Gracie's Got a Secret

A little girl in England recently wrote an adorable letter praising Gracie’s Got a Secret. She said: “Thank you for the story of Greasy’s had a seacret [sic.] That is the best book.” I particularly love the “Greasy” reference.

A U.K. family also wrote a nice review on amazon.com:

Perfect bedtime read, 10 Oct 2012

Our whole family has fallen in love with this story and is now using the catchphrase “gotta go, gotta go” whenever we need to get out of the house! A really fun read with lovely illustrations, a perfect bedtime story for our 3 year old.

The children’s website KidzWorld posted a review of Gracie’s Got a Secret, complete with a cool moving sequence of some inside pages, and a summary of the book. Here’s an excerpt:

“Gracie’s Got a Secret by Heather Conn is a cute storybook for young readers. Kids who enjoyed Finding Nemo will love Gracie. The story shows that all you need is willpower and determination in order to achieve the impossible.”

Click here to read the review and see the KidzWorld web page.

The KidzWorld site is aimed at young teens. I’ve found that teenage girls love Gracie and the illustrations.

Trek magazine, the fine publication distributed by the University of B.C. to all alumni, included Gracie’s Got a Secret in its list of featured books in the September/October 2012 issue.

I’m pleased to be on the same page with Caroline Woodward’s novella The Village of Many Hats, published by Oolichan Books. I know Caroline from my days of living and teaching in the Nelson, BC area, when she owned Motherlode Bookstore in the West Kootenays. We met again at the 2012 Word on the Street Festival this fall, at the same time as this magazine appeared.

The Village of Many Hats is told from the point of view of a nine-year-old girl who, along with a wise hat maker, saves her village after tragedy strikes.

Gracie’s little orange face now appears on the Pinterest board of the Word on the Street Festival, along with adult and other children’s books. She’s in great company, with the likes of W. P. Kinsella (and his latest book, Butterfly Winter), Arthur Black, Annabel Lyon, Katherine Monk, and lots more.

I’ll be reading Gracie’s Got a Secret at Word on the Street in Vancouver in the fall and look forward to hearing other children’s authors read their book such as Alan Woo’s Maggie’s Chopsticks, and The Swing by Julie Morstad.