Home Location: Richmond Hill, Ontario
Creator Type: Author
Genres: Non-Fiction
Website: catherinerondina.com
Tour Region: Quebec (Gaspesie Region) Host schools have been selected.
Target Audience: Grades 3-12
Cost: $300* (for one 60-minute presentation)
*(The author collects $250 of the fee and $50 of the fee covers The Canadian Children's Book Centre's administration fees for coordinating Book Week).
Taxes charged on presentations: NO
BIOGRAPHY
Catherine Rondina is a published author, educator and library assistant, whose writing career spans more than 35 years in the industry. Her non-fiction books have won the Silver Birch (2012 and 2019), Hackmatack (2012), and US Teacher’s Choice Awards (2008). She has also been nominated for the Rocky Mountain Book Award (2020). In addition to being an educator with George Brown College in Toronto (2007-2018), Catherine has published educational anthologies from grades 4-12, for publishers like, Nelson Education, Prentice Hall Ginn, Pearson Education, and Gage. Catherine takes great pride in her more than 40 years with the Toronto Public Library. Her career, as a Library Assistant, has allowed her to work in programming and literacy for both young adults and children.
PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS
A Writer’s Life
(60-minute session)
Target audience: Grades 3-12 (adult groups also)
This interactive workshop is a favourite from my collection of presentations for students of all ages.
The presentation takes the audience on a tour de force of the creative process. From the early beginnings of a young writer toying with creative musings, to the thrill of seeing your name in print – this workshop features ideas and interactions with the participants, to bring them into the world of a writer’s mind. A series of activities are presented to spark the creative thinker. (Features the timeline of my various publications and their unique histories)
*Audience members are selected at random to participate in forming observations that help trigger the creative mind.
Zoom In On Zombies (New for 2024)
Target audience: Grades 3-8 (60 minute session)
A workshop that takes young readers into the fascinating world of zombies found in nature. Using a number of interactive activities, participants are asked to attempt to prove and record findings of a set of experimental observations.
This fun-filled workshop will leave the audience asking for more – if they dare!
*Interactive team-based STEM experiments, in addition to individual craft-based activities are available.
Biography Series: (Can be presented together or as individual presentations)
Target audience: Grades 4-8 (60 minute session)
Carey Price – How a First Nations Kid Became a Superstar Goaltender
Forest of Reading – Winner, Rocky Mountain Book Award Nominee, TD Summer Reading Club Recommended Read
P.K. Subban – Fighting Racism to Become a Hockey Superstar and Role Model for Athletes of Colour
Both of these presentations focus on the fascinating stories behind these NHL heroes. The discussion centres on the lives of Price and Subban and the struggles they each faced in attaining their goals.
*Each of these workshops includes an art-based activity for the audience to explore facets of the stories through.
Don’t Touch That Toad & Other Strange Things Adults Tell You
Forest of Reading – Winner, Hackmatack Award – Winner, TD Summer Reading Club Recommended Read
Target audience: Grades 3-8 (60 minute session)
This fun-filled, interactive presentation, will have young and old audiences clamoring for more! As chapter excerpts are revealed, audience members are challenged to find the true or false history, behind these strange myths.
Participants can work in groups to compile their findings and prove or disprove the information presented in the book.
Can also be presented by using individual participants in the audience.
Lighting Our World – A Year of Celebrations
Grades 3-6 (60 minutes session)
This workshop will take readers on a tour of the brightest, and warmest celebrations across the globe. Participants will learn how these heart-warming special occasions connect us all. From candles to bonfires, lanterns to fireworks, this presentation will have readers, shinning-brightly as they see how the spirt of light touches us all.
*Attendees will explore international forms of celebrations that will light up their world!
Presentation Sizes
As a seasoned presenter, I am comfortable with varying audience sizes.
Over my career I have presented to groups as small as 10, to audiences as large as 250 + participants.
My preference is to be able to connect with my readers on a personal level as possible. I feel that no matter the audience size, I can make that connection happen through the power of a sincere, well-presented performance.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Maple Syrup Mysteries - Canada's Hidden Places and Secret Histories. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Fall 2025.
Zoom In On Zombies. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Fall 2024.
P.K. Subban: Fighting Racism to Become a Hockey Superstar and Role Model for Athletes of Colour. Lorimer, 2020.
Carey Price: How a First Nations Kid Became a Superstar Goaltender. Lorimer, 2018.
“xxxxx” in Dear Tomato: An International Crop of Food and Agriculture Poems. CreateSpace, 2015.
Don't Touch That Toad & Other Strange Things Adults Tell You. Kids Can Press, 2014.
Lighting Our World: A Year of Celebrations. KidsCan Press, 2012.
The 10 Worst Computer-related Disasters. Rubicon, 2012.
The 10 Worst Things About the Internet. Scholastic, 2008.
Lying: Deal With it Straight Up. Lorimer, 2006.
Gossip: Deal With It Before Word Gets Around. Lorimer, 2005.
Rudeness: Deal With It if You Please. Lorimer, 2005.
Literacy Power: Level A. Irwin, 2003.
Ladies Day: One Woman's Guide to Pro Baseball. Warwick Publications, 1997.