• Age: 6 to 8
• Grade: p to 3
• Reading age: 4 to 8

Patterned on the popular carol, The Twelve Days of Summer takes readers on a joyous journey into summer, from the first discovery of three eggs in a sparrowís nest to the day when those eggs hatch. Readers will pore over the pictures, searching for that fifth bumblebee, that tenth crow, and for the thoughtfully chosen toy that turns up on each page: a parachute with the goatsbeard seeds, a fan with the ruffed grouseÖ This is a story to delight and engage children and adults alike.

Jan Andrews lives at the end of the road on a lake in Eastern Ontario. The plants and creatures in her Orca book The Twelve Days of Summer can all be found in her backyard. She has a love for the Canadian wilderness and, when not writing, can often be found canoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking or rock climbing, depending on the season. Jan has been part of the world of Canadian children's literature for thirty years and more. Her titles include such classic picture books as Very Last First Time and The Auction. She has contributed to the Dear Canada series through her book Winter of Peril.

An accomplished storyteller with a passionate concern for oral traditions, she has produced the folktale collection Out of the Everywhere. New Tales for Canada and set down the true story of Pa's Harvest as heard from another teller. She has a new book coming out in 2007 entitled The Stories at the Door—a work of rollicking fun and humour. Jan loves to do school visits and is prepared to travel widely to remote and urban locations. She gives teacher workshops and does conference presentations. Her specialty is letting her listeners know how much she cares about them.

She is the Artistic Director for two storytelling series and the Director of Storysave, a project for recording elders from the Canadian storytelling community for CDs and audio website. Somehow, with all of this, Jan has never quite managed to get her own website organized - although she keeps trying! She can, however, be reached at jandrews@magma.ca.

Jan Andrews' profile page

Susan Rennick Jolliffe of Ottawa, Ontario alighted into the world of children's books after many years as a visual artist. She is known for her humorous and beautiful transformations of what most people consider junk. Her first illustrated book is The Twelve Days of Summer by Jan Andrews (Orca 2005), which combines her love of whimsical drawing and nature.

Susan knew she wanted to be an artist from a very young age, constantly drawing characters and making "stuff". She practically lived backstage throughout high school painting theatre sets. However after attending the Nova Scotia College of Fine Art and Design in Halifax, her first job was not as an artist but working in Canadian archaeology as a ceramic analyst. Susan credits few those years of digging through other people's garbage (while reading tons of science fiction) with fine-tuning her sense of humor and history. Volunteering in her children's' schools (1980's) developed into a busy life conducting workshops in schools and museums (MASC) with a strong environmental theme cleverly disguised as fun. Her giant "Moose" community participation sculpture was voted one of the ten most popular public art pieces in Ottawa. In 2000 she created Sculpture Vultures: How to Make Fabulous Sculptures Out of Used Paper (General Store Publishing) with teacher Jane Ellens, to share her projects.

Her own book, Lady Ginny's Tea Parties (Orca 2007), was inspired by her standard poodle and even wilder Canadian animals. Susan is available for school visits.

Susan R. Jolliffe's profile page

• Commended, CCBC Our Choice

"The busy, hypervigilent compositions are both entertaining and eye-filling."

CD Syndicated

"The illustrations are superb...lushly beautiful and humorous at the same time."

Resource Links

"The illustrations are really wonderful, full of detail."

"Students will like looking at it."

TUSD

"Young listeners will enjoy poring over the illustrations...and seeing if they can spot a man-made item that this clever illustrator has tucked into each picture."

CM Magazine

"The text has a lovely lilt to it, and Susan Jolliffe's illustrations offer plenty for the senses as well as the counting part of the brain."

"Each page offers up a surprise."

The Globe and Mail

"This will be a popular read-aloud addition in your collection."

"A very enjoyable book."

Puget Sound Council for Reviewing Children's Media

"Richly illustrated...A classic picture book in that its pictures can absolutely absorb a child while an adult reads aloud. It's a great way to count your way through summer."

Times-Colonist

"A definite purchase for every library."

"Colorful illustrations accompany the singable...text."

NMRLS Youth Services

"The pages seem to shift and shimmer with the swoops of birds and the twirling of flowers."

Times Colonist

"This is one of those books that could be useful in so many ways, that it's a must-have!"

Canadian Teacher Magazine

The Twelve Days of Summer

On my first day of summer, the sunshine brought to me… And so the delight begins. Page by page, creatures gather in a beautiful garden, celebrating summer and the life cycle.