Becoming Ruby
- Publisher
- Penguin Group Canada
- Initial publish date
- Mar 2004
- Category
- General
- Recommended Age
- 8 to 12
- Recommended Grade
- 3 to 7
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780143312109
- Publish Date
- Mar 2004
- List Price
- $8.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
What kind of name is Nan? Or worse, Nanny? It sounds like a goat. At 15, Ruby Nan Larkin is sure of one thing-she wants to be called by her first name now, whether her mother likes it or not.
It's the summer of 1967, and Ruby's mom-never easy to get along with-is more impossible than ever. She buys Ruby a new bathing suit that's so ugly she'd rather swim naked in front of the whole world than wear it. The only good thing about the summer is Daniel, the boy with the scar on his shoulder who Ruby meets at the park near her cottage.
Why does her mother find fault with everything Ruby does, or thinks, or wants? Why can't she just let Ruby be?
With great skill and sensitivity, Becoming Ruby tells a powerful and unforgettable story of a young girl coming into her own-in body, mind and spirit.
About the author
Kathy Stinson is a familiar name in children’s literature. She wrote the award-winning Red is Best and Big or Little?—two of the first picture books for preschoolers in Canada. Both were a huge success and have since achieved international acclaim. Red is Best 25th Anniversary Edition was released in 2006 a newly illustrated Big or Little? was published in 2009. Kathy’s latest book, The Man with the Violin (2013), was greeted with rave reviews, including starred reviews in Kirkus and uill & uire. Illustrated by Duan Petricic, this beautifully evocative picture book tells the true story of world-renowned violinist, Joshua Bell, who conducted an experiment by anonymously playing his priceless violin in the Washington D.C. subway station. Kathy grew up in Toronto. “My love affair with books began as a child,” she says. “I remember regular visits to the library, getting stacks of books to read.” She still has a notebook of stories that she wrote when she was in grade four. She believes that reading a lot is the key to becoming a good writer. In the early 1970s Kathy attended university while teaching elementary school. In 1981, she took a course called “How to write and get published.” The titles she has published in the years since range from picture books to young adult novels, from historical fiction chapter books to short stories in the horror genre. 2008 sees the publication of her first brand-new picture book in sixteen years! Kathy enjoys visiting schools across Canada, and especially talking with fellow writers. In 1987 she traveled to England as part of an exchange of Canadian and British children’s authors. She has helped students across Canada pursue their own creative projects through the Writers in Electronic Residence program, and in many communities has conducted writing workshops for children and for adults. When she’s not busy writing or reading, Kathy is a self-proclaimed jigsaw puzzle addict. Her children now grown, she lives with her partner, editor Peter Carver, in a hamlet not far from Guelph, Ontario.
Other titles by
The Rock and the Butterfly
A Tulip in Winter
A Story About Folk Artist Maud Lewis
The Girl Who Loved Giraffes
And Became the World's First Giraffologist
Lady with the Books, The
A Story Inspired by the Remarkable Work of Jella Lepman
The Dog Who Wanted to Fly
Red is Best
Munsch fall 2017 board book package 1
Annikin package
The Dance of the Violin
