We are pleased to continue our series of children's authors from Annick Press in Toronto with what may be the most perfect author video we have ever shown.

Effervescent illustrator Ruth Ohi takes us inside the covers of Clara and the Bossy, her humorous look at the serious subject of bullying. Clara is a lovable Guinea Pig with a fondness for purple who tries too hard to please her glamorous friend.

Ruth Ohi (pronounced "Oh-Weee") has written and illustrated several children's books, including A Trip With Grandma and The Couch Was a Castle. Ruth Ohi fans get a rare treat in this 2-minute video: watching the author create an illustration right before your eyes! It's a magic moment and you shouldn't miss it.

With no further ado, let's join the author for a brief trip with Clara and the Bossy.

Next in our Annick Press series of author videos comes Dennis Foon, father of the eerie Longlight Legacy trilogy of science fiction novels.

The trilogy comprises three books: The Dirt Eaters, Freewalker, and The Keeper's Shadow. The action takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and features two young heroes, Roan and his sister Stowe.

The Longlight Legacy continues to gain critical acclaim as one of the great science fiction trilogies of the new millennium. The cinematic scope of the work is no accident; author Dennis Foon is an accomplished playwright and filmmaker -- check out his credits in IMDb (the Internet Movie Database).

This 2-minute video was filmed at Annick Press' gorgeous offices overlooking the harbour in downtown Vancouver's historic Gastown district. In the video, Foon is bathed in luminous green light as he talks about the ecological underpinnings of his epic adventure.

Kids today are rediscovering the 1960s and Mike Tanner is helping them program their iPods with the proper soundtrack.

Flat-Out Rock is a visually stunning guide to rock music from the '60s and early '70s. Gorgeous graphic design and rare, exquisite photographs place the musicians in the context of hippies, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and other '60s happenings.

Flat-Out Rock covers ten important bands or musicians and illustrates each artist's significance by describing a pivotal moment in their careers. Artists covered include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and Neil Young with Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

In this 2-minute video, enjoy Tanner's luxurious voice and rock-star good looks as he describes how his background as a touring and recording musician contributed to Flat-Out Rock.

We are pleased to continue our series of children's authors from Annick Press in Toronto with what may be the most perfect author video we have ever shown.

Effervescent illustrator Ruth Ohi takes us inside the covers of Clara and the Bossy, her humorous look at the serious subject of bullying. Clara is a lovable Guinea Pig with a fondness for purple who tries too hard to please her glamorous friend.

Ruth Ohi (pronounced "Oh-Weee") has written and illustrated several children's books, including A Trip With Grandma and The Couch Was a Castle. Ruth Ohi fans get a rare treat in this 2-minute video: watching the author create an illustration right before your eyes! It's a magic moment and you shouldn't miss it.

With no further ado, let's join the author for a brief trip with Clara and the Bossy.

Kids today are rediscovering the 1960s and Mike Tanner is helping them program their iPods with the proper soundtrack.

Flat-Out Rock is a visually stunning guide to rock music from the '60s and early '70s. Gorgeous graphic design and rare, exquisite photographs place the musicians in the context of hippies, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and other '60s happenings.

Flat-Out Rock covers ten important bands or musicians and illustrates each artist's significance by describing a pivotal moment in their careers. Artists covered include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and Neil Young with Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

In this 2-minute video, enjoy Tanner's luxurious voice and rock-star good looks as he describes how his background as a touring and recording musician contributed to Flat-Out Rock.

We are pleased to bring you the author of one of the most decorated books in recent memory: Allan Stratton and his breakout novel, Chanda's Secrets.

Chanda's Secrets tells the story of a teen girl in Africa whose mother is afflicted with HIV/AIDS and travels north to spare her family the shame of her illness. The book puts "a human face to the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa," says the author.

The list of awards Chanda's Secrets has won is too long to recount here -- you'll find an up-to-date tally at publisher Annick Press' web site. The accolades include Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year Award, the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature, and "Editor's Choice" plus "Top 10 Black History Book" from Booklist.

In this 2-minute video, filmed at Annick Press's Toronto offices last fall, erudite author Allan Stratton describes how he created characters so real he has to remind people the book is fiction.

We are delighted that the first author video in our Annick Press series is with the endearing Loris Lesynski.

If you have read any of Loris' books (Boy Soup, Dirty Dog Boogie, Cabbagehead, Nothing Beats A Pizza and Zigzag, among others), you will appreciate this glimpse into the source of that rich humor. Loris lights up for the camera, with mischief in her eyes and poetry on her lips.

In this video, Loris Lesynski talks mostly about her new book, I Did It Because.... Students always ask Loris where her stories and language come from. This is her response, an instructional book for young authors that teaches in a delightful way "how a poem happens."

Watch this 2-minute video, filmed at the offices of children's book publisher Annick Press in Toronto last November, to see the lovey Loris Lesynski bring some of her works to life!

We are very pleased to share with you today, not an author's video, but a publisher's video.

Rick Wilks is co-founder, with Anne Millyard, of Annick Press, a company whose name is synonymous with excellence and innovation in children's books. Since 1975, Annick has been publishing breakthrough books, such as Chanda's Secrets, and breakout authors, such as Robert Munsch.

In this 2-minute clip, Wilks speaks passionately about what Annick Press looks for in a book and where the company's publishing mission is headed. It's refreshing to see a publisher with such a strong commitment to content and packaging -- both hallmarks of Canadian publishing. Annick is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, where this video was filmed.

Jocelyn Elder's The Cancer Wheel focuses on the three dimensions of life: the physical, the psychological, and the spiritual. Elder says that the audience for her book are both medical professionals as well as cancer patients themselves.

As both a cancer survivor and a Registered Nurse, she has unique perspectives to add to the book, which deals with prevention, assessment, and treatment of the disease.

Elder has been in the medical industry for over 25 years, in various fields. In this 2-minute video, filmed in Santa Fe, she describes how working in health service at the Zuni Pueblo inspired part of her book.

Jocelyn Elder's The Cancer Wheel focuses on the three dimensions of life: the physical, the psychological, and the spiritual. Elder says that the audience for her book are both medical professionals as well as cancer patients themselves.

As both a cancer survivor and a Registered Nurse, she has unique perspectives to add to the book, which deals with prevention, assessment, and treatment of the disease.

Elder has been in the medical industry for over 25 years, in various fields. In this 2-minute video, filmed in Santa Fe, she describes how working in health service at the Zuni Pueblo inspired part of her book.