Kathleen Margaret "Kit" Pearson (born April 30, 1947) is a Canadian writer and winner of numerous literature awards. Pearson is perhaps best known for her linked novels '' The Sky Is Falling'' (1989), ''Looking at the Moon'' (1991), and ''The Lights Go on Again'' (1993), published in 1999 as ''The Guests of War Trilogy'', and '' Awake and Dreaming'' (1996), which won the 1997

Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature The Governor General's Award for English-language children's writing is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a children's book written in English. It is one of four children's book awards among the Governor Ge ...

. She was appointed to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 2019.https://www.transatlanticagency.com/2019/01/07/kit-pearson-named-to-the-order-of-canada/ Agency press announcement of appointment to Order of Canada Pearson was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

and spent her childhood between that city and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, British Columbia. As a high-school student, she returned to Vancouver to be educated at

Crofton House School Crofton House School, located in the neighbourhood of Kerrisdale in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is a private university-preparatory school for girls that is tied for first place in the Fraser Institute's rankings of schools in British C ...

. She obtained a degree in English Literature at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

. In 1975, she began her Library degree at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...

and took her first jobs in that field in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. She later obtained an M.A. at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Returning to Vancouver, she completed her first novel ''The Daring Game'' which was published by

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, in 2005, where she lives with her partner Katherine Farris.

Awards

for ''Awake and Dreaming'' *

Vicky Metcalf Award The Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, colloquially called the Vicky, is given annually at the Writers' Trust Awards to a writer or illustrator whose body of work has been "inspirational to Canadian youth". It is a top honour for ...

for a body of work * Mr. Christie's Book Award, for ''The Sky is Falling'' * The "Vlag en Wimpel" prize for the Dutch edition of ''The Sky is Falling''. *

Canadian Library Association The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was a national, predominantly English-language association which represented 57,000 library workers across Canada. It also spoke for the interests of the 21 million Canadians who are members of libraries. C ...

Children's Book of the Year Award, for ''A Handful of Time'', ''The Sky is Falling'' and ''The Whole Truth'' * Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction, for ''The Sky is Falling'' and ''The Lights Go on Again'' * Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award, for ''Looking at the Moon'' and ''Awake and Dreaming''. * National I.O.D.E. Violet Downey Award for ''The Lights Go On Again''. * Ruth Schwartz Award, for ''Awake and Dreaming'' and ''The Whole Truth''. * Red Cedar Award, for ''Awake and Dreaming''. *

Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence The Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence is administered by the BC Book Prizes and recognizes a writer who has contributed significantly to the development of literary excellence in British Columbia, as well as having written a substa ...

Bibliography

* ''The Daring Game'' (1986) * ''A Handful of Time'' (1987) * '' The Sky is Falling'' (1989) * ''The Singing Basket'' (1990) * ''Looking at the Moon'' (1991) * ''The Lights Go on Again'' (1993) * '' Awake and Dreaming'' (1996) * ''This Land'' (1998; editor) * ''The Guests of War Trilogy'' (1999) (Compilation volume of ''The Sky is Falling'', ''Looking at the Moon'', and ''The Lights Go on Again'') * ''Whispers of War: The War of 1812 Diary of Susanna Merritt'' (2002) (

Dear Canada series ''Dear Canada'' is a series of historical novels marketed at kids first published in 2001 and continuing to the present. The books are published by Scholastic Canada Ltd. They are similar to the ''Dear America'' series, with each book written in ...

) * ''A Perfect Gentle Knight'' (2007) *''The Whole Truth'' (2011) * ''And Nothing But The Truth'' (2012) * ''A Day of Signs and Wonders'' (2016) * ''Be My Love'' (2019) * ''The Magic Boat'' (with Katherine Farris, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard) (2019)

References

* W. H. New, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002: 869.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Kit 1947 births Living people Canadian LGBT novelists Canadian children's writers Canadian women novelists Members of the Order of Canada Simmons University alumni Canadian women children's writers Writers from Edmonton Writers from Victoria, British Columbia Governor General's Award-winning children's writers