from the rest of the world. The book is about how the girl navigates her new life on an island that isn’t sure it wants her as a citizen.
As with her books, I didn’t want to stop asking her questions. One day I hope to have coffee with Leanne Lieberman and continue our conversation. For more details, check out: https://leanne.online/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Margriet Ruurs
Margriet Ruurs is the author of over 40 books for children and conducts (ZOOM) school presentations: margrietruurs.com
Enjoy her travel-and-books blog here: globetrottingbooklovers.com
This article is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Winter 2024 issue.
