Terra was an amazing nine-year-old inside, and out. She loved fantasy books and books about nature, space, and science. Being read to by her family, hospital teachers, and care facilitators was one of her favourite things while in care at McMaster hospital for her leukemia. We spent many days at the library before and then during her treatment when her health allowed for it, and she could easily find 15-25 books at a time to take home to explore. Even up to her last moments, we read to her as we knew it brought her comfort.

We decided as a family to donate the funds from our “Turn It Blue 4 Terra” fundraiser to the CCBC as we truly wanted it to go to something that Terra loved. We specifically remember her bringing home her Grade 1 book from your program, waving it around saying she got to “KEEPS” it.  Her excitement in receiving a new book just for her to keep was a great moment. And knowing that the CCBC helps Canadian authors and illustrators is just one more thing that made it the perfect place to reflect and honour her journey.

~Shannon May, Terra’s mother