• Age: 5 to 7
• Grade: k to 2

Dorothy McMoogle, who wants to play the bugle till she's green and hang kumquat colours on every bush and tree, is tired of drab and neat. After Dottie Aunt Lottie's Gloom-O-Meter dings its warning, Dorothy hops into battle with boring grey. A story in rhyme that is an ode to creativity and being true to yourself, and having fun while you're at it.

Bruce Rice is a previous Saskatchewan Poet Laureate, an essayist, and editor. His writing moves from family and community to social history and meditations on landscape and wilderness. Bruce's six books of poetry have received two Saskatchewan Book Awards and a Saskatchewan Book of the Year nomination. His first book, Daniel, won the Canadian Authors Association Award. Judges said it "portrays life's hardships with an elegance of language which is stunning." He has been called a master of light. Whether writing about prairie or the urban forest outside his door, he says, "I became a better poet when I surrendered to beauty." Bruce lives in Regina on Treaty 4 Territory and the Métis homeland.

Bruce Rice's profile page

Wendy Winter's profile page

"...many of the verses are fun and would prove useful in a poetry lesson, focusing on 'nonsense' poetry. The whimsical, imaginative illustrations are very appealing."

-Carolyn Cutt, Resource Links

"Winter's illustrations perfectly fit the wackiness of Rice's text...Dorothy McMoogle with Kumquat and Bugle is an ode to imagination that will resonate deeply with some readers."

-Inderjit Deogun, CM