goodwill and are inspirational and uplifting. The Reading Promise , published in July 2014, excels in all of these criteria.The book, written under Guindon’s pen name of Troy Kent, is about an impoverishedmother who has nothing to give her child. She stumbles upon the public library and discovers that maybe she can give him something after all. She starts reading books to him every night, and both come to realize the time they share together is more important than any material thing. “That’s why so many mothers make a connection with the book, because they do the same thing,” explained Guindon. “I’m hoping it will help parents instill a love for reading and learning in their children. The book shows that you can do that regardless of your financial status. You don’t have to have anything to spend time reading to your child. And the time spent is always quality time.” The author says he is excited by the recog- nition because the publicity will ensuremore families are reading his books, helping him with his mission of encouraging children’s love of reading. “The big thing for me as an English teacher is to encourage kids to read,” he mentioned in an interview. “In this book the message is to read to your kids at an early age and engage them in reading because, if it’s done properly, they’ll be lifelong learners. “From my point of view everything I do with writing is to get children motivated to read at a young age.” Guindon credits inspiration for the story- line to wife Robyn, who studiously read to
their children at an early age, instilling in all five a love for reading and learning. He believes the story has caused such an impact because of the emotional response it engenders among readers, particularly mothers. At book signings at Chapters and other stores, the book has brought some mothers to tears, while others have walked up to him and hugged him. The awards have opened new doors for the Long Sault resident. He has been invited as a guest speaker to the Michigan Reading Association’s 60 th Annual Conference in Detroit, this March. He will be joining the likes of New York Times best-selling young adult novelist Matt de la Pena andmultiple Corretta Scott King Honour Award winner Sharon Flake.The prestigious four-day con- ference will be attended by thousands. “I think it’s really exciting that, as a high school teacher at Tagwi within the Upper Canada board, they have asked me to go down to Detroit to talk with them about reading,” Guindon observed. “There’s going to be a lot of people there. When I first got the news, I was quite nervous, but now, I’m ready for it” In the near future, he wants to expand on his love for writing children’s stories, perhaps as a part-time night lecturer with a university children’s literature program. For now, he is working on his third chil- dren’s book. While he can’t saymuch about the project, he can at least say that the first draft is already in his publisher’s hands. To be followed.
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Troy Kent Guindon’s first book, The Reading Promise , is sweeping the literacy world by storm, having received five awards so far.
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Wednesday, November 25, 2015
The Journal Cornwall
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