In Search of April Raintree

Beatrice (Culleton) Mosionier was born in the St. Boniface area of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The youngest of four children, she grew up in foster homes, but says she had a “reasonably happy childhood.” When she was 17, Beatrice moved to Toronto where she attended George Brown College. Her sister Vivian committed suicide in 1964; after a second sister, Kathy, committed suicide in 1980, Beatrice decided to write a book. In Search of April Raintree, based loosely on her own experiences, was published in 1983, and has become a Canadian classic. A revised version, April Raintree, is taught in schools around the world. In 1999, In Search of April Raintree, Critical Edition, was published by Peguis Publishers (now Portage & Main Press). Beatrice is the author of several children’s book including: Spirit of the White Bison, Christopher’s Folly, and Unusual Friendships: A Little Black Cat and a Little White Rat. Her second novel, In the Shadow of Evil, was published in 2000. Beatrice has travelled nationally and internationally to speak to organizations, schools, and universities. In her spare time, she pursues her other long-time interest—designing and building woodworking projects.