Now Available!THE BURNING GEMa Soul Catcher novel
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This exciting fantasy adventure, which plays out just beneath our feet, has already garnered praise for its characters and fast-paced plot.
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Don Sawyer has published books in genres ranging from adult non-fiction to young adult novels and childrenʼs books. He has also published in periodicals, and his Op-Eds have appeared in most major Canadian daily newspapers. He has presented readings and writing workshops to students across Canada and the U.S. and has pioneered the use of classroom “virtual readings” of his books via Skype and other platforms with classrooms, many in remote areas.
Two of Don’s books, the YA novel Where the Rivers Meet and nonfiction Tomorrow Is School (and I Am Sick to the Heart Thinking About It), are Canadian bestsellers. In 2016, BC Bookworld named Where the Rivers Meet a “classic”: “First published by Pemmican Publications back in 1988, Don Sawyer’s Where The Rivers Meet is perhaps the first Canadian book for young readers that realistically portrays racial prejudice and teen suicide in a First Nations community.” (To read full article, click here.) |
About Tomorrow Is School, the Newfoundland Quarterly wrote, “Few books written about Newfoundland have the humor, the whimsy and the insight of this one… It should be required reading for teachers and would-be teachers.” The book was used widely in teacher training programs across Canada.
Don’s first children’s book was Donna Meets Coyote, written for The Shuswap Tribal Council, provided a First Nations alternative to the standard BC elementary curriculum, a major achievement at the time. It was an enormous honour to be chosen by the STC to author this book and to have the opportunity to work with a group of Shuswap elders who directed and approved the writing. |
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The Miss Flint series was first published as Adventures with Miss Flint (Thistledown) and reprinted in German by Olson Verlag and Ravensburger. The second edition was retitled the Meanest Teacher in the World and was soon accompanied by its sequel, Miss Flint and the Great Kweskin. CW Magazine wrote of The Meanest Teacher, “With this book, young readers can have fun reading about the capers both in and out of Miss Flint's classroom, and they then breathe a sigh of relief that they don’t have such a teacher- or be inspired to tell their own story that will rival a Miss Flint one!” And of The Great Kweskin, “Don Sawyer writes with a sense of humor children can understand. The new characters in this book add novelty to this latest collection of stories, and their actions allow Don to reveal the different sides of many of his main characters. Fans won’t be disappointed.”
The Miss Flint books are used widely in elementary classrooms, and, an experienced language arts teacher and curriculum writer, Don wrote a teacher’s guide loaded with creative ideas for using the books in the classroom. |
Having worked for many years in First Nations education and working with Shuswap Elder Mary Thomas, Don became aware of some of the traditional stories of the Secwépemc people that he thought had lessons to each all of us. This resulted in an thoroughly updated version of an ancient fable, Grampa and the Four Brothers.
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