Hélène Boudreau

Authors’ Booking Service is pleased to announce that children’s author, Hélène Boudreau, is now scheduling visits to Ontario schools for the coming school year.   

Hélène is available throughout the school week, preferably Mondays or Wednesdays.  She would love to plan a visit to your school or library.  Her rate is $175 for one session,  $300 for two, $600 for a full day (max four sessions), plus travel.

Hélène Boudreau is an Acadian writer and artist. A native of Isle Madame, Nova Scotia, she writes fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults. Her writing has appeared in various Canadian publications and her Maritime-themed art has been exhibited by the Toronto Public Library.  She is available for presentations in both English and French. Hélène’s bibliography and details of her presentation follow this message. 

Here’s what Sara Uddin of C.D. Farquharson Junior Public School has to say about this author: 

I was fortunate enough to have Hélène Boudreau visit my grade 4/5 classroom this year.  I had been reading her novel, ACADIAN STAR, to my students as a Read -Aloud, which they looked forward to and LOVED listening to every day.  She came in to read the last few chapters to them as a surprise.  They were truly captivated by her and listened attentively to her read.  After she read to them, she discussed the process of writing - the long hours it takes to write and edit a book.  She also brought with her the rejection letters from the many publishers - that part shocked my students as I don't think they realized how hard it is to become an author!  They loved asking her questions and she patiently answered each and every one of them!  They learned so much about the writing process and loved meeting a "real live author" in person! A positive experience for my students who would otherwise not have had this wonderful opportunity!!!  

 
And here is what Don Wainwright of Roselands School had to say:

          Helene Boudreau was all that you promised. We were very pleased with her
          workshop (both of them) and the children were engaged throughout. Good job!

And Jeanine Samson, Grade 3 teacher at Ecole Rockingham School says:

My grade three class at Ecole Rockingham School thoroughly enjoyed the author visit from Hélène Boudreau. We had just finished reading the book and so students were excited to meet her. As part of our curriculum, we study the different cultural groups in Nova Scotia. It was a great way to introduce Acadians and talk about the deportation. My students really related to the characters of Meg and Nève and were always eager for me to read the next chapter.

The class visit was interesting and engaging. Students were encouraged to ask questions and talk about their reactions to the text. Ms. Boudreau had a wonderful way of presenting to them in a way that was age appropriate. Students were attentive and willing to share their own story ideas.

Jeanine Samson, Grade Three teacher at Ecole Rockingham School

Hélène is a member of The Writers' Union of Canada, and so schools wishing to invite her may be eligible for a travel and fee subsidy to off-set the cost of her visit. Contact us for details of this program. 

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Novels

• Acadian Star, Nimbus Publishing, middle grade fiction

• Crimebusting and Detection, Crabtree Publishing, non-fiction
• Miraculous Medicines, Crabtree Publishing, non-fiction
• Science of Swimming, Crabtree Publishing, non-fiction

Magazines

• Know Magazine, contributor, a science magazine for 6-9 year olds

Hélène’s Presentation Details

My one hour session includes:   

• 5 minutes: Introduction
• Who am I?
• Different types of writing
• Different markets (novels, comic books, magazine writing, writing on the web) 
• 10 minutes: Writing ACADIAN STAR
• Writing a 'rough draft'
• How I work with a critique group and get feedback to write my next draft
• What it took to get published (revising, rejections, perseverance) 
• Working with an editor
• I relate each point to the students' own creative writing and ask them to share what types of things they're working on
• 15-20 minutes: Mini writing workshop: Three easy ways to improve your writing!
• How I plot and write my novels based on the 'The Rule of Three' and illustrate, pictorially, using the story The Three Little Pigs
• How to start stories with a turning point
• How stories, both in books and movies usually have three major scenes
• What a climax'is and how climaxes can also happen in three stages (Lighting the fuse, watching burn, then KABOOM!)
• How stories have a beginning, middle and end (three parts)
• 10 minutes: Read an excerpt of ACADIAN STAR
• Choose excerpts to illustrate how AS fits into the framework we just discussed
• Remainder: Questions and Discussion

This is the basic format, though I can tailor my presentation to best suit your needs depending on the grade level and size of the group. 
 
 

Grades I will present to: Grades 2 to 8  

Maximum number of students per session: 60-80   

Venues you’re comfortable in:  classroom, library, auditorium, gymnasium   

Is this flexible? Yes