We were putting the roof back on, when who should come screeching around the corner of the barn, wailing like a jealous banshee, but Daisy. I opened my mouth to holler at her; when I closed it, it was gum on gum. The next morning, there were 28 new icebergs out in the middle of the bay. When he finds a photograph of his grandfather as a young man, Liam is full of questions. But that's just fine, because Grampy has a story to spin with every answer. On a fall day in 1962, he tells Liam, he had a run-in with a nasty girl in search of a dance partner; Daisy was her name. What follows is a tall tale about Grampy's tango with a hurricane, and all those signs of aging -- the wrinkles, the stooped back, the croaky voice, the false teeth -- can be chalked up to Daisy's persistence and Grampy's refusal to dance. Of course, it takes a talking to from Nana to get that Daisy to blow off elsewhere.
Jan L. Coates lives and creates in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. She has written many books for young readers; her first novel, The Hare in the Elephant's Trunk, was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Awards. Some of Jan's other books have been short-listed for the Ann Connor Brimer Award, the Hackmatack and Willow Young Readers' Choice Awards, and the IODE Violet Downey Award. Her other publications include: The Hermit; Say What You Mean; Talking to the Moon; A Halifax Time-travelling Tune; Sky Pig; The King of Keji; and The Power of Harmony. Other than reading and writing, she loves getting out on her bike, hiking, travelling, visiting schools, and spending time with her adult children who have become Ontarians.
"Josée Bisaillon, as a young girl loved drawing cats and houses. She enjoyed school and always returned home full of stories to tell (and to draw!). She pursued her education all the way to university, where she fell in love with illustration. Since then, scissors and brushes in hand, Josée has been illustrating childrens books, magazines, and newspapers. Josée lives just outside of Montreal with her spouse, their three children, one hairless cat, and many paper characters.
Josée has illustrated more than 35 picture books (including: The Boreal Forest; Usha and the Stolen Sun; A Great Big Night; Les Poupees; Le Pelleteur de Nuages; Ten Cents a Pound; and Ma Tete en L'air), and won several awards and distinctions, including the 2017 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award for The Snow Knows. Her work has twice been shortlisted for the Governor Generals Literary Award. Dancing with Daisy was a finalist for the Elizabeth Mzarik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award. In 2018, she published Reviens Sur Terre, Esther, her first book as an author-illustrator. "
"Coates uses the construct of the tall tale to introduce young children to the concept of aging. Colorful, detailed illustrations bring the landscape and feel of a northern sea to life for readers.... [T]ogether the text and images create a delightfully engaging tableau." -- School Library Journal
"Bisaillon's depictions of Daisy are an artistic coup, suggesting both wind and woman through scalable hands, arms and blowing hair. Together with Coates' colloquial trim tale, they are a source of mirth. ... This refreshing picture book is, as Coates mentions in her dedication, for those who like make-believe." -- Aliki Tryphonolpoulous, Canadian Children's Book News
"Josée Bisaillon's art is a wonderful accompaniment to Jan L. Coates's story, taking readers to the Atlantic coast of colourful buildings, cold grey waters and tumultuous weather" -- Helen Kubiw, CanLit for LittleCanadians
"Bisaillon's pictures perfectly match the exuberance and high spirits of Coates's story, which is sure to inspire young readers to tell tall tales of their own summer adventures." -- Jeffrey Canton, The Globe and Mail
"Josée Bisaillon's mixed media illlustrations are a delight as she creatively whips up the wind and wildness of a wicked hurricaneand they are whimsically witty when she illustrates what happens to Grampy's lost teeth." -- Anne Letain, Resource Links
"... rolls along like a good tale should, and ... wraps up with Liam in the loving embrace of his grandfather, just the way a good story should end." -- Harriet Zaidman, CM: Canadian Review of Materials
