At
The
program was instigated in 1998 as part of the School
Improvement Plan and the two teachers in charge David Donelle and
Elizabeth
MacLauglan have won awards for their work.
This
year, Vice-Principal Lorraine MacLeod is introducing an
enrichment book club for some of these avid readers.
It begins with a visit from Cathy Brown
Murphy, the author of Jasmine’s Journey.
To
break the ice, Murphy hands out postcards and reads a
chapter from her book. The students are
fascinated
with the book cover and wonder if it was drawn with pencil crayons. It turns out that Diane Lucas from
The
students who have read her book really enjoyed the
Atlantic Canadian setting. Most of the
books they’ve read are set in the
The
story begins with a dramatic fire at Jasmine’s cottage,
so naturally the students want to know if her cottage had ever had a
fire like
the one in the book. Murphy admits that
she made that part up and she sure hopes her own cottage doesn’t burn
down.
The
personality of the cat Jasmine also attracts the
students, and they have lots of cat questions.
How many cats has she had? Were any of them named Jasmine? Murphy told them she’s had five cats. Cats have to be named based on their
personality and she never had a Jasmine, but she did have a Siamese cat
named
Angel who was a lot like the Jasmine in the story.
She decided on the name for her main
character early because Jasmine made her think of a delicate, exotic
flower.
As
the students ask what types of books Murphy likes to read,
a bond begins to form. They’ve never
heard of Barbara Pym, but when she mentions Tolkien, they nod
enthusistically. Many of them have enjoyed
the same Borrowers series that she did as a child
and are happy to know that she also likes J.K. Rowling—especially the
humorous
bits.
There
are questions about writing as well. Did
she write while she was in middle
school? What sort of stories did she
write? Did her teachers encourage her? And
what would she have been if she hadn’t been an author? Murphy shares
that she
was always filling scribblers with her stories which were often about
animals
because even back then she was an animal lover. She didn’t even think
about
becoming a writer until her grade six vice-principal encouraged her. Now she couldn’t imagine not being one even
though she has trained as a teacher and held many other jobs.
Some
of the students are interested in writing themselves
and want to know if it takes a long time to get a book published. Murphy ruefully admits that it can. Some writers find a publisher right away, but
many others take a long time. She
encourages the students to start a journal and write about what they
know
because it’s an excellent way to practise.
When one student complains that the stories from one of her
early
journals don’t even make any sense, Murphy gently points out that we
all have
to start somewhere and encourages her to continue writing.
Jasmine’s
Journey is Murphy’s first published book, but she’s also written
other
novels and stories that haven’t been published.
She’s thinking about starting a story about ravens next.
As
Murphy gets ready to leave the school that she attended while
it was still a high school, there is one last question.
Would she have enjoyed starting the day with
a book back then? Most definitely.
Book
Info:
Jasmine’s
Journey
by Cathy Brown Murphy.
Published by TUCKAMORE BOOKS. 2002. 106pp. $8.95
ISBN 1-894294-49-1